6 Prominent Palestinians Tell Me What It’s Like To Live in America Right Now
Rashida Tlaib, Noura Erakat, former NASA engineer Loay Elbasyouni, and more share their thoughts with me. Also, see what you may have missed from Zeteo during the DNC!
Thank God for Jon Stewart.
As ever, the ‘Daily Show’ host had the exact right response to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Palestinian-American speakers were shamefully barred from the stage.
“They had Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, gay Americans, Jewish Americans, Palestinian Am-.... oh!” the late-night comedian told his audience, adding sarcastically: “Well, to be fair, it was only four nights, eight hours a night.”
To be clear: the Democrats had enough time in their Monday-to-Thursday schedule to offer a two-minute speaking slot to a Palestinian-American at the DNC.
But they chose not to.
They actually had an obligation to offer a speaking slot to a Palestinian at the DNC, the moment they decided to platform the parents of an Israeli hostage in Gaza.
But, again, they chose not to.
“The DNC made it clear with their speakers that they value Israeli children more than Palestinian children,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, told me. Tlaib herself was not present in Chicago last week.
The ‘Uncommitted’ movement, however, offered both the DNC and the Harris campaign a choice of speakers, from Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor who volunteered in Gaza earlier this year, to Rep. Ruwa Romman, the first Palestinian-American elected to the Georgia legislature. I spoke to Romman in Chicago, on Wednesday night, moments after the ‘Uncommitted’ movement were told that they would be denied a spot on stage. “It's not about who is on that stage,” Romman explained to me, referencing the bevy of anti-Trump Republican politicians who were invited to address the crowd at the DNC. “It's about being able to show there is room in the party for us, too.”
The erasure of the Palestinians in Chicago was a choice by the Democratic Party leadership. Kamala Harris and her team chose not to have a Palestinian Muslim woman in a hijab endorse her on the DNC stage, in primetime. Madness, right?
Forget the poor people of Gaza. It seems that Palestinians here in America are also “unpeople,” those whose lives have been deemed expendable or worthless in the pursuit of foreign policy objectives, to quote the British historian Mark Curtis.
What is it like to be treated as an ‘unperson’? To be part of a community simultaneously reviled and ignored by the people in power?
Unlike the DNC, here at Zeteo we try and give a voice to those who are ignored; our goal is to build a platform for marginalized figures in society, both at home and abroad.
So I asked half a dozen of the most prominent Palestinians in America how they feel right now.
“It’s hard not to feel invisible as a Palestinian-American. Our trauma and pain feel unseen and ignored by both parties. One party uses our identity as a slur, and the other refuses to hear from us. Where is the shared humanity? Ignoring us won't stop the genocide.” - Rashida Tlaib, Member of Congress
“Living in this political moment as a Palestinian-American is nothing short of infuriating. Even with the transition from Biden to Harris, the Democratic incumbents have affirmed time and again that they see Palestinian lives as less valuable than Israeli lives. Nowhere in the mainstream political conversation is Palestinian humanity acknowledged.” - Omar Baddar, political analyst
“I feel like now more than ever we are villains to many Americans, simply for existing. And it’s exhausting.” - Kat Abughazaleh, journalist and Zeteo contributor
“From censorship to the government's neglect in supporting my parents who were trapped in Gaza, everything has been overwhelming. I fought and campaigned a lot to get people out to vote, and I even worked on the Democratic Party primaries in the past, but now it feels like the whole party has abandoned us.” - Loay Elbasyouni, engineer who helped design the Mars rover
“I’m deeply disappointed, but nonetheless hoping that the the rhetoric of ‘freedom’ and ‘self determination’ becomes actual policy. Deeds, not words, will save lives - and American democracy.” - Rula Jebreal, foreign policy analyst and Zeteo contributor
“Zionists have framed Palestinian calls for liberation as antisemitic, while the US governing party overseeing our genocide frames it as pro-Trump. As gutting and infuriating as this is, it only strengthens my resolve to fight” - Noura Erakat, human rights attorney
Mehdi, you say Thank god for Jon Stewart. I say thank god for both of you. I really don’t know how I could cope with the pitiless savagery without the sanity of your words on Zeteo. We can hear the voices of the Palestinian members of Congress and their constituents because of you, and alas from nowhere else…
I really liked the way Jon Stewart brought this injustice to our attention. I keep saying this and will reiterate: if we eliminate big money from politics, a lot will magically change and become more sane.