Author Archives: Arab America

“I used to be afraid to give my opinion, but now I tell people about complex issues like politics, women’s rights and the Constitution. I feel strong,” says 24-year-old Amani Thawabta, a law school graduate from Palestine. Although she speaks about lobbying for women’s rights as powerfully as a lifelong advocate, that wasn’t always the … Continued

By Nora Barrows-Friedman Electronic Intifada Last month, for the third time in two years, the student senate at Loyola University in Chicago passed a divestment resolution. The resolution, authored by Loyola Divest, a coalition of student groups and activists, calls on the university to pull its investments in four corporations that profit from the violations … Continued

Cúirt 2015 plays host to a wide variety of poets, local, national, and international, with one of the highlights set to be the reading of Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye at the Town Hall on Thursday 23 at 8.30pm. In the Galway Advertiser last month, Galway poet Kevin Higgins said it is “certain to be … Continued

Brooklyn is expected to have a strong presence at a planned protest march that will take demonstrators from New York City all the way to Washington D.C. on foot.

Linda Sarsour, executive director of the non-profit organization Arab American Association of New York, is the co-chairman of the March2Justice, a multi-day protest set to start on Monday, April 13 in which participants will walk from New York to Washington D.C. to deliver a “Justice Package,” a set of proposed law changes, to members of congress. The Arab American Association is headquartered in Bay Ridge.

Marchers will be stopping at cities and towns along the route to hold rallies.

Sponsored by Justice League NYC, a task force of juvenile justice experts, advocates and artists, the March2Justice is aimed at ending racial profiling and putting a stop to what organizers said is the militarization of police departments across the country. The organizers are also demanding a shift in the nation’s juvenile justice system from incarceration to prevention.

The March2Justice website lists the names of several victims who were killed either at the hands of police or by individuals who were not convicted of murder. Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner are among the names listed.

Sarsour and Tamika D. Mallory, national executive director of the National Action Network, are the co-chairmen of March2Justice.

The Arab American Association of New York sent an email to supporters on Monday inviting them to take part in the march.

“One week from today, members from the Arab American Association of New York will be joining Justice League NYC and dozens of other organizations and justice champions to embark on a 250+ mile walk from New York City to Washington, DC. Our intentions are simple, we March2Justice. We march to confront the systemic issues that confront our communities and to demand congressional intervention to address the national crisis of police violence and mass incarceration,” the email read.

“We’re excited to announce that Linda Sarsour is co-chair of the March2Justice and we are proud to support and participate in the march,” the association’s leaders added.

Sarsour did not return phone calls.

Justice League NYC was formed out of The Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization put together by singer and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte in 2005.

Belafonte and union leader George Greshan, president of 1199 SEIU, are the honorary co-chairmen of March2Justice.

Sarsour, who has spoken out publicly many times in the past few years to condemn hate crimes against Arabs, became the victim of a hate crime herself last year.

Sarsour and another member of the Arab American Association of New York were attacked by a man who allegedly yelled anti-Arab slurs at them and threatened to behead them. The ugly incident took place outside the association’s headquarters at 7111 Fifth Ave. on Sept. 3.

Sarsour told the New York Daily News that the suspect threatened to behead her to “see how your people feel about it,” and called her an “Arab bitch.”

In a Facebook post, Sarsour wrote that the suspect also “picked up a huge NYC metal garbage can and threw it at us causing us to have to run in to oncoming traffic.”

For more information on the March2Justice, call the Arab American Association of New York at 718-745-3523.

Source: www.brooklyneagle.com

As they say in America, all elections are local. So all the debates one will be hearing certainly in the first few months will most likely focus on local issues that are important to average Americans.

In her first revelation since announcing last Sunday that she will be making a second attempt at White House, Hillary Clinton revealed that her focus in the election campaign will be on economic security for the American middle class and expanding opportunities for working families. She has also been described as a “tenacious fighter” who can get results and work with Congress, business and world leaders, presumably with the Middle East — where her achievements as secretary of state were not particularly praise-worthy, especially with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, now in its 67th year, and the occupation of Palestinian Territories since 1967.

Ynet, an Israeli news service, has provided a long list of some controversial positions she has taken on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Described as being at the “forefront of pro-Israel legislation” in the US Senate, Ynet underlined that her experience as first lady, senator and US secretary of state had “countless meetings with Israeli leaders like Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak and (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu at her belt”. She “understands Israel’s complex reality better than most contemporary American politicians — possibly better than her husband, (former president) Bill Clinton”.

However, the news agency noted that there were “some controversial moments through her career that have cast doubts on the firmness of her position” towards Israel. During a visit to Gaza in 1988, she had kissed Suha Arafat, wife of the late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, after hearing her “openly accuse Israel of fouling the drinking water supply for Palestinians with uranium”.

In 1999, when Hillary was running for the US Senate in New York, Ynet recalled, “she told Jewish leaders she considers [occupied] Jerusalem ‘the eternal and indivisible capital’ of Israel — a statement she later partially backtracked on — adding that she would advocate moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to [occupied] Jerusalem”. However, in 2011, Hillary shifted her stance, “warning against American action towards recognising [occupied] Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it would jeopardise the peace process”. The embassy is still in Tel Aviv.

In 2012, she was quoted as saying, “protecting Israel’s future is not simply a matter of policy for me, it’s personal. I know with all my heart how important it is that our relation goes from strength to strength. I am looking forward to returning to Israel as a private citizen on a commercial plane”. Ynet continued: “In 2013, the secretary of state delivered a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Netanyahu for his government’s announcement of new Jewish housing [colony] in (Arab) East Jerusalem.” In an interview with CNN, she explained that move was “insulting” to the US. “We have to make clear to our Israeli friends and partner that the two-state solution, which we support, which the prime minister himself said he supports, requires confidence-building measures on both sides.”

Underlining the position of the US government, she was quoted as saying: “I am a strong supporter of Israel, strong supporter of their right to defend themselves. But the continuing settlements [colonies], which have been denounced by successive American administrations on both sides of the aisle, clearly a terrible signal to send if at the same time you claim you’re looking for a two-state solution.”

In an interview with the Atlantic published last year, Hillary offered strong support for Israel and for Netanyahu, Ynet reported, after Israel drew international condemnation for the deaths of Palestinian non-combatants in Gaza and the destruction of thousands of homes during its (50-day) war with the Islamist movement Hamas.

The sorrowful situation in the Gaza Strip, where about 1.7 million Palestinians live, remains unattended to by all governments. It would be a good idea that the US cut some of the $3 billion (Dh11 billion) it awards Israel annually and pass them onto the Palestinian people, a gesture that will be welcomed by all Palestinians and other Arabs. Considering all the contradictions in her remarks, hopefully Hillary will now adopt this gesture and influence the Obama administration to respond positively.

George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com

Source: gulfnews.com

Are you an Arab American residing in the US, and looking for a platform to promote your work of arts and creativity? This is not a promotional piece that is trying to market a website; it rather tries to understand the issue of Arab American representation and narrative in the US, and the problems we, … Continued

In these newly collected essays, interviews, and speeches, world-renowned activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.

Reflecting on the importance of Black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today’s struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles—from the Black freedom movement to the South African anti-apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today’s struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.

Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build the movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that “freedom is a constant struggle.”

About the author
Angela Y. Davis is a political activist, scholar, author, and speaker. She is an outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, writing on Black liberation, women’s liberation, prison abolition, and international solidarity with Palestine. She is the author of several books, including Women, Race, and Class and Are Prisons Obsolete? She is the subject of the acclaimed documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners and is professor emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Frank Barat is a human rights activist and author. He was the coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine and is now the president of the Palestine Legal Action Network. His books include Gaza in Crisis and Corporate Complicity in Israel’s Occupation.

One of America’s most provocative public intellectuals, Dr. Cornel West has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. His writing, speaking, and teaching weave together the traditions of the black Baptist Church, progressive politics, and jazz. The New York Times has praised his “ferocious moral vision.” His many books include Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his new autobiography, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.

Reviews

Source: www.haymarketbooks.org

I love, and probably overuse Marcel Proust’s quote that goes, “the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Sometimes I’ll find myself looking at something, or someone familiar and realize I’ve never really seen them before, not the way I view them in that instant. The result is a magical feeling, try it sometimes.

The loveliest way to start this little experiment is by checking out the work of Bahraini-American artist Nasser Alzayani. The UAE-based Alzayani, who studies architecture at the American University of Sharjah, was recently asked by the folks at Middle East Now — in occasion of the sixth edition of the festival — to discover the Arab influences in the city of Florence. Through a project titled “Finding the Middle East in Florence,” Alzayani compiled a series of notebooks, which have been then combined into a book and feature in a beautiful exhibit at ETRA – Galleria Studio Tommasi.

Personally, I’ve always felt at home in the Middle East, and subconsciously, have attributed this ease to my upbringing. The cobbled streets of my hometown, the obvious Moorish inspirations in the Brunelleschi landmarks, the smells and sounds of Florence made my travels throughout the Arab world seem familiar. It’s a feeling I can’t explain without getting abstract, and having Alzayani’s work so perfectly illustrate the sensation is a godsend.

I caught up with the kind, thoughtful, wise-beyond-his-years artist inside the Odeon Cinema in Florence during Middle East Now, and it turned out to be a highlight of my festival. After the interview, do check out the slideshow of his work below.

What was the inspiration for this project?

Nasser Alzayani: It began when Lisa and Roberto [Chiari and Ruta, the festival organizers] first spoke to me about the project and told me the theme was “traveling in the Middle East.” And the idea of travel has for a long time been a part of what I do with my notebooks. I always have a sketchbook with me, whether I’m traveling or at home and I always record what I see, people I meet, things I find… In all of them they have some kind of influence from my background, where I come from. I think everyone does that wherever they go. So when they asked me to do something for their festival, my idea was to do something that was the opposite of what their intention was — traveling through the Middle East. In my project it would be traveling from the Middle East and finding it here [in Florence]. And being someone who is from there, for me it might be easier to find the Middle Eastern here. A lot of the places I’d go to I would read a word that would have some resonance in Arabic but wasn’t intended to. Like there was an ice cream shop called “Amalo,” and “Amal” in Arabic means “hope”. And the woman who owns the shop was at the exhibit the other day, which was also fantastic, meeting all these people…

Do you feel as an artist that you have to fit in, or is uniqueness good?

Nasser Alzayani: I think it depends on the time. As an artist, it depends where you are, where you are based. When I’m in Dubai I feel like being different is a good thing.

Everybody’s different in Dubai, it’s like New York!

Nasser Alzayani: Yeah, so I think it’s good to be different but it’s also good to be the same. Especially for young artists, it’s good to have a community so you can always be in contact with people who can help you, where you can share your own ideas. In that sense I think it’s very good to be the same, but having a diverse portfolio, I guess.

Your community in Dubai, for example, they are not all Bahrainis, right?

Nasser Alzayani: No, not at all, I guess I’m the only Bahraini there.

So you find your connection to other people, not based on your nationality…

Nasser Alzayani: I think it’s based on our common interests, experience in art, so many, many things. I think even when I travel and meet for example those who are here working for the festival, or in Venice at the Biennale, we share so many things in common and yet they’re not from where I’m from.

I think that’s the secret of the world, finding something which unites us that is not based on religion or nationality.

Nasser Alzayani: Exactly and I think when I do projects like this, and when people see them… Ultimately they are very personal, but I don’t mind showing them to people because of the connection they make with them. So even though they are personal to me, other people can make their own connection to something from their experiences, from their past. That to me is very special, that’s why I like to show them.

What film has made the biggest impression on you?

Nasser Alzayani: When I was a kid, the Lord of the Rings movies had just come out and were completely different from anything I’d seen before. At that time, I hadn’t read the books, didn’t know about the books, so I thought the movies were by someone who was just an amazing director!

How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you?

Nasser Alzayani: I would say I’m an observant person because I like to look at things for a long time when I’m drawing and also when I’m not drawing. And that’s why I draw because looking at something long enough, it helps me see it in a different way.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Dozens of aid agencies have called for international sanctions on Israel over its continued illegal blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip and the fact that six months after its deadly and devastating assault, there has been virtually no reconstruction in the territory.

The report, “Charting a New Course: Overcoming the stalemate in Gaza,” signed by 46 international nongovernmental organizations working in Palestine, says that Israel must lift the blockade and allow free movement between the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip or face punitive consequences.

“The blockade constitutes collective punishment; it is imposed in violation of [international humanitarian law] and, according to the UN, may entail the commission of war crimes,” the report says. “The international community should promptly develop a common response to the government of Israel if immediate progress is not made to lift the blockade.”

It also names the deadbeat states – including Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – that have failed to deliver on the reconstruction aid they promised for Gaza.

The report’s signatories, including Oxfam, Save the Children, KinderUSA, Medical Aid for Palestinians, The Carter Center, Norwegian People’s Aid and Médecins du Monde Switzerland, also call for a suspension of arms transfers to Israel and revocation of arms export licenses.

“Unprecedented destruction”

“Operation Protective Edge – the codename used by Israel for the 51-day military operation and the associated conflict between Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups – has inflicted unprecedented destruction and human suffering in Gaza,” the report states.

“Yet today, six months after the donor conference, little tangible change has taken place on the ground in Gaza and living conditions for women, girls, men and boys continues to worsen,” it adds.

Despite the fact that more than 100,000 people whose homes Israel destroyed remain without permanent shelter, “no permanent housing has been rebuilt.”

“As of January 2015, only 36 schools with minor damage have been repaired out of a total of over 258 damaged and eight destroyed in the attacks,” the report states.

It notes that of more than 2,100 Palestinians killed as a result of the Israeli assault (other sources put the figure at more than 2,200), 70 percent were civilians, including at least 501 children. At least 11,100 Palestinians were injured.

Around 70 Israelis, of whom five were civilians, died as a result of clashes between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza.

What ceasefire?

The report also confirms that Israel has relentlessly violated the 26 August ceasefire; there have been more than 400 recorded incidents of Israeli fire on farms in Gaza and on fishing boats, “resulting in the death of one fisherman and injuries to other Palestinians workers.”

In an acknowledgment that Palestinians have with very rare exceptions rigorously abided by the one-sided ceasefire, the report confirms that in the period from 26 August 2014 to 31 March 2015, “Four rockets have been fired from Gaza toward Israel, resulting in no injuries.”

At least ten people have been killed and 36 injured due to unexploded munitions since the “ceasefire,” the report states.

Deadbeat donors

Shortly after Israel’s attack on Gaza, an international donor conference in Cairo pledged $3.5 billion for reconstruction. Yet six months later only about a quarter of the funds have been delivered.

Qatar, which pledged $1 billion has delivered just ten percent of what it promised. Saudi Arabia has also transferred ten percent of the $500 million it pledged. Kuwait, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have not provided a single dollar of the $600 million they collectively pledged.

The EU, which made a modest pledge of $348 million, has only delivered 40 percent. Ironically, the US, which actively assisted Israel in the destruction and killing in Gaza by providing many of the weapons used, has already delivered 85 percent of its also modest pledge – given its size and wealth – of $277 million.

There must be consequences

The report advocates that “Israel’s illegal policies need to be challenged with practical measures.”

Among the measures the aid agencies propose:

Making EU and other international relations with Israel conditional on it meetings its legal obligations, including using the EU-Israel Association Agreement as a form of pressure.

Ensuring that companies that violate international law in the occupied West Bank and Gaza do not financially benefit from the reconstruction of Gaza. States should “issue clear guidance to national companies, including state-owned companies and pension and investment funds, to ensure they not only respect international law in their own activities but do not invest in companies involved in violations of international law.”

“Where arms and ammunition could be used to commit or facilitate violations of [international humanitarian law], the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which all contributors at the Cairo donor conference have at least signed (if not ratified), obliges state parties to suspend transfers and consider revoking licenses to the parties concerned.”

The report notes that “by closing the Rafah crossing, Egypt may also be failing to uphold its humanitarian obligations,” but there is no specific recommendation for how the Egyptian military regime should be held accountable.

Artificial balance

Throughout, the report affects a tone of balance – at times falsely equating the actions of the occupying power with those legitimately resisting its occupation and siege. And all the measures its proposes are similarly aimed at Israel and Palestinian resistance groups.

But no one looking at the stark facts the report contains can reach any other conclusion except that the overwhelming responsibility for, and power to change, the catastrophic situation lies with Israel – which the report terms the “occupying power” in Gaza – and the countries that are complicit in its crimes.

Moreover, since Hamas is embargoed and boycotted by the EU and the so-called “international community,” and only Israel receives weapons from these same states, in practice, the proposed punitive measures can only apply to Israel.

Indeed, the report faults the policy of boycotting Hamas – the de facto authority within Gaza – and calls for more engagement.

“Restricted contact can undermine humanitarian access and implementation of humanitarian programs,” the report states, “it also often prevents recovery and development assistance from reaching vulnerable populations.”

Positive step

The “balanced” language – and the attempt, in places, to falsely equate the occupier with the occupied – likely reflect the difficulty of achieving consensus among dozens of aid agencies, especially those that receive funding from governments closely allied with Israel.

Nonetheless, this report includes the strongest recommendations to date for holding Israel accountable, from aid agencies many of which have been all too willing to uphold a status quo that leaves Israel’s crimes unchallenged. As such it is a modest and belated step in the right direction.

It remains to be seen whether the complicit governments, especially those of the EU, that are full partners in what the report correctly terms Israel’s “war crimes,” will begin to reform their behavior.

Source: electronicintifada.net

Mohamed Al Mazrouei will open his first solo show in Europe this weekend.

Although the 53-year-old Emirati was one of six artists chosen for the previous edition of Emirati Expressions, held in 2013 on Saadiyat Island, his work has not been widely exhibited in the UAE.

But his abstract expressionist canvases, which fill his studio in Abu Dhabi, caught the attention of AB Gallery in Lucerne, Switzerland, two years ago and its owners, the husband-and-wife duo Franz and Heidi Leupi, instantly fell in love with his work.

On Sunday, April 19, Al Mazrouei will make his European debut at their gallery in Lucerne, where 20 new paintings and works on paper will be displayed until May 23. The artist will also stay in the city for a month-long residency – an opportunity the Leupis regularly give to artists from this part of the world.

The Leupis have been travelling to the Middle East and particularly the Gulf since 2006 – they were one of the first customers of The Third Line gallery in Al Quoz when it launched – and quickly made it their mission to work with local artists to offer them a platform and audience in Europe.

“When I saw Mohamed’s art I was really enthusiastic,” says Franz. “His expression and his motifs are far from the style that you expect from the Arab world. I had never seen a painter in the Middle East or Iran with this style.”

Soon after Emirati Expressions, the Leupis approached Al Mazrouei and took his work to Art Basel and Abu Dhabi Art. Last month, they set up a solo booth of his work at Art Dubai.

“Mohamed is a man practising in a country in which, until only a few years ago, it was considered strange to be an artist,” says Heidi. “I also admire him because he is a writer and a poet – he is an artist through and through.”

Al Mazrouei has published six collections of poetry; most recently For No Reason Because We Are Poor in 2009. His works have been translated into English, French, German and Spanish.

Source: www.thenational.ae

The Nile Project, which uses music to raise awareness of the cultural and environmental challenges along Africa’s mighty river, comes to Penn State for a residency the week of April 20. The highlight of the visit is a concert by musicians from 11 countries at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

The Nile forms a complex system wrought with political, environmental, economic and social challenges. The project seeks to educate and empower Nile citizens to work cooperatively to boost the sustainability of their ecosystem.

The project unites artists from each country in the Nile basin to learn from one another and compose music together.

“To a traditionalist, the Nile Project might look like an ungainly mélange: a gathering of musicians from 11 countries of the Nile basin, playing instruments that weren’t made to share a stage or a song,” wrote Jon Pareles of The New York Times. “They included an Egyptian wooden flute, an oud, African harps, a thumb piano, a saxophone. But at Globalfest, the annual world-music showcase … , the Nile Project was a committed, euphoric international coalition. The musicians had worked out the nuances of modes and rhythms to join one another’s songs, no longer separated by geography or politics. Some of the music showed roots in Arabic culture, some in East African polyrhythms; the words were in various languages, the voices gentle or declamatory or cutting.”

The project’s orchestra features percussion from Kenya, Uganda and Egypt plus other instruments such as the masenko (single-stringed bowed lute), ney (end-blown flute), simsimiyya (plucked lyre), tanbura (long-necked stringed instrument) and adungu (arched harp).

Mina Girgis, who co-founded the project in 2011, was born in Paris and raised in Egypt. At 22, he enrolled at Florida State University, where he studied hospitality and ethnomusicology before going on to graduate school in California.

“We were interested in bringing musicians together from the 11 Nile countries to collaborate on creating music that would both help expand people’s cultural curiosity and musical curiosity in the Nile basin — about their river neighbors — and also facilitate conversation beyond music to get people to start talking more about the water conflict that we face and the water issues that we have to overcome together,” Girgis said.

The project unites instruments and musical traditions that weren’t historically connected.

“Most of the world-music fusion projects … have given little attention to the process and more attention to the product. You bring musicians together that are masters in their own traditions, and they come together and they quickly cook up some fusion. You can still see the different styles,” Girgis said. “Most people don’t spend weeks educating the musicians in their respective styles so that you have a Ugandan who can play Egyptian maqam and an Egyptian who can play Ugandan polyrhythms on every song.”

Each year, the project musicians get together for a two-week residency. They also compose music when they’re on tour. In between, they meet online.  

NPR named “Aswan,” the project’s first recording, one of the “five must-hear international albums” of 2013. A second album, “Jinga,” is slated for release this year, Girgis said.

The Center for the Performing Arts and its University partners have scheduled an array of engagement activities, many featuring Girgis and the musicians, that are free and open to the public. For details, go to Nile Project residency.

Watch a preview of The Nile Project.

Days Inn Penn State sponsors the concert. The Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment also provides support.

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Mina Girgis, president and chief executive officer of The Nile Project, is offered in Eisenhower one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.

To learn more about the Center for the Performing Arts presentation and for ticketing information, visit http://cpa.psu.edu or call 814-863-0255.

Source: news.psu.edu

The Political Student Assembly hosted Syrian hip-hop artist Omar Offendum to present some of his music and spoken word poetry on Monday night at Tommy’s Place. Offendum answered students’ questions about his background and work.

Offendum has released an album SyrianamericanA and has toured the world with his critically acclaimed music about the democratic revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. He has also helped raise thousands of dollars for humanitarian relief organizations.

The event was co-sponsored by the Performing Arts Committee and USC Students for Justice in Palestine.

Alex Luu, a freshman majoring in art, and Juan Negrete, a sophomore majoring in policy, planning and development, performed spoken word poems before Omar went on stage.

Offendum started the event by explaining that he makes music and tours to promote equality and justice.

“It’s a responsibility to be here, not just because I’m Syrian or Arab or Muslim or American or any of that, but because I’m a human being who believes in equality and justice for all people,” Offendum said. “That’s what drives me and my work and it was really, really great to hear the perspectives that you guys are bringing with your poetry so I really really encourage you guys to keep going expressing yourselves with art and with poetry; it’s a beautiful thing and that’s speaking from experience.”

After his first rap performance, Offendum presented a spoken word poem about his ethnic culture.

“But really though, who am I,” Offendum said. “Just another Middle Eastern man, that’s too good to be true am I … plotting another another coup am I? Belonging in a zoo am I? Hatin’ for lovin’ you am I? Palestinian Jew am I? African of the Northeast. Asian of the Southwest. European they want least. Semitic and I’m proud yes.”

Offendum later said that he wants to show people the beauty of Arabic culture.

“In this country, I think the only opportunity that people are afforded to hear this beautiful language is in a form of an angry dude yelling on TV and I want to break that cycle,” Offendum said.

According to Offendum, hip-hop is the modern way to spread culture ideals and traditions.

“I’d like to think hip-hop stand for ‘highly intellectualized people hovering over politics,’” he said. “We vent out our frustrations, our angers, this world through this music. This is something that is really a modern incarnation of things that have been happening all over the world for thousands of years.”

Offendum said that hip-hop is the modern way to spread culture ideals and traditions.

“I’d like to think hip-hop stand for ‘highly intellectualized people hovering over politics,’” Offendum said. “We went out our frustrations, our angers, this world through this music. This is something that is really a modern incarnation of things that have been happening all over the world for thousands of years.”

Source: dailytrojan.com