Feeling Palestine

 

  My Mysore [ 1] I couldn’t believe it at first when the name of the street was pronounced, Al-Anbia Street, the street where I grew up! “Yep, I know where it is.” I replied. Out of all the places in Ramallah, did it have to be in that same street?           My first few visits to Mysore were ok. I did my extremely basic Ashtanga Yoga routine and learned few new alignments but I was preoccupied; all I wanted to do was go out on the kitchen balcony and see my neighborhood again. My heart nudged me to go out and see the untamed backyards where I used to play with my friends. I longed to see the small archaic stone steps again and climb the stone fences or ‘sinsela’ [2] to reach the back yard of my childhood home. Stone fence 'sinsela' I craved to explore one more time all those naturally connected, almost chaotic gardens.            I wanted to see the old fig tree and its expansive shadowy branches, the embrac...

  The Stalker. The Lover [ 1]   He was  trembling  Playing inside her green eyes Smelling her beauty He stared at her He waited   A  young soldier he was A Jew! In the army A gun on his back   Yellow and smooth as honey   was   his hair. Burning inside he followed her Home, school, and in between   As frequent as the freckles on her face, he chased her, he loved her   Outside the school gates, he waited, in her neighborhood, in her living room   Love and hate Contempt and affection Powerful yet softened   What to do How to feel     The brigade left                           A gun stands between them and an ocean mystery of why?                  ...

  The Sacrifice: Two Fronts   The Trojan Horse of Gaza:  A Red Heifer? Even though the assault on Gaza is such an obvious and openly displayed horror, the level of silence and the seeming paralysis to act can be understood as terrifying and puzzling unless the role of religion is examined and understood along with the political and economic interests. The role of religion is rarely discussed openly because faith cannot be nudged in any direction. Its believers do not compromise; astonishingly, the leaders of the three religions in the region ask for hardship as a necessary ingredient for salvation. This religious component is present in the ongoing slaughter in Gaza.   Religion  is the unexplored terrain, the steep fall into a 2000-year-old conversation. It acts as the hidden ink with which the social contract is written between the political state and cultural identity. In my opinion, this part perpetuates the silence and exposes the unspoken supremacy that t...

  Gaza Has Fragmented Me Pile of Emotions: Part two I am sharing my soul’s pain about Gaza. I wish I had a more hopeful piece of writing to share on New Year’s Eve. But this is what I found reverberating in my heart. I wish for whoever is safe and has food and water to feel a sense of bliss. The Bliss of Being Alive: I express gratitude for my family's safety every night, Al-Hamdulillah. Bliss is present in every second we are alive, and every inhale free from the burns of war and residues of bombs. This is the gift of Gaza, the gift of bloody conflicts for all humans. I wonder whether I can protect my sons from adversity, from the trauma of wars. I guess no one, anywhere, can protect their kids from trauma and death. The idea brings solace to me somehow. The one-ness of destiny; there is a need to rethink the meaning of one-ness. Blame and Anger :  I hear your silence about Gaza. I can listen to you refraining from saying G.A.Z.A or P.A.L.E.S.T.I.N.E. I know. I under...

  Day 76: December 21 What's Next? Questions and Answers There are a lot of people asking when will these atrocities in Gaza end and what will happen next. There is a lot of diplomatic talk in the media about the political outcome, but more than any other battlefield (or aggression), I think the political outcome or solution is strongly linked to what is happening on the ground. The fighting on the ground will probably determine the politics in the near and distant future.    This may sound obvious, but this is especially true in this case. In this article, I am trying to answer some significant questions and provide additional questions that are key, in my opinion, to understand the complexity of the situation or the impasses that exist for both societies, the Israelis and Palestinians. What is happening on the ground in Gaza right now in terms of fighting? The fighting, in some areas, has become guerilla-like, from building-to-building warfare, where the Israeli...