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Rumsey Yasin had an explosive debut with the Palestinian national team last January in Pakistan. Yasin, who currently plays NCAA Division II baseball, led the team with 10 runs batted in and a batting average above .400. The first baseman joined the team late last year, but is already committed to helping this team grow on and off the field.
Yunis Haleem’s performance on the mound against Sri Lanka and his steadfastness against Pakistan in the finals earned him the “Best Pitcher” award at the West Asia Cup. Haleem, who pitched for Chicago State University, is currently team Palestine’s pitcher, infielder, outfielder and captain. Originally from Beitnunia, Palestine, Haleem led the team with nine innings pitched, five of which came in a complete game shutout against Sri Lanka—the 2019 West Asia Cup champions.
Tariq Suboh joined the national team a few weeks before it traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan for the team’s first international tournament, and he quickly became a cornerstone of the team. The catcher hit the first international home run in Team Palestine’s history in the stage-clinching game against Sri Lanka.Suboh most recently played professionally for Nebraska’s Lincoln SaltDogs. His leadership, experience and execution on the field has brought legitimacy to the team.
The rest of this special edition will introduce you to those players, chronicling their journey to Pakistan and their upcoming preparations for the most important stretch of games in the team’s short history. As you flip through this edition, players like Tarik El-Abour, Malik Abdallah, Tariq Suboh, Yunis Haleem and Zaki Haj will stand out.
Palestine in America is gearing up to release its highly anticipated Palestinian National Baseball Team edition, exclusively for our subscribers and advertisers.
Palestine in America’s Editor in Chief and our Film Editor Guest Editor give our readers their recommendations on what Palestinian films to watch.
Ghunim is currently accepting requests for film festivals to screen her most recent and highly anticipated work, Traces of Home, a documentary about her family that “explores migration, trauma and identity through an intimate family journey.” After years in the making, the film is expected to be completed by fall 2023.
While I am not Palestinian, as a Puerto Rican, I can empathize with the feeling of knowing my family's homeland has fallen victim to Western imperialism. Puerto Rico has not known independence since Columbus landed on our shores in 1493. At one point in history, the American government outlawed the very presence of our flag, the symbol of our pride. Because of this, the resiliency of the Palestinian people has always resonated with me, and I am absolutely positive that the story of Farha will resonate with you too.
Nehad Khader, director and managing editor of Blackstar Film Festival, decided to pursue her dream more than a decade ago when she was invited to curate the DC Palestinian FIlm Fest in 2010.
Not long after Nizar Wattad earned his Masters in screenwriting from USC in 2006, he was recruited by Walt Disney Pictures to write The United, the first Arabic-language film produced by a major studio. He was also head writer and lead producer of “Aya and Yusef,” an animated series for Muslim children.
Rolla Selbak is a self-taught filmmaker known for featuring strong female characters in her work. Selback has come a long way since the humble days of her first film, which was shot by a crew she hired from Craigslist.
Writer and director Reem Jubran is best known for her short film Mariam, which tells the story of a young Arab American drag queen who has to confront their father and grandparents about their identity.
Jubran joined the podcast to discuss her dream cast, why she became a film maker and what she hopes to accomplish.
Cherien Dabis broke into the entertainment industry with the film Amreeka, which she wrote and directed in 2009–and she hasn't looked back. Most recently, the Palestinian-American actress and director is known for directing episodes of popular television shows “Ozark,”“Ramy” and Emmy-award winning “Only Murders in the Building.”
Through this edition, I have offered you readers a mere glimpse into the rich world that is Palestinian film–there are so many artists, producers, curators, editors, and more that I would love to share with you, but we only had so much space and time. That said, I am thrilled to be able to offer you a piece of my teachers and peer practitioners who are rebuilding the Palestinian image archive.
Palestine in America is finalizing our first Film Edition. Ryah Aqel (she/her), cultural producer, writer, and multimedia artist, will use her expertise to be our guest editor.
In 2020, she produced Darine Hotait and Hala Alyan's TALLAHASSEE, distributed by The New Yorker. She was previously a Sundance Institute Knight Foundation fellow and a Sundance Institute Women in Film Finance & Strategy Intensive fellow.
It is instead a matter of duty: duty to be conscious of and attentive to the myriad, lesser-acknowledged struggles of Palestinian comrades challenging Zionist settler-colonialism; duty to ensure that I resist, in however limited a fashion, the ongoing dominance of US-centrism by pushing myself to default to Arabic whenever possible; and, finally, duty to push back against seemingly entrenched conventions to allow for new possibilities of communication and connection to take place.
Sabrin Kasem, Noor Qasem and Mirah Abulaban joined the Palestine in America podcast to discuss their thought process, Steve Harvey’s reaction and the stories behind each of the thobes they wore.
