Tamer Nafar

Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish supporters protest against the Jewish Nation-State Law in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, August 11, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

As Israel enshrines Jewish superiority, what’s next for its Palestinian citizens?

With the passing of the Jewish Nation-State Law, Israel has fundamentally redefined its relationship with its Palestinian minority. Now, Arab citizens are coming together to fight a law that entrenches their second-class status. Tamer Nafar, the famed Palestinian rapper from the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lyd, said he regrets not participating in the Arab-led protest…

By Henriette Chacar August 15, 2018

Palestinian hip hop artist Tamer Nafar and Israeli musician Itamar Ziegler perform during a solidarity event for Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour, Jaffa, August 31, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Palestinian poet’s show trial goes on stage for all to see

Hundreds of Palestinians and Jews came to show support for Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour last week, who has been under house arrest for almost two years for publishing a poem on Facebook. By Yoav Haifawi Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians crowded the hall of Jaffa’s legendary Arab-Hebrew Theater last Wednesday to show their solidarity with Palestinian…

By +972 Magazine September 3, 2017

A Palestinian woman and children pass the slogan "Gas the Arabs! JDL" spray-painted on an exterior wall of the Cordoba School near Shuhada Street, Hebron, October 22, 2012. "JDL" stands for Jewish Defense League, an extremist group founded by Meir Kahane and designated as a terrorist group by the FBI. On February 25, 1994, JDL charter member Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslims at Hebron's Al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs), killing 29 worshippers and injuring 125. Afterwards, the JDL designated him "a martyr in Judaism's protracted struggle against Arab terrorism." (photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Unpacking anti-Arab racism in Israel

A new law aiming to silence the Muslim call to prayer is just one manifestation of efforts to erase Palestinian culture and identity. But language and heritage aren’t so easy to disappear. There is a building on Michelangelo Street in Jaffa, near where I used to live, which for a while featured the sentiment “We have no other country” graffitied…

By Natasha Soffer-Roth February 15, 2017

Latest

Israelis post anti-Arab racism online every 46 seconds, study finds

A new study shows that Israeli Jews publushed 675,000 racist posts on social media in 2016 — a dangerous increase from 2015, when only 280,000 such posts were published. Every 46 seconds an Israeli Jew publishes a racist or inciting comment against Arabs on Facebook and other social networks, a new study finds. According to the Arab…

By Rami Younis February 13, 2017

Palestinian citizens of Israel participated at the main march commemorating Land Day in the village of Deir Hanna, northern Israel, on March 30, 2015. (photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

WATCH: The Arab youth mainstreaming Palestinian identity in Israel

Today, many young Arab citizens of Israel are no longer afraid of being proud of their Palestinian identity. Yet there is a general sense that the establishment is trying to prevent them from defining their own identity. What happens when Arabs who take pride in their people want to ‘make it’ into the mainstream? The third and final part in a series on Palestinian…

By Rami Younis January 25, 2017

Palestinians and Israelis march along Route 60, West Bank, December 16, 2016. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

PHOTOS: Jews, Arabs march on settler highway to protest the occupation

Hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis participate in a joint demonstration to protest the occupation, marching along a settler highway to an Israeli checkpoint. Photos and text: Keren Manor / Activestills Around 400 Palestinians and Israelis marched on an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank on Friday, protesting the occupation and marking a year of joint monthly demonstrations.…

By Activestills December 16, 2016

Culture Minister Miri Regev speaks at the 2016 Ophir Awards. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Palestinian culture is flourishing — thanks to Miri Regev

Each attempt to silence Palestinian artists only makes our voices grow louder. It’s time to admit that Miri Regev is the best thing to happen to Palestinian culture since Israel’s founding. Period. I generally do not tend to write about the Mizrahi struggle and what kind of effect Regev is having on it. But in my eyes…

By Samah Salaime October 18, 2016

Israeli Minister of Culture Miri Regev seen during the opening night of the Jerusalem Film Festival, near the Old City of Jerusalem, July 9, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

The minister of culture who knows nothing about democracy

Long before she walked out on a performance honoring Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Israel’s Culture Minister Miri Regev was using hateful, divide-and-conquer rhetoric against the country’s minority groups. Miri Regev, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sport, caused an uproar at last week’s Ophir Awards, the annual red carpet ceremony for the Israeli film industry. First she ostentatiously…

By Lisa Goldman September 27, 2016

A screenshot from the video for ‘Awal Bawal.'

Music video lambasts recruitment of Palestinians to Israel’s army

Prominent Palestinian musicians say recruiting minority ethnic and religious Arab groups into the army is part of Israel’s divide-and-conquer tactics, pushing young Palestinians to ‘side with the occupation’ and shrug off their national and historical identity. Two prominent Palestinian musicians released a hip-hop music video this week lambasting efforts to recruit young Palestinian citizens of…

By Rami Younis November 7, 2015

Screenshot from DAM's new video, 'Who Are You?'

WATCH: Palestinian hip hop group tackles patriarchy in new video

Acclaimed Palestinian hip hop group DAM adds a female member, releases new video which looks at patriarchy and feminism in Arab society. Palestinian hip hop group DAM released a new video for their single “Who You Are?” Thursday in a joint project with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The song tackles women’s rights and…

By Rami Younis March 26, 2015