A Palestinian girl wearing a festive traditional embroidered thobe dress sits in a field of wildflowers in Ramallah, 1926

 

The Palestinian obi was made by a group of refugees- Kimono Project Olympics 2020/2021

Palestine kimono and obi on a model. Kimono Project

 

  "The majority of the pieces were made by Japanese designers using traditional methods, except for two. The Palestinian obi was made by a group of refugees, and the Indonesian kimono was decorated with batik, the country’s traditional method of wax-resistant dyeing.

“It was one of the interesting parts of our project," Shimizu says of Palestine’s obi, which was designed by Maki Yamamoto. "There are various techniques, locality or design patterns of dyeing and weaving in Japan. [Lead designer] Takakura thought deeply to fit the image of the country with the creator's art style when he assigned who was in charge.

“Regarding the Palestinian kimono, we knew Maki Yamamoto had a long experience of working with Palestinian embroiderers to make obis, so we assigned her as a designer.”

In a Facebook post, Yamamoto explained that the Palestinian obi took two years to make and she visited the country six times during the process, at her own expense. She collaborated with the Society of Inash al Usra, a higher education foundation that offers scholarships to university students in Palestine.

Yamamoto says she participated in the project because, although it would be a “challenge”, it would be a “great opportunity to showcase Palestinian embroidery to people all over the world”.

 https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2021/08/03/kimono-project-213-kimonos-created-to-represent-countries-competing-in-tokyo-olympics/

Kimono Project: 213 kimonos created to represent countries competing in Tokyo Olympics

Each custom-made garment represents ‘harmony and unity’ and took six years to complete, costing almost $20,000 per piece

more from different countries can be found here https://soranews24.com/2021/07/30/country-kimono-project-completes-set-of-over-200-designs-for-every-nation-at-tokyo-olympics%e3%80%90pics%e3%80%91/

Country kimono! Project completes set of over 200 designs for every nation at Tokyo Olympics

 The U.S.A. kimono is particularly diverse, with the country’s flag fashioned out of flowers (including cherry blossoms subbing for stars), a majestic bald eagle, and a from-space view of the southern and eastern coastline. 

Heading over to Great Britain, we see such iconic sites as Elizabeth Tower and the Tower of London

"These little seeds hold the DNA of my culture—a culture that’s being attacked, eliminated and destroyed,” says Sansour, a Palestinian artist, scholar and conservationist.

          A Palestinian artist, Haya Kaabneh, designed the yakteen seed labels 

for the Hudson Valley Seed Co.

"“These little seeds hold the DNA of my culture—a culture that’s being attacked, eliminated and destroyed,” says Sansour, a Palestinian artist, scholar and conservationist. “And so, when I share it, it becomes literally part of somebody else’s body and psyche. And in this way, we are not alone in our struggle.” 

The Hudson Valley Seed Co. and its co-founder, Ken Greene, were in many ways natural partners for Sansour, who was dubbed “The Seed Queen of Palestine” by Al Jazeera back in 2018 when her seed library first started to gain international attention. Greene also runs a non-profit focused on seed justice. His company prides itself on selling unique varieties in a sustainable way and also on telling the story behind each hard-to-find seed...." 

 
PLEASE GO TO THE ORIGINAL LINK TO READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL https://modernfarmer.com/2021/02/palestinian-seeds-come-to-america-stories-and-artwork-included/?fbclid=IwAR2n2lvc-QQXPcQAwZeJkPVQfxAvOvIVJVSs9fkkWZk-ftY6sm46Il3bhZA

Palestinian Seeds Come to America, Stories and Artwork Included

                    Vivien Sansour is bringing yakteen to the United States. 

Photo by Samar Hazboun

Gardeners please note this company, the Hudson Valley Seed Co., has many wonderful seeds and also some good gardening tools. This is the direct link to the Yakteen https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/products/yakteen-1

March First for Al Awda

       March First for Al Awda



My heart is with all

who march March 1st ...


with all who value every home
& family.


All who value freedom of
(and from) religion.


All who crave and help create

fair and just laws...


All who write stories and poems, and paint,
all who build beauty & museums for Palestine.


All who vote for full and equal rights
and respect.



Every step marched yesterday
today and tomorrow for Al Awda

is amplified a thousand fold,
by all who can not be there.


And amplified again, and again
for Al Awda, amplified a trillion fold
by every refugee.


My heart is with all

who march for real justice

and a lasting peace.

poem copyright ©2020 Anne Selden Annab 

Preserved Online For All To See ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

“My Christian grandmother and my Muslim grandmother in Palestine” - Shared by a Palestinian man on Facebook

  The Holy Land

You have bullets, bully brigades,

biblical words & word smiths

all fundraising for more...

More injustice. More suffering.

More homes and gardens usurped,

more children tormented and

families destroyed in what was

(what always will be)

historic Palestine.

We have nothing much more

than personal stories,

beloved memories,

and old photographs

preserved online for all to see.

We are people, human beings.

Our ancestry reaches back

totally entwined with every

rock and stone, every tree,

every water well, every little flower,

no matter where we are now.

Our recipes are of the land

and trade routes, plus trial

and error.  We helped perfect bread

baked in clay ovens, in our own way.

Our Zaatar is a scrumptious blend

of herbs & our olive oil is heavenly gold.

We keep keys.

Our embroideries are

by hand, with symbols

imagined and taught

mother to daughter for eons,

for longer than thread can last.

Our hope is that one day

justice and peace will prevail

for all good people willing to

actively empower fair and just laws

with full and equal rights, respect, 

dignity... and security for all.

                                  poem copyright ©2015 Anne Selden Annab                  

-->

Amman-based artist Nasser Jafari: #TweetYourThobe !

"Look at this beautiful image by Amman-based artist Nasser Jafari!!! I LOVE THIS!!! It says "Gharidi biThowbek," or TweetYourThobe in Arabic." Susan Muaddi Darraj , creator of the marvelous #TweetYourThrobe" pro-heritage campaign

"The world will never be broken, because we will always stitch it back together & make it beautiful." Susan Muaddi Darraj: #tweetyourthobe

2019 #TweetYourThobe creator Susan Muaddi Darraj

Codebreaker! From the initiator of the marvelous #TweetYourThobe Twitter/Facebook campaign, Susan Muaddi Darraj:

  "Wondering what all the symbols mean on Palestinian thobes? The 2nd half of Leila ElKhalidi's book has a "dictionary"!..."

Susan Muaddi Darraj, author of A Curious Land & The Inheritance of Exile

Susan Muaddi Darraj:"Every thobe is a dress embroidered with the stories, the loves, the tragedies of Palestinian women. The world will never be broken, because we will always stitch it back together & make it beautiful."

#TweetYourThobe. "I was raised in a Palestinian-American family that celebrated the strength of women," Darraj told the Institute of Middle Eastern Understanding. "Seeing Rashida Tlaib wear her thobe today is a powerful affirmation of that strength. I started #TweetYourThobe to celebrate her achievement and educate our fellow Americans about our culture."  

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tatreez & Tea & Rashida Tlaib & #TweetYourThobe : "Today... she was all of us"

Wafa Ghnaim: "I was interviewed by the New York Times today to discuss the significance in the first Palestinian-American congresswoman @rashidatlaib wearing a traditional Palestinian thobe to her swearing in ceremony today. Palestinian women and their artistry have long been invisible in history and today our maternal ancestors were seen in the halls of Western power. Rashida’s decision to wear her thobe to a significant moment in her life is one Palestinian women naturally think to do for any momentous achievements in career, life and family. Today, Rashida’s thobe stood for all Palestinian women. She was all of us." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Palestinian Village Embroidery Designs

KEEP CALM and TWEET YOUR THOBE !!!

IN HONOR OF RASHIDA TLAIB #TweetYourThobe ...Beautiful Palestinian Christian Women from Bethlehem, Palestine

Palestinian traditional costumes infographic map #America #TweetYourThobe #Heritage #Beauty #Palestine #History

Spring in Palestine by Ismail Shammout #TweetYourThobe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Putting a Face on the Facts... An Easy to Understand Essay by Nancy Harb Almendras outlining a Global Controversy: The conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.

A Christmas poem... Star Street Bethlehem Palestine 2014

Ibrahim's Estate .... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

       The Promised Land: In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  & Peace Day

Little Golden Bell... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

Tiny 2,000-year-old golden bell found in Jerusalem: A tiny golden bell which was lost in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago during the Second Temple period has been found among ruins near the Old City, Israel's Antiquities Authority has said

 

Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace....

Ask a Name... a poem by Anne Selden Annab 

Darwish & Dickinson

Ibtisam ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

Freedom to me is ... (a poem)

...To be True

...Universal Echo

Embroidered keepsakes (2008)

Mosaics : "I like that websites everywhere are growing a positive paper trail not only introducing West to East, but also proving Palestine- and showing at least a bit of its beauty. And I like that people bother to add into Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, information that used to be impossible to find or even know unless you were a scholar with a huge library of reference books.

And so in growing a private personal garden for Palestine today, I think it is important to spend some time exploring and enjoying treasures that can be found on the Internet. Capturing ideas and colors and shapes that can be used in our gardens."

Planning a garden is one step towards planting it and making it real:

Growing Gardens for Palestine
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

 "WHEREAS recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

"The traditions live on when Palestinian grandmothers sit with their grandchildren to pass on stories from their Palestinian heritage and life experiences..."

Facebook post from

Mike Hanini Odetalla

 

The traditions live on when Palestinian grandmothers sit with their grandchildren to pass on stories from their Palestinian heritage and life experiences...For me, it was my grandfather (Allah yirhamu) and my aunts (may God bless them)...My children benefited from the wisdom and stories of their grandparents...

When I was a small child in Palestine, my aunt Zahiya (my mother's older sister may God bless her) used to come and visit us. She told such fantastic folk tales that we would beg her to spend the night so that she may regale us with her tales (no TV or electricity back then), and when that didn't work, we would hide her shoes.
 

#Christmas #Palestine #PalmTrees #Mary

Informative, inspiring and entertaining facebook posts today from my friend Mike -

Mike Hanini Odetalla

8 mins ·

So I was in the Mall yesterday when I heard some ladies discussing #Christmas and the weather. A couple of them had just gotten back from Florida and were commenting about palm trees decorated with lights and how out of place it felt, and so, once again, sensing an opportunity to educate and inform, I chimed in by asking them if they had ever seen a Nativity Scene. "Of course" they all replied. I them asked what kind of tree is always included in those scenes. They gave me a puzzled look, and finally one of them said "I am almost sure its a palm tree". I said that is correct, a palm tree because the trees that you are used to seeing decorated originated in European tradition, not #Palestinian because those trees are not at all native to #Palestine, the birth place of #Jesus., while palm trees are.

I then asked them why is a palm tree included in the nativity scene, and of course none of them knew, thinking it was there for "decoration". I then informed them that in the Quran, where the blessed Virgin Mary has her own story, we are told that after having given birth, weak and hungry, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and instructed her to "nudge the palm tree" for sustenance, whereby ripe dates would fall for her to eat, and today, science has proven that dates are a "super food"...They were amazed, and by now I had an audience of about 10 people, and so we went in depth about Palestine, Islam and Jesus, and I was peppered with questions which I was most certainly more than happy to answer, complete with pictures because I "conveniently" keep thousands of relevant photos of Palestine, #Bethlehem, and #Jerusalem...One at a time

Jesus is Born

The pains of childbirth drove her to clutch at the trunk of a date-palm tree and she cried out in anguish:

“Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!” (Quran 19:23)

Mary delivered her child right there, at the foot of the date tree. She was exhausted after the birth, and filled with distress and fear, but nevertheless she heard a voice calling out to her. .

“Grieve not! Your Lord has provided you a stream of clear water under you; and shake the trunk of palm tree towards you; it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and be glad...” (Quran 19:24)

God provided Mary with water, as a stream suddenly appeared beneath the place she was sitting. He also provided her with food; all she had to do was shake the trunk of the date tree. Mary was scared and frightened; she felt so weak, having just given birth, so how could she possibly shake the immense trunk of a date tree? But God continued to provide Mary with sustenance.

The next event was indeed another miracle, and as human beings we learn a great lesson from this. Mary didn’t need to shake the date tree, which would have been impossible; she only had to make an effort. As she attempted to follow God’s command, fresh ripe dates fell from the tree and God said to Mary: “…eat, drink and be glad.” (Quran 19:26)

Mary now had to take her new born child and go back to face her family. Of course she was afraid, and God knew this well. Thus He directed her not to speak. It would not have been possible for Mary to explain how she had suddenly become the mother of a new born child. Since she was unmarried, her people would not believe her explanations. God said:

“And if you see any human being, say: ‘Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious (God) so I shall not speak to any human being this day.’” (Quran 19:26)

 Bethlehem, Palestine...Circa 1898

Putting a Face on the Facts... An Easy to Understand Essay by Nancy Harb Almendras outlining a Global Controversy: The conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinian Woman in traditional Ramallah dress.

A Global Controversy: The conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians. 

An Essay

by Nancy Harb Almendras

A global controversy for which there has been no solution for sixty-eight years is the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.  

  

In 1967 the United Nations proclaimed the state of Israel on two-thirds of historic Palestine.  At this time the land set aside for the Jewish State had a majority of Palestinian Arab inhabitants. The solution for the problem is to afford those Palestinian Arabs who want to return to their original towns and villages in what is now Israel to return and to allocate the area which Israel has occupied since 1948, referred to as the West Bank and Gaza for a Palestinian State.

A majority of Israelis will argue that if Palestinians who wish to return to their homes in present day Israel do so, then Israel will cease to be a Jewish state.  One could argue that it is a racist concept to define a state based upon religion and to keep those out whose ethnicity or religion differs from the majority.  Besides, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “every man may leave his home and return to his home.”

Imagine if one was born in California, but due to a political issue, could not return to California.  Not return to California to see Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite, the Golden Gate Bridge, the trees in one’s own backyard.  This is precisely what happened to the Palestinians even prior to 1948, when the leaders of Jewish militias put in place a plan, Plan Dalet, to ethnically cleanse the future Jewish state of its Palestinian Arab inhabitants.  This is a historical fact attested to by Palestinian historians, i.e., Princeton Professor Emeritus Walid Khalidi, researcher Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, as well as Israeli historians, Ilan Pappe and Benny Morris.  Proponents of the state of Israel will say that Israelis were defending the emergent state from invading Arab armies, but before any Arab armies entered Palestine, many of its inhabitants were already ethnically cleansed.  Ghassan Kanafani writes beautifully of the trauma he and his family endured upon becoming refugees in the moving short story “Land of Sad Oranges.”

What will become of Israel’s Jewish citizens if Palestinians decide to exercise their right of return?  Researcher, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, has written that on many of the over 530 Palestinian villages that were destroyed in the aftermath of the state of Israel, Israel has not rebuilt and Israelis do not live in them.  Palestinians and their descendants who return could rebuild their villages with little disruption to the lives of the current Jewish Israeli inhabitants.  Keep in mind that Israel currently has a Palestinian Arab minority of roughly one-quarter.  

Currently, Israel, when one includes occupied Gaza and the West Bank, rules over a majority of Palestinian Arabs.  These Palestinians enjoy few civil rights, including the right to self-determination, as they are not allowed to vote.  Contrary to international law, Israel has moved its own citizens to the territories which it occupies, taking prime Palestinian land, using an inordinate amount of the water, raiding Palestinian villages, demolishing Palestinian homes, and displacing Palestinians.  Little has changed since 1948.  Many Israelis ask what will become of the settlers if the West Bank becomes part of a Palestinian state.  Just like Palestinians will have a right whether to return to their original homes in Israel or instead live in the new Palestinian state, the settlers will have the same choice: live in a sovereign Palestinian state or return to Israel.

Some Palestinians argue that instead of a separate Palestine and Israel there should be just one state in which all of its citizens enjoy equal rights, just as some Israelis argue that if Palestinians return, Israel will cease to exist as a “Jewish” state.  Basically, what exists now is one state, albeit, one in which Palestinians have no rights.  One must take into consideration that if there are no separate states, how will the economically inferior Palestinians fare?  Will it be much of the same as under occupation?  To those who say that Israel will lose its “Jewish” character, well welcome to the twenty-first century.  How ludicrous does it sound if one maintains that the US must retain its white character?

Edward Said once said that it’s unfortunate that the foe of the Palestinian-Arab is the Jew.  One reason is that the Jewish people, because of the tragedy which occurred to them in World War II, have the sympathy of the world.  He also showed that it is not impossible for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis to work together; he and Daniel Barenboim, an Israeli Jew, together sponsored the Palestinian Youth Orchestra, which travels the world to much acclaim.   Today, there are many Jewish advocates, working alongside people of many ethnicities, for the end of the occupation and the creation of a separate Palestinian state.   


In an increasingly globalized world, it is important to both honor and set aside ethnic and religious differences.  It is still possible to believe that human beings are capable of living together in a spirit of respect and trust.

~ 

Putting a face on the facts

Nancy's father- from Palestine- Basil Harb

Nancy at 19 in traditional dress- Her first visit to Ramallah Palestine

Nancy Harb Almendras in 2014

April: Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month with Ibtisam Barakat's Tree Day Celebration

For this poem and 155 more (all in English AND Spanish), order your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations HERE and for more Poetry Celebrations fun, click HERE. And for more on National Poetry Month, click HERE.

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2015/04/april-celebrating-arab-american.html

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine (& America)]

April: Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month 

In The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, we feature DAYS, WEEKS, and whole MONTHS of celebration, too. We've already showcased December 10: Dewey Decimal Day; April 2: International Children's Book Day; and 2nd Week of February: Random Acts of Kindness Week. Today, we're featuring Arab American Heritage Month-- the month of April.

We're so pleased to feature poems by Palestinian American poet, Ibtisam Barakat, who has her own YouTube channel of poem readings here.  Here is her original poem in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. You can listen to her read the poem aloud by clicking here and see it translated into Arabic here. Cool, right?

For a lovely note with more information and details from Ibtisam, click here.
And here are the Take 5! activities that accompany this poem in the book:

1. Introduce the idea that tree-planting traditions are found around the world from Arbor Day to Christmas to the Tree Day Celebration in Arab countries, India, and elsewhere. Then read the poem aloud with a pause between stanzas.
2. Work with children to plan a dramatic interpretation of the poem, with two volunteers (one as child, one as tree) pantomiming the planting, measuring, sleeping, and sharing stories while you read it aloud again. 
3. Share planting experiences (of trees, bushes, flowers, etc.) and talk about the steps involved....READ MORE

Pomelo Books is Poetry PLUS!

The Poetry Friday Anthology series helps teachers and librarians teach poetry easily while meeting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the Texas TEKS for English Language Arts (ELA)/Poetry and Science & Technology. Celebrate Poetry on Fridays—and any day—with The Poetry Friday Anthology!