Muhammad Shehada is a contributing columnist for the Forward.
Muhammad ShehadaContributing Columnist
By Muhammad Shehada
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Opinion Propagandists on either side of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict have erased the possibility of persuasion
This article is part of a new series called “On Persuasion.” We asked thought leaders to consider what persuasion means to them. What works in terms of persuading people? Is it moot in 2020? What is the Jewish value of persuasion? Should we be opening our minds to other points of view, or closing them…
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Opinion Welcome to the occupation, where making a mistake can be a death sentence
The circumstances of Ahmed Erekat’s killing are in deep dispute. This is one of a number of pieces The Forward is running on his death. For another point of view, click here. Najah Erekat did not know that on the day of her daughter’s wedding, guests would show up not to celebrate with her but…
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Opinion Could Israel’s gestures towards Gaza during the pandemic turn into a new policy?
This week marks the 13th anniversary of Hamas’s violent takeover of Gaza. In response to that takeover, Israel established a punishing blockade and a series of sanctions, including cutting power and heavily restricting the movement of individuals and imports and exports. These sanctions have ebbed and flowed, getting stricter during escalations, and loosening up in…
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Opinion Imagine it was your special needs son shot in the street
Imagine that every morning, as you help your children children get ready for school, you worry whether or not they’ll make it home alive. For us Palestinians, there’s no need to imagine. When I was a child, my mother taught me two prayers to recite every time I stepped outside. One was a protective prayer…
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Opinion What Israel’s independence cost my family
My mother’s grandfather, Mahmoud, was a wealthy landowner in the village of Iraq Suwaydan, which used to be 17 miles north of Gaza. It was destroyed in 1948, during Operation Yoav, and my great-grandfather lost everything. He became one of the hundreds of thousands of refugees that flooded into Gaza as a result of the…
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Opinion The dreadful loneliness of Ramadan during coronavirus
Every year, I await Ramadan’s colorful yet reverent atmosphere and touching spirituality. Islam’s holiest month has always been a time of kindness, self-reflection, and communal solidarity. Daytime would be filled with worship, reciting Quran, contemplation and charitable work. In my family, iftar, the breaking of fast, always meant gatherings of relatives and friends for a…
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Opinion A Palestinian peace activist’s arrest shows that we need solidarity, not ‘peace’
Last Thursday, Hamas’s security forces arrested Gazan activist, Rami Aman. His crime? Organizing a Zoom video chat with Israelis to discuss life in Gaza. Rami was charged with holding a “normalization activity” that Hamas says whitewashes Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and in turn betrays the Palestinian people and their sacrifices. There’s no two ways…
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Opinion The man-made plagues of Gaza
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article The story of Passover and the ten plagues always filled me with awe: Egyptians punished with hunger and thirst, bloody water, blinding darkness and loved ones lost overnight. When I was a young person, those horrifying plagues were unimaginable. Then, I experienced similar, man-made plagues, plagues that continue…
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