26 October 2017

Since arriving in Ibillin, and leaving behind our new friends in the West Bank, I’ve felt a sadness that is difficult to explain. But also easy to forget during our mornings, which have been spent in the company of vibrant young people at Mar Elias Educational Institutions (MEEI). The students, who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, have freedom of movement, access to MEEI’s award-winning education, and are not subject to the physical and civil barriers of occupation, like checkpoints, military arrest, or land theft by settler colonies deemed illegal by the international community. But there are drawbacks. In addition to experiencing discrimination as minorities, they may lack access to the saturation of Palestinian arts and culture, historical truth telling, and models for peaceful resistance that we experienced in the West Bank.

Sally Azzam, Liwan Cultural Center, Nazareth

“You’re not faced with the Occupation, but you live the Occupation,” says Sally Azzam, one of three partners responsible for Liwan Culture Cafe in Nazareth. “It’s a mental occupation.”

Liwan is a small business and community gathering place that celebrates Palestinian culture, and seeks to spur sustainable, participatory neighborhood economic development through conscious consumerism in Nazareth’s old city. Listening to Sally share her experience growing up as a Palestinian Christian in Nazareth, I felt I finally had some language or framework through which to interpret the tensions I’ve been feeling since crossing the Green Line. As a child, Sally always felt that something was missing from the story she was being told about Israel’s history, and her own identity. Because of their collective trauma and desire to keep Sally safe, her family remained quiet about their experiences, and it wasn’t until her University experience that she developed full appreciation for Palestinians’ displacement, the Occupation, and her own position as a Palestinian Christian woman within Israeli society.

“The unknown is very hard,” she told us. “Not telling is a kind of lie.” Now, she helps prevent this experience of mental occupation for others, by fostering hope, and pride in identity through Liwan’s programs. She is also working to improve the conditions within Nazareth’s old city, where the Israeli government’s protracted, ten-year redevelopment project in preparation for a visit from the Pope led to the closure of many longtime businesses, and the creation of a semi-ghost town at risk for violence and crime, as well as gentrification by Jewish Israelis with speculative agendas from outside the community. Liwan is helping build a new, Palestinian arts and culture-focused conscious tourism district that helps build power and pride for local residents. We left our visit feeling well-fed— in both our guts (the food was DELICIOUS) and souls.

Vegetarian lunch of Mujadarah, Palestinian salad, hummus, and yogurt

Sally Azzam with our group

~ Tim Jones-Yelvington