The Black Angeleno Who Took on the ‘Problem of Palestine’

Diplomat Ralph Bunche’s UN Work Paved the Way for Israel’s Birth

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, soon to be the first prime minister of Israel, gave the first public reading of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. With an eye toward wooing the powerful United States, the first draft had liberally cribbed from the American declaration, directly invoking “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Revisions, arguments, and more revisions ensued; but Ben-Gurion’s words retained a strongly international flavor, and—strikingly—appealed repeatedly to the then-new United Nations.

Israel’s birth 75 years ago this month followed a long and violent struggle over land and sovereignty. …

Home Away from Home

Gaza-Born Taysir Batniji Documents His U.S. Relatives’ Lives

In his photo series Home Away from Home, the Gaza-born Franco-Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji explores and documents the daily lives of people dwelling in intermediate states—between the land of their …

A ‘Musical Intifada’ in the West Bank

Criss-Crossing a Traumatized Land With Young, Palestinian Musicians

Over the last five years, as I criss-crossed the West Bank to document one young musician’s dream to build music schools amidst Israel’s military occupation, I’d often come upon a …

My Grandmother in Exile

The Mideast Peace Process Isn’t an Abstraction When It’s About Going Back Home

Today is the 65th anniversary of what we Palestinians call the Nakba, when we were expelled from what is now Israel in 1948. My grandmother, Khadija, is one of those …