hope under siege (pittsburghers in palestine photo show) June 19, 2008

May 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of what Palestinians call the “Nakba.” It is a date engrained into the minds of every Palestinian, everywhere. The translation means the “Catastrophe,” because three quarters of a million Palestinian women, men, and children were expelled from their homes, massacred ensued, and 531 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed for what was to become the state of Israel.

For the 60 years of Israel’s existence, Palestinians have been refused the right to return to their homes. Palestinians remain the largest refugee population in the world. Many continue to see the uprooting of their trees, the demolition of their homes, the building of apartheid walls, confiscation of their farmland, and the murder of their family members and friends by the Israeli army.

Over the years, many Pittsburghers have traveled to Palestine to witness and document what is happening on the ground in order to amplify the voices of the marginalized Palestinians and spread the truth through eyewitness accounts of life under occupation, of a hope that is under siege.

Please join the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee as they reveal their photographs from Occupied Palestine. Hear eyewitness accounts from Palestinians and Pittsburghers who have seen and experienced life under the gun. View the scenes of hope and the images of despair. Share the truth with the world about 60 years of dispossession and a hope that refuses to perish.

Hosted by the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee (www.pittsburgh-psc.org)

Enjoy performances by hip hop artist Rashad Jamaal, funky-folk music by Leslie Addis, crazy beats by Shambolished, slam poetry by local artists, food by Allegro Hearth Bakery, monster raffle, and much, much more!

Shambolished is my new band, with billy b and alberto almarza.