Leaving Palestine
We waited for hours, the children and I on one side of the checkpoint, Osama on the other, hoping to make it to the airport. Cleaning the refrigerator “I knew you would clean again after I finished,” Osama...
Buying Hanukkah Candles in Ramallah
“I am a Jew married to a Palestinian,” I told the supermarket man, with a smile that I hoped was courteous, pluralistic and also conversation-ending. I picked up Forat and Adam from school and preschool. My ultra-Orthodox nieces...
Trying to Leave the West Bank
I wrote another letter asking for the travel permit, because it was my turn to make a move in this sadistic game of occupation bureaucracy. Waiting “When are you traveling?” asked my friend Sawsan. She knew about our...
A Visit From Gaza, Also Known As the Other Side of the Moon
Opportunities for relatives to visit from Gaza are the rarest of pleasures – even if they’re often shrouded in sorrow. My kids met their aunt. In 2012, the Israeli restrictions on Palestinians traveling between the West Bank and...
Searching for a Safe Place in the West Bank for a Family Hike
Most deep natural pools in the West Bank are near settlements, and settlers have taken them over, by arriving there with guns or Israeli soldiers. Our relationship exposes my partner, Osama, to the seam areas of the West...
For Palestinian Kids, the Occupation Childhood Becomes a Pandemic Childhood, Too
Kids from east Jerusalem take on their parents’ fears of losing their residency rights. The stress of the corona virus pandemic doesn’t make things easier. Three-year old Adam was screaming. Lately it feels like he is always screaming....
‘It Sounds Like the Palestinian Authorities Are Managing the Pandemic Better Than Israel’
The Israeli lockdown curtailed plans to visit a cousin for the Jewish new year – a relief given the government’s failure to contain the coronavirus The area code “02” appeared on the screen of my telephone. I was...
How much do you want to challenge them with your bikini?
When my daughter asked why I was putting a shirt over my swimsuit, I told her the truth: "Because men like to control women's bodies." The summer, rife with lockdowns, drew to a close, and as September...
Munir Died After Not Getting His Medicine for Four Months
A lot of people in Gaza have died in recent months, after their requests to access treatment in Israel and the West Bank were denied. Munir is dead. He had cancer. He died after not being able...
“I had to come a long way to be happy to meet you.”
Omar asked simply and directly about the Hebrew I spoke with my kids, saying that it’s not the fault of the language, but it’s associated with the occupation
