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Mondo Awards: Call for entries

Although it often seems like changing the status quo is a never ending slog of two steps forward and one step back it behooves us on occasion to stop and see the mileage we’ve made, to appreciate our movement, the people who’ve inspired us, the great courageous and brave actions taken by people in the region both Palestinians and Israelis, those in the diaspora and our supporters from all walks of life.

To those living on the inside existing thru intolerable conditions just to arrive and step into their classrooms in Gaza and all thruout the Palestinian Occupied Territories, your courage inspires me everyday. Students at colleges across the globe who dare to speak the truth in solidarity, I don’t know where we would be without you.

It is in this spirit of appreciation that for one week from December 26 thru January 1st, Mondoweiss is hosting a time to honor and celebrate our accomplishments this year. This is a Call for Entries. All of you, send us your entries because we want to hear from you. Along w/ our regular postings we will be posting them thru out the last week of the year and on New Years Day.

Tell us about your personal inspirations, from the heroes of Bil’in, to passengers of the Flotillas, to the leaders of the BDS movement, to Breaking the Silence, to those brave Gazans surviving with proud sumud thru the blockade, to Adalah who works tirelessly for jailed Palestinian Gandhis, to all the Brave Activists of every stripe working for Freedom and Equality in Palestine. This is a time to honor our inspirations and accomplishments this year. Our movement is growing, because in our hearts we believe in Freedom. And Phil wanted to be sure that we welcome coldblooded American realists and paleos and power-politics types, too, to tell us of their inspirations and progress, in the struggle to turn American foreign policy around.

Thruout the last week of the year Mondoweiss will be publishing your entries chosen by our outstanding panel of judges in multiple categories.

Entry requirements: 1500 words or less, preferably under 1000

General Guidelines: Range from personal essay to brief anecdote to Chomskyian prescription to haiku to letter-form

All submitters are urged to try and answer one or more of these questions: How I came into the struggle or alternately How the struggle came to me? Which event or person in our movement for freedom inspired me over the last year? What gives me hope about the future of Israel and Palestine? What gives me hope about the future of American foreign policy? What book did I read, event did I attend, or fact did I learn that opened my eyes? Did a religious experience play a role in my engagement on these issues? How does my family feel about my engagement? What did I learn about my own religious/social identity this year, and how?

Entries must be original– though we urge authors to crosslink at their own sites. And entries will be published anonymously upon request.

Mail your entires to both weissphilip@yahoo.com and mondoawards@gmail.com beginning today. Entries will be closed by midnight December 28th. Tick-tock!

We will begin the new year by publishing the names of Mondo Awards winners.

Entries will be judged upon the following criteria: They inspire. They inform. They amuse/entertain. They are beautiful. They will bring peace to the Middle East and sanity to American foreign policy.

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