Jew World Order

THE WANDERING PALESTINIAN
By Anan Ameri
242 pp. bhc Press. $25.95 hardcover, $15.95 paperback, $7.95 ebook.

Anan Ameri’s recently released memoir “The Wandering Palestinian” is beautifully written in the tradition of Arab story telling. Its humorous and poignant vignettes travel the reader to Beirut, Detroit, Washington DC, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Jerusalem. It successfully interweaves the forty-year personal narrative of a free spirited Arab woman who arrives in the USA in 1974, with the larger issues of migration, racism, sexism, and institution building.

Readers will gain an intimate insight into Palestinian and the Arab-American communities’ efforts and aspirations to find their rightful place in the American mosaic. And Ameri includes personal stories of love and a failed marriage (to the author of this review, many years ago), struggle with depression and therapy, as well as activism and grassroots organizing that led to the creation of the Palestine Aid Society of America in 1978, and the Arab American National Museum in 2005.

To Ameri’s surprise and disappointment, Detroit, where she first landed, was a far cry from what she expected. She couldn’t comprehend that a major American city would pale in comparison to Arab cities such as Beirut, Damascus, and Cairo. Although she was aware of the Civil Rights Movement and the plight of African Americans, she was taken aback by Detroit’s harsh reality, especially the city’s abandoned and burned homes, and the poverty-stricken and racially-segregated neighborhoods. It wasn’t like she had never seen poverty before, especially in Palestinian refugee camps. She couldn’t but see the resemblance of the injustice inflicted on both communities. The author also makes interesting comparisons between segregation in South Africa, Detroit and the West Bank.

On the brighter side, Detroit was home to a politically active Arab American community, with a large number of recent Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni, and Iraqi immigrants who shared a strong Arab identity and radical politics. Metro Detroit was also home to second and third generation Arab-Americans, who belonged to the Anti-Vietnam War and Civil Rights movements, as well as other social justice concerns. These two groups helped Ameri to quickly resume her activism and paved the way for her to have a professional life that was in sync with her values and with issues she was most passionate about. “The Wandering Palestinian” reveals the extent to which the author’s personal, social and political life soon became intertwined with that of Palestinian-American activism. It gives a unique and rare insight into an immigrant community that is often stereotyped and demonized. A community that is determined, against all odds, to support its people and to bring justice to Palestine.

Only a few months after the author’s arrival, the Lebanese Civil War erupted. As in all civil wars, many atrocities were committed against civilians, especially Palestinians. These included the total destruction of Tell Al Zaatar camp and the killing of most of its male population; the Israeli invasion of Lebanon; the massacres of Sabra and Shatila- where Ameri had once done volunteer work; and the Israeli attack and desecration of the Palestine Research Center where she had also worked.

In the US, thousands of miles away, Palestinians and Lebanese watched with horror at the unfolding events of the Civil War— a war that left lasting imprints on Arab Americans, especially those with roots in Lebanon and Palestine, as well as many of their institutions for years to come. Many recent immigrants, including the author, lost close relatives and friends. Students were cut off from their families. The political conflict between parties in Lebanon found its way to the Arab American community. Some large and powerful organizations like Organization of Arab Students (OAS) saw their demise as members sided with different conflicting parties. At the same time, this period gave birth to many Palestinian American organizations as well as a rise in public support for the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence.

In Dearborn, Ameri’s first political engagement came when she joined a group of about ten men, most recent immigrants from the Occupied West Bank, who were meeting regularly on Sundays to discuss politics, and organized solidarity and fundraising events. They were trying to expand their ranks by recruiting new members in Detroit as well as in other cities where they had friends, relatives or other connections. They also started to coordinate their efforts with other solidarity groups wherever they existed. And they spent endless hours discussing how to transform the increased support of thousands of people, Arab and non-Arab alike, into a long-term sustainable movement. By1978 these efforts resulted in the creation of the Palestine Aid Society of American (PAS) as a non-profit tax-exempt organization, and by 1980 the newly-founded organization held its first national convention in Detroit.

At the time PAS had six committees in various cities with membership ranging from fifteen to fifty members. The goal of the convention was to unite the loosely affiliated committees, later named chapters under one umbrella organization with shared vision, mission and bylaws, and to elect its executive committee. Ameri was elected as its president, a position she held until 1993. About one hundred and fifty members, mostly young and enthusiastic, along with a few FBI agents, attended. The convention set the tone for what kind of an organization it would be; an inclusive organization with membership open to all, it would build both local and national coalitions with other progressive groups in the USA, and it would politically and financially support Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and Lebanon with a special focus on empowering women. In less than ten years PAS had four offices, including one in Washington DC, mostly run by volunteers; twelve chapters in the US and two in Canada: and over 4,000 members. While PAS was the most visible and probably the most successful, its growth did mirror to a great extent other Palestinian American grassroots organizations of the time (the 70s-90s).

The organization’s conventions were held every other year, and attended by hundreds of people, and household names of progressive guests speakers included Edward Said, Ramsey Clark, Congressman George Crockett Jr., June Jordan, Leah Tsemel, Emil Habibi, and Jessie Jackson, among others (including the author of this review). None of the speakers ever requested speaking fees. But when PAS offered to pay Jessie Jackson, upon the advice of some board members, Jackson response was, “I can’t take money from PAS, that’s like taking money from Palestinians in the refugee camps.”

Through descriptions of various PAS activities, the reader gets a very detailed picture of grassroots organizing within the newly immigrant communities. From Gallup, New Mexico where the small Palestinian community controlled the wholesale marketing of Native American arts and crafts; to San Diego, where fundraising took place at midnight in a Palestinian night club; to Cleveland, where fundraising engaged the many Palestinians who owned small grocery store owners. The book humorously describes how political fundraiser events and weddings were all but identical except for the cake and a few romantic songs. In Dearborn, weddings and fundraisers both took place in the gloomy Beit Hanina Hall, had the same decorations of Palestinian flags, served the same food, and hired the same band known for its liberation songs. Even weddings turned into fundraisers as the newlyweds often donated some of their cash gifts to Palestinian charities. Optimism was very high. Many newly arrived immigrants from East Jerusalem and the West Bank truly believed that soon the occupation would end and they would be able go back to their homes.

Palestinian community support was not limited to the occupied territories and Lebanon, but also to Palestinians inside Israel. The Friends of Nazareth Committee was created by PAS in solidarity with Nazareth and its Mayor Tawfiq Zayyad after the Israeli government drastically reduced the budget of the city in retaliation for Zayyad’s election. Every summer the Friends of Nazareth Committee would raise funds to sent the a U.S. delegation to the Galilee to join the thousand of Palestinians from Israel, the Occupied territories and from around the globe. During the day volunteers paved roads, painted schools, and repaired and cleaned parks. At night, they danced and sang. Their voices could be heard by the surrounding villages, which would join the singing. Freedom songs echoed throughout Galilee while the intimidating Israeli soldiers circled Nazareth. PAS also created the Act in Conscience Committee, which focused on ending the unconditional support of the US government to Israel.

PAS brought numerous delegations to the occupied territories and Israel to witness first hand the brutality of the Israeli occupation and its daily violations of international laws. Many of these delegations were coordinated with Palestinian and Israeli peace activists. Among them were the 160 Americans who participated in the Hands Around Jerusalem Peace March held in December 1989. At the time, the first Palestinian Intifada gave hope and optimism, and rallied international support for the Palestinians. Many believed that peace and freedom were around the corner. Then came the 1993 and the infamous Oslo “Peace” Accord. It was a big blow to non-violent Intifada, the Israeli peace movement, and Palestinian activism in the USA.

From her work with the Palestine Aid Society the author takes us to her second career with ACCESS in Dearborn, where she led the efforts to establish the Arab American National Museum. The grassroots organizing, community involvement, and fundraising skills, all learned from work with PAS, guided the methodology used to build the Museum. The last three chapters of the book are filled with her stories about traveling around the country to collect personal histories of Arab Americans, engage them in envisioning the Museum and rally their support. All the artifacts in the Museum’s permanent exhibits were donated. Not a single item was bought. The Arab American National Museum opened to the public in 2005 and Ameri was appointed its founding director, a position she held till her retirement in 2013.

“The Wandering Palestinian” is the second of her two-volume memoir. The first, “The Scent of Jasmine: Coming of Age in Jerusalem and Damascus” (Interlink Publishing, 2017) is about her life growing up in the Arab world.