Hello, my name is Malak and I am a junior majoring in Arabic studies. I heard about this class through Noura but what made me want to take this class was getting to know the history of the land of my great grandfathers. I am Palestinian, NO I was not born there and NO I have never been there; I am a Palestinian refugee, a status slapped on to my family for the last three generation. I believe that in order to be able to hold constructive criticism or dialog with others one must know the history of the subject. As a Palestinian I feel that it is my duty to know the history of the land I belong to and that is why I chose to take this course. To me, spreading awareness about the occupation and oppression in Palestine is a priority because above everything, I am a humanitarian who believes in Human Rights!

1st article:

I was glad to hear that Jerusalem was included in the festival in D.C. because the Palestinians have such a rich culture and traditions that people now a days don't know about! There is so much more to the Palestinians that what is being viewed on the media! And on top of that the Palestinians are never given the chance to represent their land and their culture ! It is always a one sided view which leaves the Palestinians isolated ! Just what Israel wants! so I was happy to hear that Palestine(Jerusalem) was included.

2nd article:

I liked this one a lot, I love the part where Suad talks about how the more they researched the more they realized that politics and culture was inter winded back then... and that was only when it was a 26 year old occupation, imagine how worst it is now. There are so many talented individuals that are deprived from the everyday life resources that they need to achieve a promising future. Also, when talking about he religious aspects the Muslims are declined entry into the dome of the rock and if given access of entry it is for extremely minimal hours...

3rd article:

Talks about difficulty of representing Palestinian and Israeli cultures in such a different community in the D.C. festival. Also touches the subject of the budget and how the funding was minimal. The womans roles in the peace making was mentioned. with all of this I just want to remind everyone that these are great articles but, they are a little old and the situation in Palestine has only gotten worst. The situation there is not acceptable and Israel is continuing its attempt to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians not to mention that they have succeeded in preventing the Palestinians from attending schools, getting access to health facilities, and blocks humanitarian goods from entering in.