Haifa – Writing in the Margins

my article in the Irish weekly Rogue Collective magazine

A piece I wrote about what we have witnessed in my beloved city Haifa during the Israeli attack on Gaza, my fears, and my hopes. You can read it here: Rogue Collective article

Haifa – Old City – photography

Today, something different. Not words, but photographs. When I can’t write, I take up another creative activity, usually photography or gardening. I am slowly returning to my camera. I took these photographs today in the old city of Haifa, where a process of gentrification has been going on for years. Most of these homes belongContinue reading “Haifa – Old City – photography”

Six Weeks – work in progress.

Second excerpt from “Six Weeks” I wake up to the muted howling of the siren. I open my eyes and, for a few seconds, my mind is a complete blank. Then I jerk up into sitting position, grabbing my phone from the bedside table. The phone is blinking with four unanswered calls. 9:47. Shit. Shit,Continue reading “Six Weeks – work in progress.”

“Conflict Zone Date” – in Consequence Magazine (part 2)

Here’s another fragment from “Conflict Zone Date,” a short story published in the Spring 2016 issue of Consequence Magazine: an international literary magazine focusing on the culture of war. The drive to the village takes him about 40 minutes. Entering the village, everything slows down. The contrast between city and village is so stark that itContinue reading ““Conflict Zone Date” – in Consequence Magazine (part 2)”

“Six Weeks” – work in progress

Sharing the first fragment from a new novel-in-progress, with the initial title of “Six Weeks.” Nairouz, a Palestinian woman from Haifa in her 40s, has to make room in her too-busy life, to care for her disabled mother for six weeks, when the Second Lebanon War starts in July 2006. The novel follows her lifeContinue reading ““Six Weeks” – work in progress”

Palestinians on the Beach

A few days ago, a post about racism popped up in my newsfeed. It was yet another Palestinian young man who couldn’t rent an apartment in Tel Aviv, because he is an Arab. He saw the apartment, and the landlord agreed to rent it to him. Then, when they met again to sign the contract,Continue reading “Palestinians on the Beach”

New Poetry Collection – Coming Soon

I’m currently working on a collection of poetry that will be available in 3-4 months. It will feature poems of resistance, poems about violence against women, poems about Haifa, and poems about identity and belonging. Some of the poems will be accompanied by photographs. Anyone who pledges $3 or more a month will receive aContinue reading “New Poetry Collection – Coming Soon”

Borders of language and identity

Another self-contained fragment of “Taboos in Arabic,” the novel I’m currently working on. Living in Haifa, one cannot get away from themes of language and identity, the intersections between them, how they are defined by location, and the complex realities they create. Borders of identity and language in Haifa are all delineated and defined byContinue reading “Borders of language and identity”