Samah Salaime

Samah Salaime is a feminist Palestinian activist and writer.

Recent Articles

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

Palestinians watch the lighting of a Christmas tree at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in West Bank town of Bethlehem, December 4, 2021. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations marred by Israel’s COVID orders

Israeli travel restrictions have crippled Bethlehem's biggest tourist season, with Palestinian Christians criticizing their occupier's decisions as political.

By Samah Salaime December 27, 2021

Israeli right wingers take part in the 'flag march' in the city of Lydd, December 5, 2021. (Oren Ziv)

Israeli settlers have a new target, and it’s not in the West Bank

A march by Jewish extremists in Lydd is a fresh reminder that the far right is intent on showing Palestinian citizens in ‘mixed cities’ who is in charge.

By Samah Salaime December 9, 2021

Palestinian citizens of Israel take part in a demonstration in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, Haifa, Israel, May 22, 2017. (Maria Zreik/Activestills.org)

Why Israel is suddenly interested in its Palestinian citizens

Decades of discrimination have created profound gaps between Palestinian and Jewish citizens. Yet many Palestinians say they now see potential for advancing their interests.

By Samah Salaime September 20, 2021

Palestinian women wait to cross Qalandiya checkpoint as an Israeli security officer stands guard outside the West Bank city of Ramallah August 28, 2009. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

The law tearing Palestinian families apart

The controversial Citizenship Law is supposedly about maintaining Israel’s security. In reality, it’s a tool to engineer Israel’s population.

By Samah Salaime July 2, 2021

Palestinians protest against the agreement to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, September 15, 2020. (Flash90)

Normalization cannot silence Arab resistance forever

Israel will one day have to face Arab opposition to its alliances with dictators who care little for the people under their rule.

By Samah Salaime October 13, 2020

Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh delivers a speech at the party headquarters in the northern city of Shefa-'Amr on Election Day, March 2, 2020. (Oren Ziv)

The Joint List’s triumph over hate

The Joint List may not save this place, but it showed that it is the only real alternative to the racism and incitement of the Israeli right.

By Samah Salaime March 4, 2020

Joint List head Ayman Odeh seen during a plenum session in the assembly hall of the Knesset, November 13, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Arabs in Israel want to join the government. You’ll never guess who’s stopping them

Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh said he would be willing to consider joining a center-left coalition, prompting a response from Israel’s centrist party that reveals the true face of those who hope to replace Netanyahu. I do not know whether Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh is a diligent paramedic or a doctor preparing for the long-term treatment of a 72-year-old patient suffering from…

By Samah Salaime August 25, 2019

Mansour Abbas, Ayman Odeh, and Ahmad Tibi (left to right) join hands at the announcement of the return of the Joint List. (Photo courtesy of the Joint List)

Is the reunited Joint List enough to bring back Palestinian election boycotters?

Palestinian voters in Israel who previously called for an election boycott say they are willing to give the joint slate of Arab parties another chance. ‘Local Palestinian leadership is all we have now.’ The immense pressure that the Palestinian Arab community in Israel applied on the Arab parties to unite has borne fruit: they will run as…

By Samah Salaime August 13, 2019