hed Tamimi and the Pathology of the Israeli Mind & More

At several kilometers above earth as I travel in Europe and at airports one can catch up on lots of work to do but also have time to contemplate the beauty, fragility, and meaning of lives we make. Even have a chance to catch up on good readings (now reading a book about how to organize the mind to deal with overload of information!).  I contemplate (like others) what has transpired in the past and what is to come. As the human mindworks, thoughts may scatter: some nice and some not so nice. In moments of sadness we think of suffering: memories of people like Rachel Corrie (murdered in Gaza 15 years ago), people in Gaza under siege (including friends who are going with lack of medical care or no food). I think of my friend Munther sentenced to six months for simply speaking out and joining peaceful demonstrations against the colonial racist settler regime. I think of the many Tamimi family members in jail (including Ahed and her mother Nariman). So many friends paid a price simply for being decent conscientious human beings. I also think of so many good people helping others, donating, giving of themselves (and also paying a price). I think of every person joining demonstrations. We do know of thousands of demonstration not just in Palestine but around the world and simple acts of bravery and of decency in the face of so much cruelty. There are so many candles in the darkness not it is amazing. Politicians and the media may chose to ignore that light and may even turn things onto their heads. They even sometimes describe those who are going about destroying lives and lights as if they are beacons of democracy. Like in other colonial ventures, they vilify natives and anyone who stands with them while claiming “shiny cities on the hills”, “manifest destiny”, “God’s Chooswen” and more. We look with dismay as governments and supranational entities like the Zionist movement continue to spread lies to set-up populations to support wars that only elites profit from. Nationalism (e.g. America first), fascism, racism, and Zionism are but a few of the epidemics sweeping across our world. But I do not let these bring me down. Life and humanity will triumph.

I lived six decades which is a lot more than many people and having traveled in over 40 countries and put myself in many unpleasant situations,

I have seen so much and done so much already. I  published over 150

scientific publications and several books (and I have two more on the way)

and helped build institutions (the last of which is palestinenature.org).

My best model is my uncle Sana who died in 1970 when he was 27 years old

(younger than my son now). He taught me much about service to others,

dedication to knowledge (he was the first Palestinian Zoologist), being

objective and not too encumbered with societal and religious beliefs and

optimism that was  infectious and leads to action. I learned from his

writings and his work much more after his death than before. I learned that

what does not kill you makes you stronger. I learned to always be a student

of knowledge and now I read a book every week or two. I learned that you do

not need religion to be a good person. I learned humility and that death is

not to be feared. learned that we make heaven and hell with our own hands

here on earth (plenty of examples of hell made by the US, my adopted

country, in places from Korea to Vietnam to Syria to Yemen)). Ahed Tamimi

and children like her, my uncle and so many others taught me that our

choices are not between being safe and unsafe but between being relevant

to our society and being a mediocre selfish person going with the flow.

The former path is not the “easy” path but the one that gives meaning to

our lives and it is where true happiness lies. The latter path of

mediocrity is a sad path akin to being a “living dead” from a horror

movie!! There is only one earth and our fate is interconnected and is now

threatened like never before. We all need to make choices.

Ahed Tamimi and the Pathology of the Israeli Mind

« Nous voyons l’espoir dans leurs yeux » Par Mazin Qumsiyeh

Lama Nachman (a Palestinian girl) kept Stephen Hawking Talking with

Assistive Tech

When YouTube recently terminated our video channel for a period of time, I

began researching how and why this may have happened. The result is my

detailed report on how Israel and its partisans work to censor the

Internet. I discovered a disturbing reality. Numerous projects work to

flood social media with pro-Israel propaganda, while blocking facts Israel

dislikes. The projects utilize Israeli soldiers, students, American teens

and others, and range from infiltrating Wikipedia to influencing YouTube.

Some work out of Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. – the IDF says it is

scouring Jewish communities abroad for young computer prodigies to recruit

The force of decency awakens in the USA?

[But will it be enough to stop the mad men running the country and their

puppet masters in Tel Aviv?]

Stay Human
Mazin Qumsiyeh