Never in a million years did I think I would ever be able to write about #Palestine for an outlet like @washingtonpost. And yet today, they published my op-ed about vaccinations in Palestine: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
(1/6)
(1/6)
In 1996, I won my school's history fair in the paper division writing about what I called then "the Arab-Israeli conflict." To be clear, I didn't win because it was any good, but because no one else at my middle school was nerdy enough to submit a paper.
(2/6)
(2/6)
I remember the quizzical looks from the judges. Why is this little kid writing about, what was even back then, a controversial issue? Because, based on where I was born (Nablus) & what I have seen, I couldn't not. And I know I have privilege living in the United States.
(3/6)
(3/6)
I know there are people that will have visceral reactions to this piece, many negative. All I ask is that you read it in good faith, which is how I wrote it. This is not an abstract issue to me and many Palestinians in diaspora. This is real, everyday, and painful.
(4/6)
(4/6)
My father was born in a village in Israel before it was a state. This is not about denying human rights to anybody, but instead asking why we aren't all able to achieve them. I believe this vaccination issue is a straightforward way to express and explore that.
(5/6)
(5/6)
Many thanks to those who supported me along the way and in this piece. And hey, little 6th grade Yara, keep going (and girl, get contacts, those glasses are terrible).
(6/6)
(6/6)
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
