People have been showing a keen interest in the idea of having some guest blogging going on here. When I first started this blog I asked for contributions on the theme THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY. Of course, I had no readers then so I got no response! However, I'm thinking now that it would be quite a cool idea. I've decided I would like to run a series of posts by guest bloggers… hopefully.
So, this is a call for submissions on the subject, THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY. It can be in any style. Poems, stories, thoughts, essays, pictures, whatever you like. I will post your contributions, with full credit to you and a link to your blog if you have one. Please send your submission via email (thedeviousdiva at gmail dot com)
Comments can be made on the original post.
Guest Blogger: Nayj
The first contribution is from nayj who blogs at hagardiaries. This entry is a personal account of being an Arab-American visiting Palestine earlier this year and a commentary on racism, Israeli and American military policies and activism.
Thank you nayj for your submission.
Arabs and American attitudes towards Racism
I was in Palestine this June 2006 and spent time in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Abu Deiss, and East Jerusalem. We were with Palestinian professors and students and most of us were Arab American, all of us were treated with suspicion at checkpoints, and many were subjected to humiliation, degradation, and harassment. We had guns pointed at us many times for no reason. European-Israeli soldiers, very young, blasé composure, had guns up and ready—the normal modus operandi.
The minute I arrived in TelAviv airport, I was detained for four hours; the Israeli policewomen claimed I was a security risk. Why? My father's first name.
"And?"
I was told, very indignantly, "AND that means you are Arab." I responded with "That's it?" She was surprised, "Of course."
READ THE REST OF THE POST HERE
Guest Blogger: Abravanel
Recently, I have been fortunate enough to meet abravanel. I will leave the introduction up to him as he says it better than I could.
Thank you for your contribution abravanel and I look forward to reading more of your insights and experiences.
A Judeo-Spanish proverb says: If a rock hits the glass then the glass will break. If the glass hits the rock, still it's the glass that breaks.
As a Greek Jew, whose family has lived in this tiny bit of Europe for centuries, I can attest to how much truth there is in this proverb when thinking about the current situation of Jews in Greece.
If you want to know who Abravanel was click here.
Often when treating themes concerning human rights we often resort to the exhortation: Educate, educate and again educate (and here the emphasis classically is placed upon the “youths, the hope of our nation” as they’re so often described). Sometimes this concept is stressed so heavily that one could argue that it is a wicked and devious way to shift responsibilities from our shoulders and bestow them on the shoulders of the generations to come, sparing us from the responsibility to do something today. But this mischievous behaviour doesn’t change the fact that indeed it is the only durable solution that really secures a future and a necessary premise for any initiative to counter racist behaviours in the society.
READ THE REST OF THE POST HERE
Guest blogger Abravenel: Part Two
I grew up in a rather poor part of my city which still maintained the populist image of the neighborhood/γειτονιά typical of the Greek cities in the past decades. It was a time where parents were a bit less anxious and maybe a bit more naïve and let their kids roam about freely and play in the open spaces that still existed, (the Greek term is not translatable but certainly will invoke memories for the Greek readers: αλάνες).
Each day my best friend N. would come by my house and yell my name for me to come down. Then we would join the others in patrolling the neighborhood, playing soccer or all the other things kids do when they can simply enjoy a kid’s life. My family lived there since the ‘60s and everyone knew everyone and I can’t say that I was ever singled out as a Jew though we were the only Jewish family within sight. Hell, some of the kids were sometimes envious of my best friend N. because I was Jewish!
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