Written by: Mohammed Abdullah

The COVID-19 crisis has led to a surge in Israel’s settler-colonial violence against Palestinians. Now is the time for us to demand our government object to Israel’s crimes, especially during this pandemic.

A personal connection

In 1948, Israel was founded in Palestine by Zionist colonizers who forcefully expelled Palestinians from their homes, with the goal of creating a Jewish-only state. "A land without a people for a people without a land" is a famous trope that spread among supporters of Zionism to portray Palestine as an empty land and the Palestinian people as being non-existent, legitimating the Zionist colonial project. Palestinians, however, have long existed and Palestine was a thriving centre in the region. For instance, the Palestinian city of Jericho, located in the now-Israeli occupied West Bank, is the longest continuously inhabited city in the world.

I, as a Palestinian-Canadian, know of the rich culture, history, and identity that Palestinians have. My grandfather, who lived in Ramla, Palestine, told me of how Palestine used to attract workers and immigrants from surrounding countries, and how Palestine was famous for its oranges, olives, thyme, Nabulsi soap, and marble, among other things. Due to the abundance of fruits, my relatives regularly gave extra produce to their neighbours for free.

Palestinians even donated to people in Gulf countries, who lived under poor conditions at the time. Palestinian cities, such as Yafa, Akka, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Haifa, Gaza, Jericho, and Hebron, prospered before Zionist colonization. Each region in Palestine was unique in its dialect, food, cultural dressing, and more. For instance, Palestinians could easily differentiate a Palestinian coming from Hebron from their accent. Nablus had the best Knafe, as it originated there. Traditional Palestinian dresses, thobes, were designed differently in each region, as well. Palestinians had a rich culture, solidifiying Palestinian identity and existence, while weakening Israel’s claim of a Jewish-only connection to the land.