Letter from the Editor: Back to sports reporting
The following was originally published in our latest Sports Edition. Support Palestine in America by downloading a digital version, purchasing a physical copy or become a subscriber for $5 a month.
This isn't as dramatic as Michael Jordan’s infamous “I’m Back” ad, but it's been a while since I had to write a letter to our readers.
In the last year, I’ve re-entered the sports reporting hemisphere. In addition to interviewing nearly a dozen Palestinian athletes for this edition, I’ve begun to do play-by-play for professional sporting events and host a weekly radio show on the Colorcast app.
Those who have been reading Palestine in America since its inception know that reporting about athletes and live competition was my ultimate goal in journalism — more specifically, a beat reporter for the Chicago Cubs, Bulls, or Bears. But I put those dreams on hold to build this magazine from the ground up.
Palestine in America has introduced our readers to some of the best athletes in our community. Belal Muhammad is now ranked in the top 5 of welterweight fighters in the UFC; Rami Ibrahim has started his own fight promotion company; Oday Aboushi signed with the Los Angeles Chargers and was having a break out year before his season-ending injury; Emily Ibrahim and Tina El-Amoor, who we write about in this edition, played for the Palestinian national soccer team in 2021; and Mahmoud Abdelfattah continues to coach in the NBA G League. He was named the head coach of the month last November after leading the Rio Grande Vipers to an 8-0 start to their season.
Since I last wrote a letter from the editor (April 2020) we’ve had several guest editors curate some of our most successful editions in our magazine’s short history. Sama’an Ashrawi’s music editions sold a record amount of copies and told some of the most inspirational stories about Palestinian musicians; Rasha Mubarak took us on a deep dive of Palestinian politics in the U.S. and interviewed heavy hitters and introduced us to the people who put the real work behind the scene; and, most recently, Naif Salem introduced our readers to an array of Palestinians in the fashion edition.
When you flip through this edition, you’ll understand what it took for Emily Ibrahim to earn a spot on the Palestinian national soccer team, how Ahmad Ibrahim — the Palestinian Golden Boy — achieved his ultimate goal of winning the World Boxing Council Mauy Thai belt, and how Laith Zalloum started playing basketball because of health purposes but ended up becoming a pro hooper.
Thanks again to our subscribers and those who purchase our magazines individually. If you enjoy our work, please consider gifting a subscription to a loved one, and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast on Spotify. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel. And of course, your donations to our organization help support our work. Palestine in America has been a crucial journalism organization for the Palestinian community in the U.S., and we could not continue to grow without our supporters.
Happy New Year!
Nader Ihmoud
