Maureen Clare Murphy

The West Bank city of Nablus has historically boasted itself as the commercial and business center of Palestine. The West Bank’s largest city, it dates back some 4,500 years. However, Nablus’ economy, cultural heritage, and population have come under attack during the past four years of Israeli violence. Its Old City walls have acquired a new layer of history in the political graffiti and martyr posters honoring the scores of mostly young men from Nablus who have committed suicide bombings or, far more frequently, were killed by Israeli violence.

Last week in Ramallah, two major cinematic events took place; one was reported by the English-language press, while the other wasn’t. On April 6, the Ramallah Cultural Palace was packed with people for the second world screening of Hany Abu-Asad’s award-winning film Paradise Now. The following night, the same venue was filled with an invitation-only audience, consisting of youth bussed in from refugee camps and Palestinian ministers, to see the new Arabic-dubbed version of the 1982 Academy Award-winning film Gandhi.

When he was eight years old, Ivor Dembina was asked by his teacher Mr. Benson, “Are you British, or are you Jewish?” So began the journey of the North Londoner comedian (he jokes that his parents are refugees of South London) who came to question religious versus national identity, and in his hit show This is Not a Subject for Comedy gets his audience to remember the importance of this distinction. Though the show is the result of a trip to Jenin he made as a guest of the International Solidarity Movement, his experience growing up Jewish and becoming socially aware that drives the show.

The exporting of Palestinian art is particularly important because while the U.S., which can be considered a third party to the conflict, shares a sense of cultural identity with Israel, it holds very violent perceptions of Palestinians. When Americans see headlines and pictures of suicide bombings, they all too often make no distinction between Palestinians who blow themselves up at bus stops, Iraqi resistance fighters, and Al-Qaeda lunatics who fly planes into skyscrapers. Furthermore, it is only violent pictures that make the news — after all, if it bleeds it leads.

Born in 1930, Palestinian-American artist Rajie Cook has had a very successful career in graphic design. The “Symbol Signs” that hang in airports internationally, communicating purely through icons rather than text, were designed by Cook and his design firm. He has been honored by President Reagan and the “Symbols Signs” project has been acquired into the Smithsonian’s collection. However, Cook is not done creating work that intends to communicate. Born in the United States to parents originally from Palestine, the violence and continued injustice that consume his homeland spurs him to make Joseph Cornell-inspired boxes that comment upon various aspects of the conflict.

It is fair to say that despite not having a presidential election since 1996, Palestinians are hardly euphoric over the upcoming vote. While President Bush stated December 20, “There will never be peace until a true democratic state emerges in the Palestinian territory,” Palestinians and anyone else who cares to examine the realities happening on the ground, know that peace depends on the cessation of the Israeli military occupation Palestinians have been enduring since 1967, the reaching of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, and the ability for both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise their self-determination.

“It is quite simple. We have no business,” a shopkeeper in Bethlehem’s Old City tells me when I ask him how his business is faring after four years of Intifada and intensified Israeli military occupation. Camels and religious figures carved out of olive wood sit neatly and undisturbed on their shelves. His inventory is the same as it was four years ago. Since no one comes into his store to buy his souvenirs, he doesn’t replenish his stock. And because businessmen like him are not ordering more merchandise, the factories in Bethlehem are at a standstill.