LIVE: TEDx Ramallah - Don't Miss It

Watch live streaming video from tedx at livestream.com

One of the main objectives of this blog is to bring Palestinian narratives to the forefront. An event taking place tomorrow is going to be doing just that, and is well worth checking out. TEDx Ramallah is an all day event of inspirational speakers and presentations that will link Palestinians all around the world. TED events, for those who are not familiar with them, are international forums based on the exchange of ideas worth spreading. There is plenty more about TED here.

TEDx forums localize the TED format in spots around the globe, and tomorrow Palestine will be hosting an impressive collection of speakers as part of their event. But in response to the particular logistical challenge presented by the Israeli occupation and the realities of Diaspora communities, the organizers of TEDx Ramallah have utilized technology to find creative solutions:

In a break from the conventional format, TEDxRamallah will be taking place in three venues in three cities simultaneously – in Bethlehem, Amman and Beirut – to enable as wide an audience as possible to participate in the groundbreaking event.

A total of 20 universally talented but widely diverse speakers are confirmed to speak at TEDxRamallah, including Fadi Ghandour, global social entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Aramex; Laila Atshan, a Ramallah-based psychosocial counselor and consultant for UNICEF, the Red Cross and Red Crescent society; Julia Bacha, an award-winning filmmaker who has worked on films screened at the Sundance, Berlin, Jerusalem and Dubai International Film Festivals; and Wael Atilli, co-founder and chief creative officer of Kharabeesh Network, a storytelling house for the new Arab generation that aims to place Arab cartoons on the WEP map.

Other speakers include: Architects Suad Amiry and Alessandro Petti; Steve Sosebee, founder and CEO of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF); highly celebrated artist Abedalrahman Katanay; healthcare professional and leader of a number of women’s anti-abuse program Amal Shahabi; Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, godfather of Arab accounting and the promotion in the Arab world of Intellectual Property; Khaled Al Sabawi, founder and President of MENA Geothermal, a Palestinian green energy company, and “One of the World’s Top Energy Entrepreneurs”; Raja Shehadeh, lawyer and award-winning author of Palestinian Walks; Gisel Kordestani, Director of New Business Development at Google; and Mohammed Khatib, co-founder of Bazinga!, a start-up catalyst and tech hub in Ramallah.

The one-day TEDxRamallah program will also include performances from a wide range of musicians, singers, dancers and poets.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend TEDxRamallah in Bethlehem, while the venues in Beirut and Amman will accommodate approximately 400 people collectively. An additional 20 simulcast events are scheduled around the world, from Canada to Cairo, Hungary, Holland, the Czech Republic, and to Shanghai, London and cities throughout the US.

We're hosting a live stream of this great event here so check it out above to participate in a global exchange of ideas between Palestinians.

read more...

"Voices of Palestine" Summer Film Series Comes to a Close

By Nawal Atallah  

Every summer The Jerusalem Fund organizes and hosts the "Voices of Palestine" Summer Film Series. Co-presented along with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, the purpose of the film series is to screen films that profoundly express important aspects of the Palestinian experience. Palestinian cinema and films about Palestine are growing richer, and we want to share them with the general public.

This year, we screened films that touched on a variety of topics. We started and ended the film series with the feature films "Zindeeq" and "Laila's Birthday" that star the well-known Palestinian actor Mohammad Bakri.

The capacity crowd in attendance for "Laila's Birthday" appreciated the humor that can come out of tragic ironies, such as the toll the occupation has on life in Ramallah, where the film is set.

The second film in our series was a documentary on Gaza entitled "Aisheen (Still Alive in Gaza)" which tells the story of how Gazans are living and moving on with their lives after the Israeli assault on the Strip in late 2008, early 2009. In the following weeks, we showed a short film entitled "Lesh Sabreen?" about two young lovers dealing with the realities of life in East Jerusalem, a documentary that explores the effects of political imprisonment in the Palestinian community of Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, "Degrees of Incarceration," and a work-in-progress documentary about the story of Yousef Elhaj, a Palestinian immigrant and long-distance father. One of our summer interns, Sana Saeed, recently wrote a review of the film, "Corner Store."

With the exception of "Laila's Birthday", none of the films screened are currently available for the viewing public. However, through word-of-mouth reviews from those in attendance, hopefully these films will gain the momentum needed to find distributors and be found in more venues in which a much wider audience can view them.

We had a very successful film series thanks to those who attended and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. We look forward to doing it again next year and we hope you can join us.

read more...

Keffiyeh: From Resistance Symbol to Retail Item? w/ Ted Swedenburg

Ted Swedenburg
Professor of Anthropology, University of Arkansas

Thursday, 8 April 2010



Download Video (mp4) [right click the link and select 'save link as']

Download Audio (mp3) [right click the link and select 'save link as']


The keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress, has long been a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and resistance. In recent years, however, it has also become a popular fashion trend available at major retail outlets. It is now ubiquitous yet few people know the meaning and symbolism behind this checkered cloth. Join us for a discussion on the history of the keffiyeh with Dr. Swedenburg.

Dr. Swedenburg teaches courses on the Middle East, race and ethnicity, gender and public culture at the University of Arkansas. He is on the editorial committee of Middle East Report and is actively involved with the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

read more...

Upcoming Events at the Palestine Center

1) ART RECEPTION and OPENING: "Mental Mediations" (20 November 2009)

2) BRIEFING: "Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Stakeholders in Limbo?" with Dr. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, and, Dr. Asad Ghanem (3 December 2009)

3) CULTURAL EVENT & BAZAAR: Annual Souk and Olive Harvest Celebration (12 December 2009)

1) The Jerusalem Fund Gallery invites you to an opening reception

"Mental Mediations"

Paintings by Ammar Qusaibaty

Qusaibaty Mental Mediations

Friday, 20 November 2009
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
The Jerusalem Fund

An artist with unconventional training, Dr. Ammar Qusaibaty received his Doctoral degree in Cognitive Informatics from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. He holds two Masters degrees from Oxford University and the University of Michigan.

Formally trained in mathematics, theoretical computer science and philosophy, Dr. Qusaibaty has been painting and developing his art thesis for the past seven years. He strives to escape limitations of artistic content and form by improvising with mixed media, unusual materials and elusive subjects.

Dr. Qusaibaty has exhibited in Europe and North America. He lives and works in Washington D.C.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required to attend.

This exhibit will be on display at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery from 20 November 2009 - 8 January 2010

Gallery hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., or by appointment.

2) The Palestine Center invites you to a briefing

"Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Stakeholders in Limbo?"

with

Dr. Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, University of Maryland

and

Dr. Asad Ghanem
Professor of Political Science, University of Haifa

Wednesday, 2 December 2009
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
The Palestine Center

Treated as second-class citizens in Israel and left out of Palestinian national representative structures, this population continues to grow in number and political dynamism. What do the Palestinian citizens of Israel think about a negotiated solution to the conflict, the Right of Return, and their future status? How can/should this constituency participate in the decision making processes that will ultimately provide an answer to their national question? The speakers will explore these questions with a presentation of recently conducted public opinion data, commentary and analysis.

Shibley Telhami is the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, College Park, and non-resident senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. He has served as Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the UN (1990-91), as advisor to former Congressman Lee Hamilton, and as a member of the US delegation to the Trilateral US-Israeli-Palestinian Anti-Incitement Committee, which was mandated by the Wye River Agreements. Dr. Telhami is the author of the best-selling book, The Stakes: America and the Middle East (Westview Press, 2003; updated version, 2004)

Asad Ghanem is a senior lecturer at the School of Political Sciences at the University of Haifa. His theoretical work has explored the legal, institutional and political conditions in ethnic states. He has been the initiator and designer of several policy schemes and empowerment programs for Palestinian-Arabs in Israel. Dr. Ghanem has authored and edited numerous articles and books, among them Palestinian Politics After Arafat: A Failed National Movement; Ethnic Politics in Israel-The Margins and the Ashkinasi Centre and Palestinians in Israel-Indigenous Group Politics in the Jewish State.

RSVP Now

This briefing is free and open to the public. A light lunch will be served to registered guests at 12:30 p.m. The briefing and question/answer period will be from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Registration is required. Unregistered guests will not be admitted. To register, click here or call (202) 338-1958 ext.11 by noon Tuesday, 1 December 2009.

3) The Jerusalem Fund Presents

Annual Souk and Olive Harvest Celebration

Saturday, 12 December 2009
11:00 am - 4:00 p.m.
The Jerusalem Fund

Experience the ambience of a Middle Eastern souk (market) right here in Washington, DC. Enjoy an afternoon of music, coffee, food and the sales of textiles, pottery, jewelry and gifts from North Africa and the Middle East. Celebrate the annual olive harvest in Palestine and support Palestinian farmers by purchasing bottles of fair trade extra virgin olive oil imported from Palestine. Bring your family and friends to this fun and vibrant event!

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required to attend.

Directions and Parking Information

CONNECT WITH THE PALESTINE CENTER

Check out the Palestine Center Blog. You can also follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.

SUPPORT THE PALESTINE CENTER

Make a 100% tax deductible contribution.

read more...

EXHIBIT: "Palestine Lost," Artwork by Rajie Cook and Helen Zughaib

The Jerusalem Fund Gallery presents

Palestine Lost
Stereopticon Images of Palestine from the Early 1900's
Stereopticon images, or lantern slides, became popular in the late 1800’s as a way for armchair travelers to experience faraway places. Viewed through an image merging device, the dual photographs become three-dimensional, resulting in a realistic, you are there feeling. The Jerusalem Fund Gallery showcases 45 rare images of a Palestine that has been mostly erased from view, a Palestine of people, farms, homes and life that for a large part only exists in these images and in memory.

To complement these images, we showcase the moving artwork of Rajie Cook and Helen Zughaib, both with the theme of keys to Palestinian family homes now vanished. Keys, that are the only tangible symbol remaining of a very personal Palestine Lost.

This exhibit will be on display at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery from 10 September - 13 November 2009

Gallery hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., or by appointment

Directions and Parking Information

The Jerusalem Fund Gallery

The Jerusalem Fund's cultural program promotes the work of artists from Palestine as well as from the Arab and Islamic worlds through art exhibits, book signings, film screenings and musical performances. The cultural activities at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery, located in Washington, D.C., are being made available to a wider audience through our website and through lesson plans for educators and students of all ages.

read more...

Announcement: Palestine Night

A Benefit for The Jerusalem Fund Celebrating Palestinian Culture

The Palestine Center will host a Palestinian cultural night to benefit the Jerusalem Fund. The event will be held at Busboys and Poets, at 14th and V Streets, NW, from 9-11 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2009. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door. For more information, please visit www.thejerusalemfund.org or the Facebook event page. No RSVP is required, but please direct any questions to palestinecenterinterns@gmail.com.

The following performers will appear:

Huda Asfour Singer and 'Aud

Nadim Khoury Buzuq

Tala Abu-Rahmeh Poet

Sabreena Da Witch Hip-Hop and R&B

read more...

Q & A with Jackie Salloum, Director of Slingshot Hip-Hop

Click to Play

Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.

This is a Q&A with Director Jackie Reem Salloum and Hip Hop Artist Sabrina Da Witch (Abeer Alzinaty), who was featured in the film, after the 15 July 2009 screening at Georgetow University.

It was sponsored by the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development and Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.

read more...

Summer Palestine Film Series

"Voices of Palestine"
Summer 2009 Film Series
Wednesdays | 1 July - 5 August | 6:30 p.m.

The Jerusalem Fund and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University are pleased to present their annual summer film series highlighting recent documentary and feature films from and about Palestine that explore the social, cultural and political complexities of Palestinian life and identity.

All films begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. All films are screened at The Jerusalem Fund and are in English or have English subtitles. Attendance is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. However, space is limited. For directions and parking information, click here. For all other inquiries, call the Jerusalem Fund at (202) 338-1958, or email info@thejerusalemfund.org.

Wednesday | 1 July | 6:30 p.m.
Pomegranates and Myrrh (Al Mor wa al Rumman)
Director: Najwa Najjar / 95 minutes / 2009
The director will be present at the screening.

Wednesday | 8 July | 6:30 p.m.
Young Freud in Gaza
Director: PeA Holmquist and Suzanne Khardalian / 58 minutes / 2009

Wednesday | 15 July | 6:30 p.m.
Slingshot Hip Hop
Director: Jackie Reem Salloum / 94 minutes / 2008
The director and one of the featured hip hop artists will be present at the screening.

Wednesday | 22 July | 6:30 p.m.
Salt of this Sea (Milh Hadha al-Bahr)
Director: Annemarie Jacir / 109 minutes / 2008

Wednesday | 29 July | 6:30 p.m.
Chronicles of a Refugee: Identity Without a Homeland
Director: Perla Issa, Aseel Mansour and Adam Shapiro / 78 minutes / 2008

Wednesday | 5 August | 6:30 p.m.
Wounds of the Heart: An Artist and Her Nation
Director: John Halaka / 52 minutes / 2009

read more...

Landscapes of Desire, Drawings by John Halaka (April 2009)

John Halaka's drawings 'Landscapes of Desire' are inspired by the ruins of Palestinian villages and homes that were destroyed by Israel during and after the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine.  He discussed his art at a recent Jerusalem Fund event.

View photos from the exhibit.

read more...

Film Showing and Discussion: Palestinian Refugees: Identity Without a Homeland

As part of the Syrian Cultural Lecture Series, The Jerusalem Fund Gallery and Dr. Rafif Al-Sayed Moustapha invite you to a lecture and film discussion entitled:

"Palestinian Refugees: Identity Without a Homeland"

with

Director Adam Shapiro and Dr. Laurie King-Irani

Friday, 20 February 2009
The Jerusalem Fund

Dr. Laurie King-Irani and Adam Shapiro will discuss the global Palestinian refugee experience as portrayed in the new 6-part documentary film series Chronicles of a Refugee. Several segments chosen by Adam Shapiro will be screened.

Filmed in over 15 countries, with more than 250 interviews of Palestinian refugees who have lived in over 25 countries, Chronicles of a Refugee is the first documentary film to look at the global Palestinian refugee experience over the last 60 years. Produced by Perla Issa, Aseel Mansour and Adam Shapiro.

Adam Shapiro is a human rights activist, dedicated to fostering dialogue between Jewish and Palestinian youth through "Seeds of Peace". Together with his wife, Shapiro founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an organization that attempts to bring civilians from around the world into non-violent resistance efforts in Palestine. His previous works include a documentary entitled About Baghdad.

Laurie King-Irani is an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, and is a founding member of The Electronic Intifada. Currently, she serves as Managing Editor of The Journal for Palestine Studies. She is a frequent commentator on national and international news programs, including MSNBC and CNN, on political, cultural and military developments in the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy in the region.

read more...

Halim Barakat Reads from 'The Crane' (12 February 2009)

Halim Barakat read from his 1988 book 'The Crane,' which has recently been translated from Arabic into English.

12 February 2009
The Gallery
The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development
Washington, DC

read more...

Jerusalem Fund Annual Souk This Weekend!

The Jerusalem Fund presents...

Annual Souk and Olive Harvest Celebration

Saturday, 6 December 2008
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
The Jerusalem Fund
2425 Virginia Ave NW
Washington, DC 20037

Experience the ambiance of a Middle Eastern souk (market) right here in Washington, DC. Enjoy an afternoon of music, coffee, food, henna painting, and the sales of textiles, pottery, jewelry and gifts from North Africa and the Middle East. Celebrate the annual olive harvest in Palestine and support Palestinian farmers by purchasing bottles of fair trade extra virgin olive oil and olive oil soap imported from Palestine.

Bring your family and friends to this fun and vibrant event! Its the perfect place to purchase holiday gifts.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required to attend.

read more...

Salim Tamari Speaks About New Book

The Jerusalem Fund hosted esteemed Palestinian scholar Salim Tamari on Wednesday, November 26, 2008. He discussed his latest book, Mountain Against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture.

This groundbreaking book on modern Palestinian culture goes beyond the usual focal point of the 1948 war to address the earlier, formative years. Drawing on previously unavailable biographies of Palestinians (including Palestinian Jews), Dr. Tamari offers eleven vignettes of Palestine's cultural life in the momentous first half of the twentieth century. He brings to light the memoirs, diaries, letters, and other writings of six Jerusalem intellectuals whose lives spanned (and defined) the period of 1918-1948: a musician, a teacher, a former aristocrat, a doctor, a Bolshevik revolutionary, and a Jewish novelist. These essays present an integrated cultural history that illuminates a watershed in the modern social history of the Arab East, the formulation of the Arab Enlightenment.

Salim Tamari is the Director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University.

DOWNLOAD the audio recording of Dr. Tamari's talk.

read more...

Teaching Teachers about Palestine

American teachers and educators from Maryland, West Virginia and other states visited the Palestine Center on Wednesday to learn about Palestinian culture.

Robyn Davis, the Cultural Coordinator, organized lessons in Arabic music, and Palestinian embroidery, poetry, art and literature. She was helped by Fuad Foty, a DC-based musician, as well as two dancers from the Hurriyah Dabkeh troupe. They gave a short instructional dance lesson.

The group of more than 60 K-College educators also received a useful curriculum to help them teach Palestinian history.

Listen to Fuad Fouty's performance and lesson on the Oud and Arabic music.

read more...

Fady Joudah, Poet and Darwish Translator, Reads at the Fund

Last night, the Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah presented at the Jerusalem Fund. He was a guest of the Fund's Cultural Gallery. Joudah shared his own poetry, as well as some of his award-winning translations of the late Mahmoud Darwish's work. He performed two of Darwish's pieces in Arabic, as well.

The Jerusalem Fund's cultural coordinator Robyn Davis interviewed Joudah and posted it on Youtube. Also, the Fund published video and audio files from the event below.

[See Video and Read More]



Download the audio (mp3) or listen on the player below:



Joudah was the 2007 winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for The Earth in the Attic. In his poems Joudah explores big themes—identity, war, religion, what we hold in common—while never losing sight of the quotidian, the specific. Contest judge Louise Glück described the poet in her Foreword as "that strange animal, the lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas." She finds in his poetry "an incantatory quality and concludes, These are small poems, many of them, but the grandeur of conception is inescapable. The Earth in the Attic is varied, coherent, fierce, tender; impossible to put down, impossible to forget."

Fady Joudah is a Palestinian-American doctor and has been a member of Doctors Without Borders since 2001. His translation of Mahmoud Darwishs recent poetry, The Butterfly's Burden, received the 2008 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.

read more...