How to talk about Palestine with your kids
Igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders
In this newsletter:
Why (and how) to talk about what’s going on in Palestine with your kids
Somatic warm-ups to chill up (or down) if you’re feeling overwhelmed
An easy selection of shame-free resources for grown-ups who are just starting to learn about the occupation of Palestine
Hi friends!
If you’ve been struggling to talk about the occupation and attack on Palestinians with your kids, but suspect our silence and ignorance is what led to this conflict, start here.
Today, Palestinians across the world observe Nakba Day, a historical event marking the 1948 forced displacement of Palestinians. After Britain colonized and withdrew from the area, making way for the establishment of the modern Israeli government, new settlers violently forced Palestinians from their ancestral lands, making them refugees within their own country and pitting two roots of an indigenous population against each other.
Over seventy years later, we watch from across the planet with guilt and horror as the Israeli government follows the rulebook of England and the US in a brutally efficient path of ethnic cleansing - manufacturing starvation, cutting people off from aid, medical supplies, electricity, and clean water. In the West Bank, the Israeli government is still raiding, killing, and seizing land, while Palestinians and Israelis, both at home and in the diaspora, scream for a ceasefire and peace.
It’s a heart-wrenching moment to witness and fight against - but we must. Never again means never again - for anybody.
Feeling too activated to read on?
Take a moment to ground yourself with Nat’s guide to getting a grip.
When Palestinians aren’t free - neither are we
I’m an American settler and a member of the Chinese WW2 diaspora and the Irish diaspora of the Great Hunger - both violent machinations of the English and Japanese governments. I’m keenly aware that my taxpayer dollars, my political representatives, and the local organizations I’m complicit with keep funding weapons, keep spreading misinformation, and continue to target students and educators in my own community.
Since the horrific raids on October 7th, 2023, I’ve both witnessed and had myself and my family ostracized from our local community as our neighborhood rips itself apart, because we refuse to openly acknowledge history of the land known as Palestine and Israel, the people indigenous to the land, and how we as American colonizers and imperialists enforce supremacist violence and ethnic cleansing for profit.
[video description: Ms. Rachel laughs along with Rahaf, a giggling 3 year old from Gaza who toddles around, falling and getting back up using her two prosthetic legs. Ms. Rachel’s full video description has more details worth reading]
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Over the past year, I’ve seen a significant increase in people willing to get honest and join us in the fight for peace here and abroad.
In our local peace alliance, we’ve welcomed more and more people who have begun to question what they were taught in the American school system. More in our community who refused to see themselves as anything other than victims started to look deeper into the roots of our shared history, the weaponization of false accusations of antisemitism, and our complicity in normalizing violence.
You can promote education and justice in your community that ripples out to Palestine and beyond. Start with one kids’ book, and see where it leads you.
Not ready to start talking to your kids yet?
If you’d like to get your bearings on your own before learning together with your kids, choose one of these adult-focused resources to get started.
Please remember to dip in and then take short breaks as needed to self-regulate when you feel activated and overwhelmed. (See Nat’s podcast guide to collecting yourself, above).
Some of these books contain affiliate links
Graphic novel: Palestine
Novel (beginners): Ida in the Middle, accessible for kids and adults who aren’t ready to handle a lot of violence or politics yet (backordered on Bookshop)
Novel (intense): A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, a book (strong content warnings for all kinds of violence, apartheid, murder, missing family, and violence against children.)
Poetry collection: Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear - by Mosab Abu Toha
Documentary (beginners): Israelism a film by Israeli & Jewish Americans that’s very accessible for folks who aren’t ready to handle too much emotional intensity
Documentary (intense): Where Olive Trees Weep - an emotionally intense film with background on the current crisis in Israel/Palestine. I’ve been informed by Palestinian, Arab, Jewish, and Israeli accomplices that they highly suggest you watch this with a trusted friend, as it’s best not to experience this film alone.
Nonfiction Book: Safety Through Solidarity - a radical guide to fighting antisemitism (I write more about this book here)
Open Letter & Article from Rethinking Schools and Drop The ADL From Schools campaign supporting educators and students who have been targeted, silenced, fired, attacked, detained, and deported for teaching the history of Palestine.
Social Media posts: Journalist Bisan Owda’s instagram feed or find her on Tiktok. This is pretty rough, so I suggest you scroll way, way down to before 10/7/23 and see what her life was like before the current siege, and then watch her posts in chronological order.
Interview: Freedom is a Constant Struggle - You want to sound like a knowledgeable anti-racist at dinner parties and you’ve been meaning to learn why Angela Davis is such a big deal, and now this is your excuse to learn how the fight for Black liberation is directly intertwined with prison abolition and fighting for the liberation of targeted people around the world
Toolkit (for adults): Focus on the Nakba, educational resources organized by Sawa Newton alliance for Peace and Justice
Coming up next
It’s so easy to spread ourselves thin - to burn out, tuck in and hide, lash out, or overspend yourself, repeating cycle of harm.
WE NEED YOU RESTED AND SAFE so you don’t become one more person to deal with as we fight.
I’ll be back next week with deets about the Summer Luminator if you need strategies to pace yourself and personal support so you don’t become a liability to your family and community.
With you,
Ashia