I am a first generation Jewish American born in Los Angeles in 1948 to parents who immigrated to the US from Palestine in 1938/39, prior to the Nakba. For this reason, I identify as a Palestinian Jew. I grew up within the Zionist/Jewish community and attended Zionist summer camps as a child where I was introduced to liberal politics and indoctrination of our god-given Jewish claim to the land of Israel.
I have family in Israel and visited them many times starting in 1969. It wasn’t until 2019 that I visited the West Bank and saw how the Palestinians were treated that I saw through 58 years of hasbara. Since then I’ve been involved with protective presence in Masafer Yatta and began sailing on Handala in 2023. This year we are sailing the final leg and I haven’t felt as comfortable with a decision in life as at this moment. Working with fellow activists that I both love and admire to illuminate the injustice of our time is more than I expected in this lifetime.