Ahlan

    Welcome to “The Palestine Files” (despite our domain name being: palestinefilm.net). In Palestine the typical welcome is, “Ahlan wa sahlan” (أهلاً وسهلاً), which, for friends, is shortened to Ahlan. In the oil-rich countries of the Arabian peninsular the standard greeting is, “Marhaba” (مرحبا – Hello) which, once on more familiar terms, becomes, “Ya hala” (يا هلا – Hiya). Across the Middle East and well beyond, a universally used and understood greeting is, “Assalamu alaikum” (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ – Peace be upon you). As with the attempted but unsuccessful usurping of the delicacy, “Falafel” (فلافل),1 in modern Hebrew to welcome someone you would say: “Ahlan” (אהלן) or “Shalom” (שָׁלוֹם – Peace).2

    Ahlan wa Sahlan originates from Palestinian Bedouin hospitality.3 The phrase is a combination of two root stems. First: Ahlan (أهلاً) is derived from Ahl (أهل) which means: family, kin, or people and implies in context, “you are now with your own people;” relax, you’re one of us. Second: Sahlan (سهلاً) is derived from Sahl (سهل) which means: easy, simple, or flat/plain land and implies in context, “you have come to a place of ease and comfort.”

    Where to begin? Well, in the case of addressing The Question of Palestine by way of The Palestine Files, the beginning is best. There is no gain in complicating affairs, this is not after all a novella it is factual record of dispossession, misrepresentation and western double standards. Therefore, “the files” can be viewed in a chronologically organised way with a clear companion timeline. We think that this format is of most utility; the main elements are set out in the “Palestine, a history,” the sub-section that follows.

    This website does cover a few additional, more contemporaneous matters. We are a collective, we collect no money in any manner whatsoever–we don’t even have a bank account. We donate our time because we are not willing to turn a blind eye, or cross to the other side of the street as it were, in relation to the injustices being meted out to Palestinians and the land of Palestine. We have the following sections that are not strictly tied to the chronologically set out Palestine files. These are:

    1. Reading Lists — An annotated bibliography on the question of Palestine

    2. Cartography — Maps, glorious maps…

    3. Happenings — Provides (1) links to good sources of news on current affairs pertaining to Palestine and (2) selected, mostly long-form and investigative articles on Palestine.

    4. Solidarity —cv

    5. Imagery — This section of the website provides an array of images, old and new, artistic and graphic etc. etc.

    We would like to stress here and now that (a) we are pacifists–a prerequisite for membership of this collective–and that (b) anything expressed on these pages and/or linked to may not be representative of our own opinions (refer back to point a). As was once said by John Ernst Steinbeck:

    “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.

    And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.

    And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.

    This is what I am and what I am about.”

    East of Eden, Rest in Peace.

    Palestine, a history

    Each of the sub-sections here introduce the given section and form part of a continuum, which comprise The Palestine Files.

    Biblical tomes

    In the Bible,4 Palestine generally refers to the land of Canaan, inhabited by various peoples including the Philistines

    Saladin

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    The Ottoman era

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    1880s-1917

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    Mandate Palestine

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    Solidarity

    Solidarity comes in many forms. What is essential to understand (acknowledge &c.) is that the Palestinians are the indigenous peoples of Palestine.

    To view an expanded version of this 1946 map of Palestine, click here. We would like to alert you to the fact that the larger version of this map file is around 4 MB. The pure beauty of this map is that it was produced, printed and distributed by the United Kingdom in 1946 (based on surveys carried out in 1924 and 1945). Thus, whenever you hear that there was never such a thing as Palestine, you will categorically and cartographically-speaking know that such claims are false and provably so.

    The flag

    The national flag of Palestine ( علم فلسطين – ‘Alam Filasṭīn ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal stripes, from top to base: black, white, and green and is overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist (widest) outwards (tip). The Palestinian flag displays the pan-Arab colours that were first combined as such during the 1916 Arab Revolt. Since then and pre-dating the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian flag has basically stayed exactly the same. Its colours represent four dynasties from times gone by.

    The flag was flown during the (British) Mandate Palestine times including the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. It became a symbol of global resistance following the 1964 formation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Alongside the Kiffeya and more latterly the watermelon.

    🍉 Watermelon

    The watermelon ( بطيخ – Baṭṭīkh ) has been used as a symbol of Palestinian perseverance and resistance (see below) in protests and works of art, representing the Palestinian cause in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Watermelon sybols started being used as such in response to Israeli suppression of the display of the Palestinian flag after the 1967 War. If it is not already, it becomes apprent that the watermelon has the same colors as the flag: green and white on the outside, red on the inside with jet black (edible) seeds.

    Ṣumūd

    Ṣumūd ( صمود ) can be translated as “steadfast perseverance” and originates from the Arabic verb ( صمد ) that means, “to defy, brave, withstand.” The Arabic verb “Sa-Ma-Da” ( صَمَدَ ) is a Form 1 Triliteral Verb with the root being: ص م د (from right to left: ṣa-ma-da), and translates to, “to withstand, hold out, persist, or head towards.” Importantly and contextually, Sumud is also a Palestinian cultural value, ideological theme and political strategy that emerged in the wake of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. It manifests amongst the Palestinian people as a consequence of their oppression and the resistance they exhibit against and towards the occupation.

    Notes  In various contexts, using e.g., the watermelon emoji (U+1F349 🍉) shows support for and solidarity with Palestine.  The Palestinian keffiyeh (upended here) depicts a fishing net, solid bands for historical trade routes and leaves of the cherished, stoic olive tree.

    Shopping

    Not from us, but links to worthy places:

    https://www.kufiya.org

    Other organisations

    B’T Salem

    Electronic Intifada

    Footnotes

    1. As one might say when consuming this anywhere in the world, “Zaaki” ( زاكي – delicious ). The food as it is constituted today originates from Palestine and its first mention in print was in a 1939 edition of The Palestine Post, that raved about freshly fried falafel balls served in a pita bread with tahini. ↩︎
    2. Modern Hebrew has only been used as an everyday spoken language since the rise of the European Zionist movement so, around the start of the 20th c. by actors like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Prior to that Jews in the Middle East spoke Arabic and Jews in what is Iran today, spoke Farsi. ↩︎
    3. Some indigenous Palestinians were nomadic—moving around with liberty in the land of Palestine—others were (and are) more sedentary and residing in villages, towns and great seats of culture like: Haifa, Jerusalem, Nablus and Nazareth. ↩︎
    4. This tome ↩︎