Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2009, pages 44-45
Northern California Chronicle
Palestinian Crafts Sale Held After Israel Finally Releases Handmade Items From Gaza
By Elaine Pasquini
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AFTER ISRAEL finally allowed handmade art and crafts to leave Gaza, Joining Hands held its spring sale May 3 at the Berkeley offices of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). At its pre-Christmas bazaar last December in Berkeley’s St. John’s Church, the large table reserved for items from Gaza was empty—except for a sign explaining that Israel would not allow exports out of Gaza and that another sale would be held when the Israelis released the handmade items. The Gaza crafts were the centerpiece of the spring sale and included unique handcrafted ceramics, wood and embroidery made by deaf women and men at Atfaluna Crafts, the vocational center of the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza City. Since 1992 Atfaluna has worked in the field of deaf education and allied services to help deaf children, adults and their families through education, audiology, and speech therapy. The center was severely damaged by Israeli bombs in late December and the electricity was cut off. Since Israel closed the Gaza border and severely restricted imports and exports two years ago, fabric, thread and embroidery supplies have been in short stock or unavailable, as have medicine, food and other essential commodities.
Also on sale were bottles of certified organic, first press (extra virgin) olive oil from agricultural cooperatives in the West Bank, the first such export to the U.S. directly from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in Ramallah, Palestine.
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Mona Halaby, Cathy Shields, Denise Abrams and Suzie McLean formed Joining Hands seven years ago in order to help Palestinian craftspeople from Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza supplement their income through the sale of their handmade art and crafts. Together with MECA, the group hosts an annual winter holiday bazaar, the proceeds from which directly benefit the Palestinians who struggle daily to provide for their families under the ongoing Israeli occupation, which controls most aspects of their lives. Women create many of the items sold, including beautifully embroidered clothing, purses, and scarves, and frequently are the main breadwinners in their families. Due to the illegal occupation, annexation wall and military checkpoints—more than 500 on the West Bank—many of their husbands are unemployed and unable to support their families.
To learn more about the Atfaluna Society, or to view the online catalogue, visit <www.atfaluna.net>. For information on MECA visit <www.mecaforpeace.org>. (Ed.’s note: Palestinian olive oil, Jerusalem pottery and crafts from the Atfaluna Society are available year-round from the AET Book Club, <www.middleeastbooks.com>.)
“Salt of This Sea” Screens in Berkeley
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More than 600 moviegoers jammed Berkeley’s California Theatre for the May 7 screening of Annemarie Jacir’s award-winning film “Salt of This Sea.” The sneak preview of the Palestinian filmmaker’s first narrative feature benefited the 13th Annual Arab Film Festival to be held in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose and Los Angeles, CA Oct. 15 through 24.
Written, directed and co-produced by Jacir, the romantic drama tells the story of Soraya, a Brooklyn-born Palestinian woman who discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Palestine when he was exiled from the country in 1948. Soraya’s journey to her grandfather’s homeland forces her to confront not only the reality of the state of Israel, but the bureaucracy of the Palestinian Authority, and especially her own anger, sense of injustice and the difficult choices she must make.
The film, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, was Palestine’s official submission to the 81st Academy Awards. It received the 2008 Special Jury Prize from the Mumbai-based Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian & Arab Cinema and was awarded first prize for best film at this year’s Sguardi Altrove Film Festival in Milan, Italy. Jacir received the Muhr Award for best screenplay at the December 2008 Dubai International Film Festival.
For more information on the Arab Film Festival visit <www.aff.org>.
Basim Elkarra Elected Delegate to California Democratic Party
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Basim Elkarra has a passion for protecting civil liberties and improving the overall quality of life for everyone in his community (see April 2007 Washington Report, p. 50). To better achieve these goals, the executive director of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) recently jumped into the political arena and was elected to represent the California Democratic Party as the delegate from Assembly District No.5. At the state’s Democratic Party convention held April 24 through 26 at Sacramento’s convention center, Elkarra was elected chair of the Arab American Caucus for California. As head of the caucus he wants to increase the involvement of Muslims and people of all ethnicities within the Democratic Party, particularly in time for the 2010 elections.
As he has for the past four years, Elkarra will continue to combat hate crimes through the coalitions he has built with law enforcement agencies and ethnic and interfaith communities as CAIR’s executive director for the Sacramento Valley.
In the meantime, the popular community leader prepares for CAIR’s Fifth Annual Muslim Youth Leadership and Empowerment Conference, to be held at the state capitol Aug. 13 through 16. The program allows high school and college age students to meet elected officials and participate in workshops on the media and community involvement and hold a mock debate on the Senate floor.
Sailing for Palestine
On May 24, 14 Friends of Palestine founder Jane Jewell, with help from her husband, Christopher, hoisted sails in the Palestinian national colors of black, red, green and white on her 14-foot dinghy before sailing it around San Pablo Bay off the coast of Marin County’s China Beach State Park. On the mainsail of the little white boat she painted the words “14 Friends of...org.” Explaining why she left off the word “Palestine,” the music teacher-turned-activist told the Washington Report, “People will ask, ”˜14 Friends of what?’ and then do a Google search of ”˜14 Friends’ and discover our Web site,” <http://14friendsofpalestine.org/>.
Jewell staged the unusual event—the first of its kind in the San Francisco Bay Area—to draw attention to the ongoing hardships for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and the need for a just peace in the region.
Through their many events held in various venues in Marin County, 14 Friends of Palestine has raised funds to support a variety of humanitarian and human rights projects for the Palestinian people, including helping 10-year-old Khitam Qanoo’, who lives in a refugee camp in Gaza and attends the Atfaluna School for the Deaf.
Jewell and her group raised $27,000 for the Free Gaza Movement, which successfully breached Israel’s 41-year naval blockade of Gaza by sailing two wooden fishing boats from Cyprus into the Port of Gaza on Aug. 23, 2008 (see Jan./Feb. 2009 Washington Report, p. 59).
From July 1 through 5, 14 Friends shared a booth with Jewish Voice for Peace and the International Solidarity Movement at the Marin County Fair held at San Rafael’s Civic Center.
Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
