12 years

I returned to Palestine in 2008 (after a quarter of a century in the US) and it is good to reflect on these 12 years. Below this is the message from August 2008 explaining why I came back and what I had planned to do here. Much of course happened in 12 years good and bad (and that is the nature of life). Sadly, I witnessed two Israeli large attacks on Gaza and persistent daily attacks on life of Palestinians. I witnessed wars inspired by the US on Libya, Yemen, and Syria and toppling a dictator in Egypt to be replaced by an elected government which in turn gets toppled by another dictator. I witnessed 60 million Americans electing Trump to be president while the rest learned nothing from democratic establishment propping crooked Hillary “we came [to libya] we conqured” Clinton. They will still vote for the lesser of two evils. I witnessed locally home demolitions, ethnic cleansing, and de-development with Western complicity and hypocricy. I lost 19 friends who were killed by the occupation forces. I myself was harassed and detained/arrested many times. I witnessed and participated in civil disobedience and civil resistance and wrote a book on popular resistance. My students and I research environmental justice issues and wrote many research papers. We helped many needy families. And we are now struggling as pandemic picks up here in besieged Palestine.

I have split my time between working on human rights issues for Palestinains and working for the environment. These are not mutually exclusive as there is significant overlap. There are issues of colonizer assaults oin the environment and environmental justice. There are issues of human sustainability and food security (dependent on the environment). Ofcourse where and how we act evolves and changes in time. In those 12 years, I learned that our struggle as indigineous people in Palestine is connected to the struggle of indigenous people everywhere. I also learned that since the wealthy elites have no future for themselves without a healthy planet and a healthy planet depends us indigineous people, the elites must learn to listen to us.

For many years we have been active and I had no problem sleeping despite bad new all around us. Action is the best antidote to despair. Recently my own initiatives and actions seem not enough to keep my sanity even those that have tangible results (like founding and volunteering at the Palestine Institute for biodiversity and sustainability that we now employ 9 people and publish on, educate about, and conserve our environment). We witness Israeli bombing of Gaza and Lebanon, home demolitions, persistent human rights violations in Palestine, Yemen, and Syria (e.g. Turkey occupation forces cutting water to 1.3 million people in Hasaka). We also witness the US descending into a fascist state with people having to choose lesser of two evils as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Here are two other examples of news that keeps me awake:

-At least six COVID-19 cases outside of quarantine confirmed in two days: Al Mezan warns of a potential human catastrophe in Gaza after Israel tightens its closure and bans fuel entry http://www.mezan.org/en/post/23788

-The UAE ruler worked against the interests of his and all people to succumb to US dictates (made by the Israel lobby) and killes people and occupies their lands in Yemen and now turns it over to build the Israeli empire. Israel to have bases in Socotra, Yemen an island of unique habitat that is already under significant pressure fro the UAE’s military occupation: https://southfront.org/uae-israel-plan-to-create-intelligence-bases-on-socotra-island/

-Some 6 million US and 3 million Brazilians infected with Covid-19 while their presidents are merely happy to get richer and serve Zionist masters.

-What the media ignores about the UN report on Biodiversity (the need to empower indigineous communities)

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/biodiversity-un-report-indigenous-worldview/

But in the end, I and my wife and the volunteers around us accomplished even more than what was predicted 12 years ago (below), I met hundreds of people who made a difference in my life. Some were maryred, some injured, some died of natural causes (e.g. our friend Qavi who helped so many Palestinians and wanted to die and be buried in Palestine). We gave thousands of talks and built an email list of tens of thousands.  We built institutions and we helped hundreds of young people. And indeed we had “joyful participation in the sorrows of this world.”

PS The achievemnts for 2019 just for this one project are posted at 

https://www.palestinenature.org/about-us/final-annual-report.pdf

=========

Leaving the US For Palestine (August 2008)

After such knowledge; what forgiveness?
Think now
History has many cunning passages,
Contrived corridors
And issue, deceives with wispering ambitions
Guides us by vanities.
Think now
She gives when our attention is distracted
And what she gives, she gives with such supple confusion
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
T. S. Elliot

I graduated from Jordan University with a Bachelor degree at age 21 and then taught in Palestinian Schools (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho).  In those year and a half as a middle and high school teacher (Jan 78-June 79) I worked very hard at two jobs (extra teaching at private school in Jerusalem) so as to save money for higher education. I saved enough for the airline tickets and an extra $1500 for the first few months in America. I came to the US in August 1979 to pursue higher education and ended up making it a home while maintaining a home in Palestine.  Since then I got my doctorate, medical boards in genetics, and served on faculties at the University of Tennessee, Duke, and Yale Universities.  I published over 130 scientific papers and three books. Here I also met first my wife, built a family, made thousands of friends, and chose to become a citizen. Thus, my journey in the US was wonderful and highly successful.   Much of my activism was driven here by the desire to improve this country (e.g. stop it from committing war crimes and crimes against humanity).  I strongly believe that unless all of us work together to change US foreign policy (a policy shaped by Zionist lobbies), we are all doomed.  We see that millions of US citizens are also concerned about the way this foreign policy is damaging our economy and reputation around the world. I think it must (and it will) change.  There are many good signs (e.g. the books of Carter and Mearsheimer and Walt became best sellers). Yet, today with the new laws that shred constitutional protections, government intrusion on every sphere of life, the US has been more Israelized.   These things, restrictions on students coming from the Arab world, and the war economy in America (that devastated higher education here) makes a repeat of my story much more difficult if not impossible. My own journey has not been easy.  Racist Zionists tried to block us at every corner and racism in a society shaped by Hollywood films that villify Arabs is rampant.  Some take their positions  at institutions of higher education and at funding agencies (e.g. March of Dimes, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health) as a license to advance their racist ideologies.  This situation continues although I did notice that in the past 12-15 years things have become more opened up.  This is a function of a) numbers: Zionist ranks are dwindling and populations of all other people in the US are growing, b) the internet opening up the dialogues and increasing exposure to the truth, and c) more Arab and Muslim Americans taking on their civic responsibilities and asserting their rights and their responsibilities in this society. But perhaps it is always a struggle anyway.  

But the difficulties I faced (including a major health issue) are nothing compared to what other Palestinians face under occupation or in exile (e.g. in refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria).  I consider my challenges/difficulties in life as blessings.  I would not want them changed if I had the power to change them. Difficulties in life make us who we are and help us improve.  In this I am thankful even to those self-declared enemies and protagonists who sometimes succeeded in what they aimed to do and sometimes failed but always provided me with good lessons.  So perhaps a tinge of me wants more difficulties.  I look back with nostalgia at my upbringing under Israeli occupation.  I look with nostalgia at the time I was teaching in the West Bank.  I talk to my elderly diabetic mother every week and she tells me stories of what is going on on the ground.  Her stories include things like people dying because of being prevented from going to health clinics, students denied the right to go to school, lands confiscated, children shot in the back of the head, extra-judicial executions, further acts of ethnic cleansing, and more. I also go to Palestine every year and I see the apartheid system getting worse.  Walls surrounding towns and villages, US weapons that killed or maimed friends and colleagues, economic strangulation, and much more.  But both mother and I see so much good work being done by good people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Thus, every year when I go visit Palestine, I cannot wait to come back even though life there gets worse (checkpoints, the violence of the occupation, the economic deterioration).  My last visit was of July last year.  The hate I witnessed from settlers, from occupation soldiers, and yes from some natives was so thick in the air and permeated everything.  The racism, the segregation, the apartheid walls... and all the other things I occasionally share with you through this cyberspace.  BUT, there is also lots of love.  Love is not usually expressed in words in Palestine. Even among family members it is rare to hear the words "I love you".  Love is expressed at a far more meaningful sense in caring, asking how your health is, offering food, hospitality, offering your clothing and what little you have etc.  These are acts of love.

In the US, I witness acts of love perhaps two or three times a day in person (I see many more on the emails and other news sources).  In Palestine, in my last visit, I witnessed acts of love in the dozens in some days.  In one day of a nonviolent demonstration in Bilin and then in the Hospital where Ibrahim Bornat was taken after being shot, I witnessed hundreds of acts of love.  They came not just from Palestinians but from Internationals and even Israelis who were with us. In the US, writing a letter to the editor or demonstrating in front of a congressman's office are acts of resistance (and yes love). In Palestine, teaching a child to read, eating, drinking, breathing living, and everything we do in life there are acts of resistance (and love).  This is because that is not what the colonial Zionist movement wants (they want us all out to create a more uniform "Jewish state" that is cleansed "nichsayon").

Of course without the US support of Israel, Israel can't survive as a colonial power.  That is why work in the US has been and must continue to be a center of focus.  We simply must change US policy in the Middle East (if nothing else than to save the US from economic collapse!). Work must be done both in Palestine and outside of Palestine.  Indeed that is part of the reason why I have not relocated to Palestine earlier. There is something indeed about fate and destiny.

I also have a home in Connecticut and will maintain that for the time being. It is our destiny as Palestinians to be so conflicted and separated.  I have relatives in 40+ countries. I have friends and colleagues in over 100 countries.  So I guess, the world is my home. The corner of it that received a lot of oppression deserves a lot of attention/activism.  

Activism for human rights is not only a duty but it is one of the most rewarding things to have done myself (marriage, having a son, writing books are others). Activism falls truly under the category of enlightened self interest which is what philosphers and sages of old have encouraged us to practice. So in that sense I am still going to be doing acts similar to here.  My focus will shift though.  I will be doing somethings:

- Teaching at Bethlehem University (a new masters program in Biotechnology, course in human molecular genetics)
- Working on environmental/conservation issues (see http://www.qumsiyeh.org/nature/ )[we ended up establishing a large institute now employing 10 people and dozens of volunteers- palestinenature.org]
- Building a laboratory for clinical genetics that employs Palestinian graduates
- Doing other activities that create job opportunities (see for example by going to http://www.pcr.ps/ and click on outsourcing Palestine project at right)
- Writing more books (the next one on my agenda to complete is on history, theory, and practice of Palestinian non-violent resistance over the past 128 years)
- Giving help where I can (my dream is to start a "food not bombs" chapter)
- Continue the never-ending work to improve myself and fight the demons within.
- Having fun!

And as our newly departed poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote: "I long for my mother's bread, and my mother's coffee, and her touch. Childhood memories grow up in me Day after day. I must be worthy of my life. At the hour of my death, worthy of the tears of my mother.”
I have a home in Beit Sahour, a lovely town despite the colonial occupation.  Please look at these two videos of my hometown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-D2jy1knHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXFd48-W7JQ

It also seemed the right time on the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (the ethnic cleansing of Palestine) to focus more on helping in Palestine while still maintaining a base in the US.

With humility and serenity, I will try to be positive, productive and helpful as one of millions struggling under occupation/colonization.  My regular email messages may slow down or get way shorter.  These emails will also undergo a change away from posting things from secondary sources.  Since I will be on the ground more, I will report more of what I observe in Palestine and occasional suggestions for unique and inspiring actions for peace with justice we can all support.

If I slighted any of you, I apologize.  I want to thank all of you for your kind support (especially those who took the time to act on action calls).  I also want to thank those in Connecticut who helped make the state a great place to live.  You all will be in my thoughts always.

If you ever want to take a trip to Palestine, please drop me a note and come visit!

In the meantime, stay tuned and best of Love to all.

Mazin Qumsiyeh

PS: Lessons I try to remember about life (most learned from mistakes :-)
http://www.qumsiyeh.org/lessonslearned/

Perception

Perceptions are driven by experiences. 

25 years ago while at Duke University I attended a lecture by a leading Zionist who was in his late 70s at the time and essentially retired from his Israel advocacy positions though still giving lectures like that (for hefty fee). What stuck in my mind is when he explained why Zionists like him like and promote dictatorship in the Arab world. He simply ended his explanation by stating that "we can easily deal with one person." Henry Kissinger once quibbled about one such dictator "he is an SOB (son of a bitch) but he is OUR SOB". This stuck with me over the years as I watched repeatedly how the US (under the Zionist lobby's dictates) targeted people like Moammar Qaddafi or Bashar AlAsad while strengthening relationships with genocidal maniacs like Mohammad Bin Salman (Saudi Arabia) and Mohammad Bin Zayed (UAE). Human rights became a tool of empire rather than a principal.

Experiences shape perceptions. Three years ago I was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and met with lots of people ranging from hard working expatriates (Palestinians, Syrian, Bangladeshi) working men and women to elite Emirati natives including in the ruling families. Most of the people living there are not citizens and the country is built really by those from abroad. The rulers of the emirates (literally principalities) were not united until 1971 when British supported Shaykh Zayed brought them together in essentially a confederation. The Zayed family retained foreign policy. Shaykh Zayed was also very interested in the environment (convinced of its value also because of decline of wildlife that affected hobbies of his like falconry). His generation knew the old ways and wanted to modernize while keeping heritage. His children including the current de facto dictator (Mohammad Bin Zayed) are spoiled uneducated womanizers mesmerized by the supposed superiority of the white man. Their main concern was to enjoy life and the environment and people be damned! Western elites did their homework well and in the last 30 years were able to make sure this new generation can never inch away from their hegemony. The UAE has never been at war with Israel but was like many other countries an important tool of imperialism and zionism (focused to thwart Arab nationalism). Zionists thus infiltrated the UAE very early on with business and other deals. Since most Israelis hold dual citizenship with other countries, Israeli businessmen were able to acquire large chunks of the UAE as American, Canadian or French Jews. More direct openness to Israel happened in the early 1990s right after Yasser Arafat signed the surrender agreements otherwise known as Oslo agreements. Multi-national corporations were able to profit significantly while people of Yemen and Syria were punished to please the Israeli Zionist elites who wanted all countries in the Arab world to drop even any pretense of supporting Palestinian rights. 

Perceptions are driven by experiences. About 25 years ago in a trip to China to visit my wife's family in Wuxi, I had a chance to one day (when the family was too busy to take us around) to hop on a tour bus with a group of foreigners. I struck a conversation with one of them who happens to be Israeli and he told me that he had come for business dealings. At the time I was living in the USA (before my wife and I moved to Palestine). Many American Jewish elites were teaching their Children Chinese. When I asked one of them why that is, he said that the future lay in China and that the US as a world economic power is "spent" to use his words. 

Perceptions are driven by experiences. Thirty years ago while talking to an influential media person in the US who happens to be a liberal Jew we seemed to agree on everything from workers' rights to women's rights to civil rights to the need to eliminate nationalism to need of the US to reduce its military and care more for its poor. We agreed that is until we opened up the issue of Israel. In that he was essentially a right wing nationalist: supporting military, supporting racism, and against basic equality and human rights for non-Jews in historic Palestine. I found and met hundreds of "liberal" American Jews like that over the years who were LEFI (liberal except for Israel). The blind spot is hard to remove since it emanates from a very deep tribal notions of us "the Jews" Am Israel Hai is repeated among themselves (the People of Israel Live). Hard but not impossible; readers know that the harshest critics of Zionism and promoters of collective human rights have Jewish backgrounds. Thus it is not surprising that my most trusted friend when I was in Connecticut was an American Jew (Stan Heller) and today in Palestine, my wife and I share an apartment with Zohar a long-term volunteer at the museum. 

I think any rational human being sees that the world economy has concentrated wealth in the hands of the few while all others regardless of their religion or background struggle. Less than 1% of the world population controls more than 50% of the global wealth (i.e. assets). Who are these 1%? They are diverse: Indian tycoons, Russian oligarchs, Arab dictators ruling oil rich kingdoms and emirates, and of course Israeli billionaires. But the diversity in the rest of the people (the 99%) is even more. The ruling elite try to use hate and fear to create divisions among us (divide and conquer). That is why Trump and Bin Zayed and Bin Salman talk about Iran, about Palestinians, about Yemenis and others in such derogatory ways. 

Perceptions are driven by experiences. I am writing a book of these experiences while I lived in the USA for over a quarter of a century. In it I recount countless experiences, good and bad.  Bad experiences like attacks on freedom of speech at universities in the US, personal attacks, run ins with Zionists, profiling at airports.  Good experiences like witnessing positive transformation including of Jews and others who became anti-zionist and for human rights, kindness of strangers, love, friendships, growing and learning new things. Experiences shape who we are and I am grateful for ALL experiences.

The question posed here is for serious analysis and discussion relates how best to respond? It is not an easy question and the isolation of people from each other because of the Covid-19 pandemic adds a new layer of complication on top of others (e.g. the mass media like Facebook that reinforces any views whether racist or other). Would love to have a conversation on this (you can add comments below this).

Knowing how small

Knowing how small we are helps you/us achieve big things

Each of us individual human beings is a very small part of a vast universe. Knowing who we are helps us achieve big things. Earth was formed as a spinoff planet some 4.5 billion years ago (bya) . It is part of a universe with no boundaries. An infinity that has trillions of galaxies like our own galaxy (the Milky Way). Our galaxy is actually "small" Compared to other galaxies. Yet our galaxy contains billions of stars like our small star (the sun). Life evolved on our small planet (there are billions like it in the universe) some 3.5 bya followed by evolution of photosynthesis 3 bya. Large animals proliferated in the Cambrian explosion 0.5 bya when levels of oxygen reached about 10% (now 21 %).  Aerobic metabolism is more efficient than anaerobic but oxygen has reactive oxygen species: oxygen, peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical etc. Proteins absorb 70% of reactive oxygen species. Humans evolved in Africa only a few million years ago and so still share >99% sequences/genes with our nearest relatives chimpanzees and gorillas. For most of our species’ (homo sapiens) existence on earth there were other species of hominids (human-like primates) with us like Homo habilis etc. We live in rather small populations with very difficult existence as hunter-gatherers using primitive tools (chimps also use tools). We then had the copper and iron ages which helped build populations. But it was the agricultural revolutions some 12000 years ago that ushered in an expansion of population (as food resources became more reliable) and this led to the so-called civilization. This agricultural revolution is documented first right here in the fertile Crescent and hence we have the Cradle of civilization. Jericho for example  is the oldest continuously inhabited town on earth.  Yet, humans remained susceptible to diseases and ravages of weather and much more. It was the industrial-scientific revolutions that finally allowed populations to grow in a logarithmic scale in the past 200+ years going from less than one billion in 1800 to nearly 8 billion today. We know the impact of this on our planet and everyone is now familiar with climate change and other human induced global changes.  Some 2/3rd of the world wildlife has already been lost thanks to human activities. Humans and their domestic animals now account for more than half of the vertebrate biomass on earth. The situation is recognized as unsustainable for our living planet. We need earth to survive but earth does not need us. Keeping this bigger picture in sight, us small human beings can and do make a difference especially when we work together.

Indeed humanity evolves both in positive and negative ways aided by the proactive action of its components. Let me take our example here: colonialism by European Jews in Palestine devastated an ancient indiginous way of life that goes back thousands of years. Over 500 villages and towns most of them going back sevral thousand years were evacuated/ethnically cleansed. An assault on a culture and society that is all too common in the modern colonial history (take for example the devastation of native societies in the Americas). But recognizing who we are and with humility, Palestinians defended themselves and refuse to simply vanish. Our people resist in the most amazing ways and retain their dignity in the face of colossal onslaught. Yes some do give up and even become collaborators (like some blacks in South Africa under apartheid) but the majority persist and resist (Sumud in its p[roactive meaning). We see that everyday not just among Palestinians but free thinking people around the world. Take our own small sphere here represented by the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) & the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) founded in 2014 as part of Bethlehem University (another beacon of hope founded in 1973). What the small group of volunteers (dozens) and staff (6-18+) were able to achive in this short period is nothing short of miraculous.  To get a glimpse of this, see our 2019 annual report here: https://www.palestinenature.org/about-us/final-annual-report.pdf

And since the lockdown, we are producing short virtual tours. We share with you the first two videos

On the botanical and ecogarden http://youtu.be/7cBil5ahC6o

On the cultural heritage exhibit  http://youtu.be/uNzameJYIQ8 

And so we do big things with help but they are still small things in the universe.....

 

Suicidal Empire

Winston Churchill told the Peel Commission  in 1937: “I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly-wise race… has come in and taken their place”.  

Thirty years later, Martin Luther King Jr describes the biggest purveyor of violence in the world as the government of the (dis)United States of America which took the reign of empire from Britain in 1945 right after dropping nuclear bombs on Japan to demonstrate its power to the other aspiring empire of the day: Russia. . But the US which quickly dispatched of the Soviet Union  is a genocidal, suicidal, and hypocritical empire. Let me explain. Genocidal not just because of what it did to millions of natives (genocide) and Africans (slavery and racism) within its own ever expanding lands.  It  has been the biggest sponsor colonization and suppression in other areas not subject to its direct rule.  From Vietnam to Latin America to installing puppet genocidal dictators from Pinochet to the Shah of Iran. Sponsoring other colonizations and racist movements from South African apartheid to Zionist ethnic cleansing.

But it is indeed the land of hypocrisy that no longer can be covered by fancy hollywood movies of good cowboys-bad indians, good Israel-bad terrorist Muslims, good capitalists-bad communists. For decades while claiming the moral high grounds, the US government has supported dictatorial regimes around the world that torture, disappear, and kill so many. Many books have been written on this (e.g. by Noam Chomsky, Edward Said and others). But to cite just one recent example: the US is targeting Yemen, Venezuela, Iran and Syria (on behest of the Zionist lobby) with crippling sanctions. Whatever you think of those three governments and their governing styles, the real reason is not "human rights violations". Everyone clearly sees that whatever violations are miniscule compared to "allies" of the US like Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Take the Caesar (zionist) "civilian protection act": a law that suffocates 17 million people to help Israel (https://www.theleadersnews.com/caesar-tries-to-suffocate-17-million-syrians/  ). It does not only try to suffocate Syria but it suffocates Lebanon also (whose economy is interlinked and which houses hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees).

But let us talk about suicidal aspect. Ever since the US government turned its economy to the control of a "federal reserve" (which is not federal or government but private bankers), it had forfeited its control of its economy to what Eisenhauer warned about: "a military industrial complex" [now we can add technological]. Between signing the federal reserve law and the support of the Balfour declaration and entry into WWI, the USA's future was set in motion of militarization, special interest lobbies, and a future of cycles of recessions that could only lead to economic collapse. With the military expenses spiralling out of control ( the Caesar law is actually embedded in the National "defense" authorization act), the US deficits mushrooms. The national public (government) debt is now $26 trillion and when you add private and corporate debts we have over $80 trillion total debts (much of it owed to foreign countries and individuals)!!! Any person who thinks this will be repaid please contact me as I want to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge and the White House! But the effect of rampant capitalism is seen vividly now in the numbers of Covid19 infected people in the US (2.5 million) and deaths (122,000+) in the midst of a privatized bloated healthcare system that only the rich can afford.

Instead of developing a modern accessible healthcare, agriculture and means of production in an environmentally sensitive way, the US is destroying our planet via spreading rampant capitalism, destructive practices like shale oil extraction and fostering endless wars (Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Libya etc). Even with Trump using the military might to blackmail countries like Saudi Arabia to give the US more money, the debt is only expected to skyrocket based on the most recent graphs. The timing of this bubble burst is not known but its ramifications are obvious: the end of US (military) policing the world. It is thus with hope that we look to the revolt of Black Lives Matter that challenges the racist militarized police (trained by Israelis). Such movements as BLM, the occupy movement, and Extinction Rebellion will succeed globally. The sooner they succeed the sooner the US gets out of its suicidal spiral with less damages. Empires do collapse and the US/Israeli one will be no exception. The question is not if empires die but the modality and timing of their deaths. Much of it has to do with how citizens in those countries mobilize and how they respond to empire staying while giving the illusion of democracy (republican vs democrat). The early indication (e.g. how Biden came to be appointed! with Zionist lobbies) points to a bad ending to this empire. Stay tuned.

Survey results

THANK YOU ALL WHO FILLED THE SURVEY. I tallied the 628 surveys (about the posts) filled and sent in the first 48 hours. More are still coming and feel free to send but this is an excellent statistical sample.

Regarding subscription
15 (2.3%)  REMOVE me/unsubscribe me; I am not interested to receive messages (several said for personal reasons)
76 (12.1%) I do not read most messages but want to continue receiving them
537 (85.5%)  I do read or scan many interesting messages and want to continue receiving them

Regarding the frequency of posts to the list (currently at a frequency of one or two per week):
79 (12.6%)   You are sending too many messages, suggest you cut back
474 (75.5%) You are sending with roughly the right frequency and size
75 (11.9%)   Frequency is good but content too much (see also below to fine tune content)

Regarding contents: Please rate the following items for importance/value on a scale of 1 to 5 (1: not important/not interesting --- 5: extremely interesting and important)
Average given for answers from 628 recipients

Report back on activist events and other successes 4.06

Reports from life and challenges in Palestine 4.79
Action calls and petitions 3.82
Environment and climate change related posts 4.29

Links to informative Videos on the internet 3.78
Opinion pieces by others relevant to human and civil rights 3.49

Besides the above, what other areas would you like to see covered  (arranged by # requesting)

- More positive messages, signs of hope, highlight creative activism, constructive actions on the ground & globally etc. (26 responses)

- More on the work of the Palestine Museum of Natural History & Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (25 responses)

- More on the environment: flora, fauna, recycling, environmental justice etc  (12 responses)

-More on cultural issues like art, music, etc humanizing Palestinians (12)

- More on role of girls and women (11 responses)

- More on what is happening on the ground & Issues of daily life (11 responses)

-Tell us how we can support YOU and your colleagues (10 responses)

- BDS work (8 responses)

-History and correcting historical misinformation (5)

-More on Resistance from within Israeli society

-Israel’s effect on US and EU foreign policy, challenging lobbies (4)
-Future work for one democratic state/country (4 responses)

- How the coronavirus is affecting people or healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank (4)

-Social and acknowledging and adapting to crisis, pressures, etc. (3)

-farmers and food sovereignty (3)

-Israel impunity (2)

OTHER (Single responses)

- Biodiversity-Cultural Diversity link. Palestinians are not just Muslims and Christians just like Israelis are not just Jews. By bringing in more environmentalists and climate change activists, the BD-CD link can help defeat Zionism and its blatant negations of CD as something valuable

-is it possible to use a program like MailChimp ( https://mailchimp.com ) to make it easier to share the mails on the web?

-Progress reports on the Palestinian file at the ICC, once the full investigation is opened

-As a high school Religious Education teacher, it is very useful to receive your updates, and to be able to link the theology of creation and of our human nature with the Palestinian circumstances. Any updates which support me in developing this link, or have accessible resources that I can share with my school and parish communities, are hugely helpful!

-international response
- Palestinian humour (short stories, jokers, etc.)

-perspective with examples from the natural world and science
-farmers on front line during covid and how private gardens are trending again
- art and science as resistance
-I'd love to know more about what Palestinians think the future will look like when Palestinian refugee families are finally allowed to return to their homes
-Population growth in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank
 -Collaborative reports garnered from around the world attempts a improving human relations and government on a global scale
 -More on Palestinian politics, hamas, fatah etc
-Your students or workers, both male and female views and challenges

 - strategy for mobilizing Jewish guilt to counter Zionist suppresion of Palestinian freedoms and economic prospects
 - please expand your above offerings with anything that is vital to our lovely ones' existence and survival.

-Cultural pieces on shared Christian Muslim Jewish heritage in Palestine

-Legal matters relating to occupation and demolitions

-feedback on Gaza

- Interreligious dialog, Holy Land status, corruption investigations in PA, Israel, maps of occupation

-any analysis of current actions by the PA or Hamas is always of interest.

- Whatever interest you.  Not everyone is as smart as you are.  Simpler is better for me.

-I’d be interested to know more about what ordinary Palestinians are doing to become less dependent on Is’li products especially food

-Interested in how low the average age is in Palestine. This must mean that children are forced into adult roles much younger than in other places. This must be stressful on top of everything else?

- tourism and how it affects Palestinians in Palestine

- positive responses from israelis, citizen, state, politicians

- I prefer the links to the topics; these I can save to read and use later

-Talk about Jewish power – source of your people suffering (from a Jew!)

 particularly like when you emphasize the importance of helping out others and I like your spiritual view of life

- Please continue your coverage educational activities and university issues.

Light a candle

Tutti noi siamo collegati spiritualmente, biologicamente, mentalmente

Here is an inspiring video about the first hired staff member (Majd) of the museum and institute (palestinenature.org and still volunteering) titled "How to Survive the Apocalypse? [an Advice From a Friend]" https://youtu.be/7mdtXROE1as
Why do I call Majd a bright candle?

Israel has over 13,000 COVID-19 cases and close to 200 deaths. Yet, the Israeli regime keeps thousands of Palestinian political prisoners in crowded prisons (and using them as guinea pigs to test drugs to profit its pharmaceutical industry). The regime shuts down a Palestinian clinic in occupied East Jerusalem (Silwan) that is fighting the pandemic. The "fined" people who were protesting (keeping distance) the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem.  Israeli colonial settlers continue to rampage through Palestinian towns and villages. Settlers with suspected virus were even trying to infect Palestinians they normally terrorize in other ways. Apartheid soldiers still go into Palestinian crowded areas to kidnap more native youth. Yet, none of this made mainstream media (controlled by Zionists). The only thing that seems to make it in Israeli and International media is how "Arab-Israeli" (read Palestinians who are 10th class citizens in the "Jewish state") doctors and nurses are saving Jewish lives:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-war-coronavirus-arab-doctors-180057183.html And to top it all off as Meretz party said:"Gantz destroyed the hope of a majority of Israelis and sold the mandate that the majority gave him to a corrupt inciter [Netanyahu]." The new Israeli government will be even more racist and implement more apartheid laws.

But I still am grateful for having made a decision 12 years ago to move back to Palestine from the USA (even under occupation and colonizations). The USA is in a catastrophic situation: nearly 2.5 million in prison (about same number of those infected with the virus worldwide), the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, and the deep state that runs the affairs gives people choices of presidents that are truly repugnant (people like Trump, Clinton, Obama, Biden). The US health care system spends per capita more than any other country and yet ranks very poor compared to most countries (even Cuba and China have far better healthcare systems). Of course for the very rich, the US healthcare system works great (privatized, expensive). It does not work well for masses. Thus tens of thousands are dying or sick (some are friends and relatives). But we also have problems with other countries (e.g. China's occupation and ethnic cleansing in Tibet or Indiua's fascist government).  We should all be angry and we should all challenge this anger against the idiotic leaders the masses supposedly elected (Modi in India, Netanyahu in "Israel", Trump in the US etc). I say supposedly because there is no true democracy in societies run by the power of money and controlled mass media. But being against these governments (they all lie), should not distract us also from being for something positive/helping.

We actually worry about all countries and not just because we (palestinenature.org) have friends and acquaintances in over 100 countries but because this pandemic crisis gives us globally and opportunity to change the world in a better direction (still we have the major calamity of climate change and risk of nuclear war). I go back to the video of Majd cited above (and many other stories) and feel inspired, Life gives us thousands of examples of lights in the darkness (better light a candle than curse the darkness). Yes we reject the road of consumerism and of fascism globally but by acting locally and globally. The stakes could not be higher.

So today at the museum garden today we harvested a lot of thyme (probably enough to make 6-10 kg of Zaatar), ate the last edible green almonds,  and harvested lettuce, tomatoes, kale, beans, peas, broccoli, sage and much more (also need to harvest some fish from the aquaponics). Olive flours are ready to bloom, citrus trees are blooming, and the fruits of loquats, berries, walnuts, apricots and more are coming along. Hamsters had babies. Chicken are laying more eggs.  Life is still good.

PS: if any of you are interested in environmental DNA work email me for an event tomorrow/Wednesday.

Stay Human, Stay safe, stay active and light a candle (physically and metaphysically)

Mazin Qumsiyeh

الخوف والمحبة

.....في زمن الكورونا

بقلم أ.د. مازن قمصية

أتذكر والدتي التي أعطتنا دروس حياة قيّمة خلال تفشي الكوليرا التي ضربت بيت لحم عام 1970. كانت سنة سيئة أعادت تشكيل حياتي: فقدت خالي سنا في حادث سيارة وقررت أن أتبع خطاه وأصبح عالم الحيوان. كانت بداية وعيي أن سر الحياة كما علمنا جدي هو أن التحديات والحب هي التي تجلب الأشياء الجيدة. في عام 1970 لم يكن هناك وسائل تواصل اجتماعي أو إنترنت ولكن كان لدينا عائلة ومجتمع والكثير من الحب. كما هو الحال الآن فإن أقوى عاطفة إنسانية هي الخوف. من بين العديد من المخاوف التي نخافها المستقبل ونخشى فقدان أحبائنا. لقد فقدت والدي في عام 2003 والآن أرتعد من الاقتراب من والدتي خشية أن أصبت بفيروس لإعطائها لها - عمرها 87 عامًا. الخوف يتعلق بخلفيتنا البيولوجية عندما خاف أسلافنا من الثعابين والأسود.

على مستوى العالم  تتصدر الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية (موطني الثاني الذي عشت فيه 28 عامًا) حاليًا حالات الإصابة بالفيروس التاجي. كان متوقعا لكنه حزين. كنت عملت في كليات الطب والمستشفيات في تينيسي ونورث كارولينا (مركز ديوك الطبي Duke) وكونيتيكت (ييل Yale )، أشعر بالخوف مما يواجهه زملائي وأصدقائي الطبيون وسيواجهون هناك وهذه هي البداية فقط. نظام الرعاية الصحية في الولايات المتحدة هو نظام "القفازات المخملية" حيث اعتاد الأطباء على طلب الكثير من الاختبارات ورؤية عدد قليل من المرضى ولديهم معدات وموارد وفيرة تحت تصرفهم. الآن مثل الأطباء الإيطاليين والصينيين قبلهم سوف يتعلمون العمل "على غرار البلدان النامية".

هذه الأزمة (النكبة) تفرض علينا الكثير من الأسئلة بما في ذلك بعض الأسئلة السياسية. هل ستتعلم الإنسانية هذا الدرس لنتواضع وتتوقف عن تدمير كوكبنا؟ (الوباء كان كأن الطبيعة الأم تقول لنا أن نذهب إلى غرفتنا ونفكر في ما فعلناه ... هل سنستمع؟). إذا كانت الحياة لن تكون هي نفسها بعد ذلك فما هو شكل الهياكل السياسية والاجتماعية والاقتصادية المستقبلية؟ كم عدد الذين سيموتون من المرض وكم عدد (أكثر) سيموتون من الجوع تحت الإغلاق وخاصة في ما يسمى البلدان النامية؟ بعد أن أصدر الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة دعوة لتعليق الحروب لماذا تكثف الحكومات السعودية والأمريكية والإسرائيلية هجماتها على المدنيين؟ لماذا يسمح الناس لحكوماتهم (مثل الولايات المتحدة) بتكثيف حصارها لدول مثل كوبا وإيران وفنزويلا؟ لماذا لا يحمل العالم نتنياهو وحكومته المسؤولية عن العنصرية أو رئيس الوزراء الهندي عنصريته ضد المسلمين ؟ لدينا ألف سؤال آخر. الشكوك والأسئلة قد تقود الى اليأس. الحل هو أن نقوي المحبة للبشرية وكل الطبيعة لذا دعونا نتحدث عن ذلك.

قلوبنا تذهب إلى كل من فقدوا أحباءهم في هذا الوباء وإلى جميع الذين يعانون منه. يتم إرسال هذه الرسالة الإلكترونية إلى 50000 شخص ولكن نشارك محبتنا لجميع الناس. نخص بالذكر:

- الطواقم الطبية والعاملين في العيادات والمشافي (أختي ممرضة أيضًا) هم ملائكة مذهلون.

- كوادر الشرطة الذين يحترمون ويساعدون الناس.

- فاعلوا الخير: الناس الذين يساعدون مجتمعهم ويعتنون بالمحتاجين

- فنزويلا وكوبا لإرسال أطباء إلى إيطاليا.

-الصين لتقاسم معرفتها وإمداداتها مع الدول وحتى مع أعدائها كالولايات المتحدة

- الصحافية الشابة الإيطالية التي سلمت وزير الخارجية الأمريكي بومبيو طعام الكلاب لإخباره أنه يمكن أن يأكلها ويتعلم بعض الولاء. والسيدة الإيطالية التي نشرت فيديو "عاطفي" تتحدث فيه عن مايجري وبحرقة https://youtu.be/TkgB_EpqXjo

- نحن ممتنون للعرب المحترمين الذين يظهرون تضامنًا مع فلسطين ويغضبون من موافقة حكوماتهم على تسليم عملاء المخابرات الإسرائيلية إمدادات طبية ذات قيمة عالية ومساعدة إسرائيل في حصارنا أكثر (غزة على حافة الإبادة الجماعية).

- عالم فلسطيني شاب قاد فريقًا اخترع طريقة أرخص لصنع جهاز التنفس الصناعي

يمكنني أن أذكر ألف مثال آخر للمحبة التي تنتصر على الخوف والشكوك وتعطينا الأمل في إنسانية أفضل وكوكب مستدام. بالطبع لن يكون الأمر سهلاً ، فالتحدي الماثل أمامنا أصعب مما نتخيله اليوم. ولكن يجب علينا حشد جميع مواردنا ، كل إرادتنا ، كل طاقتنا ليس فقط ضد هذا الوباء ولكن الأوبئة القادمة ، ومعالجة تغير المناخ ، وإزالة النظام الرأسمالي / الاستهلاكي المتفشي الذي يستغل الناس. يجب علينا جميعًا أن نتوقف عن كوننا مستهلكين (للمعلومات الخاطئة والمنتجات) ولكي نصبح أشخاصًا متعاطفين ، وعطوفين ، ومهتمين. هذا ليس سهلا على أي منا. بعد كل شيء  فنحن جميعاً بشر ضعيفين بشكوك ومخاوف وشيطان على كتف كل واحد منا. أعطيك مثال صغير من نفسي. لا يسعني إلا أن أشاهد أعداد المصابين أو الذين ماتوا ، وفي إحدى الحالات ، ذكرت لزوجتي أنني كنت "سعيدًا" بانخفاض عدد الوفيات اليومية في إيطاليا! ولكن بعد ذلك شعرت بالذنب من ردة فعلي وبدأت في البكاء على المئات الذين ماتوا ذلك اليوم في إيطاليا. فكرت في الجولات الخمس التي قضيتها في إيطاليا وكيف أن بعض الأشخاص الذين ماتوا في عذاب هم حتى الأشخاص حضروا محاضراتي. ثم مرة أخرى شعرت بالذنب للتفكير في ذلك فما الفرق إذا كنت أعرفهم أم لا؟ في تلك الليلة لم أنم. فكرت كيف عندما كنت أنا وشخص آخر نتحدث بسلبية يومًا ما في عام 2005 عندما كنا نقود مجموعة من الأطفال من مخيم عايدة للاجئين من كونيتيكت إلى فيرمونت. ربتت على كتفي فتاة قالت "لا تقلقوا يا أعمام ستعود فلسطين". فكرت كيف أن الرجل الذي كان يتحدث معي صمت وأخبرني لاحقًا والدموع في عينيه أن هذه الفتاة فقدت والدتها (قتلت على يد الجيش الإسرائيلي). فهل من حقنا أن نستسلم للخوف. من نحن لكي نفقد المحبة الأمل؟ تعهدت حينها بالعودة إلى فلسطين والقيام بما يقوله البوذيون "شاركوا بسعادة في أحزان هذا العالم." نحن نسعى جاهدين للتفكير والعمل من أجل معاناة الناس وبروح التواضع واللطف والسخاء التي نراها من الكثير من الناس من كافة الخلفيات والديانات.

في النهاية أقتبس من هوارد زين كما اقتبست منه في نهاية كتابي لعام 2004 "أن تكون متفائلًا في الأوقات السيئة ليس مجرد رومانسية حمقاء. إنه يقوم على حقيقة أن التاريخ البشري ليس تاريخًا من القسوة فحسب بل أيضًا من الرحمة ، التضحية ، الشجاعة ، اللطف. ما نختار التركيز عليه في هذا التاريخ المعقد سيحدد حياتنا. إذا رأينا الأسوأ فقط ، فإنه يدمر قدرتنا على القيام بشيء. لكن إذا تذكرنا تلك الأوقات والأماكن - وهناك الكثير - حيث تصرف الناس بشكل رائع ، غهذا يمنحنا الطاقة للتصرف ، على الأقل إمكانية إرسال هذه القمة الدوارة للعالم في اتجاه مختلف. وإذا تصرفنا (ايجابيا) مهما كانت طريقة صغيرة فليس لدينا الانتظار لمستقبل طوباوي كبير. المستقبل هو سلسلة متتالية من الهدايا ، والعيش الآن كما نعتقد أن البشر يجب أن يعيشوا في تحد لكل ما هو سيئ حولنا  هو في حد ذاته انتصار رائع " (من كتابه "لا يمكنك أن تكون محايدًا في قطار متحرك")

أ.د. مازن قمصية

مؤسس ومدير

متحف فلسطين للتاريخ الطبيعي

المعهد الفلسطيني للتنوع البيولوجي والاستدامة

جامعة بيت لحم

فلسطين المحتلة

http://qumsiyeh.org

http://palestinenature.org