Samah Salaime

Samah Salaime is a feminist Palestinian activist and writer.

Recent Articles

Israelis gather in Jerusalem's Independence Park in front of the U.S. Embassy to mourn those killed in Gaza and to call for a ceasefire and an end to the cycle of violence, December 22, 2023. (Aryeh Leib)

Women’s liberation mustn’t stop at either side of the Gaza fence

Feminist principles compel us to stand with both the Palestinian women being slaughtered in Gaza and the Israeli women testifying about sexual violence.

By Samah Salaime December 22, 2023

Vivian Silver. (Courtesy of B8 of Hope)

A tribute to Vivian

I know you will be greeted up above by your Palestinian and Israeli partners in activism, and the thousands of other victims of this pointless war.

By Samah Salaime November 14, 2023

Palestinian citizens of Israel and left-wing Israeli activists at a protest against Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, in Haifa, May 11, 2023. (Shir Torem/Flash90)

For Israeli leaders, every Palestinian citizen has a seat on the bus to Gaza

From racist incitement to police repression during the Gaza war, Israel is punishing Arab citizens for the crime of belonging to the Palestinian people.

By Samah Salaime November 6, 2023

Rockets are fired from the southern part of the Gaza Strip toward Israel, October 10, 2023. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

In this war, Palestinians in Israel are trapped between two painful realities

One moment I’m receiving harrowing news of mass death and expulsion from friends in Gaza. The next I’m sick with worry for my kidnapped Israeli friend.

By Samah Salaime October 13, 2023

Palestinians enjoy the beach on the shores of Gaza City during the summer vacation, Gaza Strip, June 28, 2019. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills)

No electricity, jobs, or freedom: 36 hours in Gaza

An electricity company overcharging for little power. Class gaps and struggles to find work. A seaside restricted by the blockade. How do Gazans do it?

By Samah Salaime September 3, 2023

Palestinians take part in the “March of Return” to the destroyed village of Al Lajjun, April 26, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

How the Nakba’s second generation absorbed their parents’ trauma

From the food we ate to the work we chose, the Nakba permeated everything in the lives of the children of Palestinian refugees displaced in their homeland.

By Samah Salaime May 17, 2023

Israeli border police officers stand guard while Jewish Israelis visit the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Passover holiday the holy month of Ramadan, April 9, 2023. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

Israel, leave Ramadan alone

Instead of devoting ourselves to spiritual growth or being able to enjoy time with family, we Palestinians are made to fear this holy month.

By Samah Salaime April 14, 2023

Left-wing activists protest against a settler attack on Huwara, in Haifa, February 27, 2023. (Shir Torem/Flash90)

Do Palestinian citizens want a place in Israel’s anti-gov’t protests?

While fully aware of the danger at hand, Palestinians in Israel are conflicted over how to respond to a movement that longs for the Zionist days of yore.

By Samah Salaime March 13, 2023

Mansour Abbas, head of the Ra'am party, leads a faction meeting in the Knesset, October 4, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Mansour Abbas won’t bring down the Israeli government — for his own sake

The Ra'am leader froze his party's membership in the gov't following the violent crackdown at Al-Aqsa. Here's why quitting isn't an option.

By Samah Salaime April 19, 2022

Bedouin women and girls protest Israel's afforestation and expropriation of their land, Sa’wa al-Atrash, Naqab, January 12, 2022. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

As Naqab protests intensify, Bedouin women are taking the helm

Women and girls are increasingly on the front lines of Bedouin resistance to Israel’s expropriation of their land — and they’re just getting started.

By Samah Salaime January 19, 2022