“Palestine Writes is a small moment for us to exist with agency in the fullness of our brilliance, ancient heritage, stories, music, dance, and other art forms. This also includes our defiance against our colonizers and those who collude to destroy and erase our principally defenseless indigenous and exiled society. This is wholly correct, justified, and moral; and we make no apology for it.”
Palestine Writes organizing committee letter to the University of Pennsylvania, September 2, 2023.
In response to escalating attacks on the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival by Israel lobby organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation, as well as from some elected officials, the Palestine Writes organizing committee released the following letter it wrote to the University of Pennsylvania in early September.
Mondoweiss is a proud sponsor of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival.
RE: “And we know the heavy price that groups and individuals like us are forced to pay for daring to uphold or fight for the dignity, rights, and freedom of Palestinians, including loss of livelihood and persistent harassment, even loss of life, as in the case of Alex Odeh . . .” ~ Letter from Susan Abulhawa, on behalf of the Organizing Committee of Palestine Writes Literature Festival
FUNDRAISER: Finishing a documentary about Alex Odeh – William Youmans is organizing this fundraiser.
On the morning of October 11, 1985, a Palestinian-American activist named Alex Odeh opened his office door in Orange County, CA for the last time. A trip-wire bomb exploded. He died hours later in a nearby hospital.
His premature death left his widow Norma, a recent immigrant and stay-at-home mother, to raise their three young daughters alone. Odeh’s murder shook the local Arab American community. He was a civic leader, teacher, activist, and poet, revered locally. Yet, his story is largely forgotten. His murder has gone unsolved.
For the last several years, we, William Youmans and Jason Osder, have been making a documentary tentatively called ‘Who Killed Alex Odeh?’ A mix of rich archival and present-day footage, the film looks at Alex’s life as a Palestinian in exile, follows his family as it seeks justice decades later, and covers a freelance reporter who uncovers new clues about the suspects, three US-born Israeli settlers.
We completed production and raised grant money to cover most of the editing expenses. But we have a shortfall. This appeal is necessary to get us two more months of editing. We seek to complete editing in time for submission to 2024 film festivals. All funds raised would go to our hired editor, a leading talent, and other post-production expenses.
Alex’s story must be told now. Your help will ensure the film goes into wide distribution by 2025, the 40th anniversary of Alex’s murder. For more information about the film, see this webpage.
Donations to this film are tax-deductible. Contact William Youmans for more information.
■ TO CONTRIBUTE – https://www.gofundme.com/f/finishing-a-documentary-about-alex-odeh
I’ve seen the letter from the president of Princeton to the Congressman who tried to get books critical of Israel out of the curriculum. Great letter. I hope the U of Penn has his guts.
Its unfortunate that the festival people chose to not publicize their response and to adopt the strategy more will be gained by appeasing the U as if it is an honest broker about these sort of matters. But, appeasement doesn’t work. The result is that the public does not get to hear or read the full import of the U’s attempt to politely demonize the Free Palestine” movement.
By, in effect, taking the position it is only permitting the festival in the interest of free speech, it strongly, and intentionally, posits that, yes, there is a lot to the ADL’s claims, that the Palestinian movement actually IS antisemitic and all the other canards and false claims that it throws at anyone who supports justice and freedom for the Palestinian people. Imagine the outcry if the U wrote a letter stating that the claims against the Israeli government were accurate; but the first amendment requires it to permit them to be aired. And then convened special U meetings with the Palestinian movement to ensure that the Israeli government was not able to carry out its nefarious plots against it.
Appeasement never works. It only results in the other side thinking that it can get away with even more because the appeasers are afraid to say what they know to be true.