thenation--2020-07-01--In New York, Zionism and Liberalism Faced Off—and Liberalism Won

It is usually a mistake to try to draw historical lessons from events just days old .
It ’ s an even dicier proposition when it involves just the 50,000 voters who participated in last Tuesday ’ s Democratic primary in New York ’ s 16th District .
But I ’ ve been working for years on a book about the history of the Israel/Palestine debate in the United States and I ’ m going to risk it , because I think American politics—specifically American Jewish politics—is undergoing a significant shift with important implications .
Whether drawn to socialism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberalism , American Jews have always tended toward the left side of the political spectrum .
And for many decades , the founding and defense of the state of Israel proved largely consistent with the social and economic liberal ethos upon which the American Jewish community eventually settled .
Sure , the story that American Jews told themselves about Israel was always a distorted one , and the Zionist ideology Israel eventually embraced was far more amenable to democracy and equality in theory than in practice .
But wasn ’ t that true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a significant percentage of the 750,000 or so Palestinians who were exiled in 1948 did not leave voluntarily and the ones who remained did not enjoy anything like the democratic rights or economic opportunities that Israeli Jews did , much less the idealistic promises of Israel ’ s Declaration of Independence .
But there was so much else to celebrate about Israel .
Despite being surrounded by nations that wished to destroy it , its pioneers were “ making the desert bloom , ” rejuvenating the Hebrew language , producing great literature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proving that socialism was not a pipe dream .
In the wake of the Holocaust , it felt to many like a divinely inspired miracle .
In its policies on the world stage , Israel also offered a great deal for liberals to admire .
Israel initially avoided taking sides in the Cold War , and , while the United States was stuck in the throes of its McCarthyite Red Scare , the country remained sufficiently democratic and committed to free speech as to allow Arab-supported Communists to be seated in its parliament @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recall that she was “ prouder of Israel ’ s International Cooperation Program and of the technical aid we gave to the people of Africa than I am of any other single project we have ever undertaken.
” ( Tanzania ’ s Julius Nyerere called her “ the mother of Africa.
” ) Matters grew far more complicated after the 1967 war and the resulting occupation .
Many American Jews drew far closer to Israel than before as both the threat of its potential destruction and the exhilaration of its spectacular victory struck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , had the effect over time of hollowing out their own experience of Judaism and replacing it with Zionism .
In the early 1970s , a small group of liberal Jewish intellectuals , including a number of highly respected rabbis , began to raise difficult questions about Israel ’ s willingness to make peace with the Palestinians and formed an organization called Breira ( “ Choice ” in Hebrew ) .
But they found little resonance among most American Jews and were unceremoniously quashed by the mainstream Jewish organizations , who considered public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was not until 1982—when those admirable socialist pioneers had been replaced by the likes of Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon , and these far less romantic figures launched their invasion of Lebanon and cruel siege of Beirut—that uneasiness with actual , existing Israel reached a sufficiently critical mass that liberals could voice their discontent in public without fear of Spinoza-like excommunication .
Jamaal Bowman Wants to Spend Less on the Pentagon and More on the Bronx Since then , as anyone who has paid even the slightest attention to the question is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative cause .
Capitalism and creeping theocracy replaced socialism .
The occupation became further entrenched and increasingly brutal .
In foreign policy , Israel supported apartheid in South Africa and dictatorships in Latin America .
In the United States , it became the pet cause of the most regressive elements : first neocon warmongers , then evangelical anti-Semites , and finally the likes of Donald Trump , Mike Pence , Jared Kushner , and other avatars of American fascism .
Conservatives , neo- and otherwise , have insisted for over half a century @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and join up with the right wing , where support for Israel is not merely uncontroversial but obligatory .
Instead , most liberals chose just to make an exception for Israel while sticking to the rest of their left-leaning agenda .
Since his first election in 1988 , Eliot Engel was an extreme example of this tendency .
Over and over , when Israel ’ s lobbyists and their funders demanded 100 percent support for Israel regardless of how much it contradicted everything else about one ’ s beliefs , these liberals caved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Klippenstein demonstrated , Engel never met an Israeli priority he couldn ’ t wholeheartedly back .
When it came to the Iran nuclear deal , he stood with Benjamin Netanyahu over Barack Obama and Joe Biden .
Later , he stood with Trump and Kushner on moving the embassy to Jerusalem and continuing to support the Saudi murderers of Jamal Khashoggi .
But being AIPAC ’ s patsy was not enough for Engel .
He even embraced the racist right-wing leader of the Zionist Organization of America—an organization that owes its existence to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adelson and whose leader , Morton Klein , recently tweeted of Black Lives Matter , “ BLM is a Jew hating , White hating , Israel hating , conservative Black hating , violence promoting , dangerous Soros funded extremist group of haters.
” As chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee , Engel was a macher in Washington but nowhere to be found at home .
His power as a committee chair and decades of schmoozing his colleagues—together with their own sense of self-preservation in opposing almost all primary challengers—led to his endorsement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic politicians , including many members of the Black caucus .
But his absence from the district along with its changing demographics made him the perfect target for the progressive group Justice Democrats , who famously recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .
Justice Democrats found a remarkable opponent to run against Engel—an African American former middle school principal named Jamaal Bowman .
Endorsed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren , Bowman made it a point of reaching out to Jews .
Bowman explained that while he believed “ firmly in the right of Israelis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free from the fear of violence and terrorism from Hamas and other extremists , and support continued US aid to help Israel confront these security challenges , ” he also believed “ that Palestinians are entitled to the same human rights , safety from violence and self-determination in a state of their own.
” He said he also strongly objects to “ Benjamin Netanyahu ’ s move toward annexation , increased settlement expansion , and racist rhetoric toward minorities.
” And as for the Boycott Divest Sanctions movement , Bowman opposes it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down its supporters ’ First Amendment rights .
Most political reporters treat what is commonly referred to as “ the Jewish vote ” as entirely dependent on how “ pro-Israel ” —that is , how hawkish/anti-Palestinian a candidate is .
This has long been nonsense .
The vast majority of Jewish voters no longer prioritize Israel over issues of economic and social justice .
The fact that so many liberal politicians do is largely—though not exclusively—the product of the corrupt nature of our political funding system and the ability of the AIPACs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The 16th District is just under 12 percent Jewish and nearly 60 percent Black and Latino .
With Engel looking vulnerable , the Democratic Majority for Israel , a PAC led by consultant Mark Mellman , spent an estimated $ 2 million trying to prop up Engel and smear Bowman .
Progressive Jewish organizations like If Not Now and The Jewish Vote—an offshoot of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice—campaigned and raised funds for Bowman alongside Justice Democrats .
The progressive Jewish City Council member Brad Lander wrote in an op-ed for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fellow liberal Jews : please don ’ t take the bait… .
Bowman shares our commitment to a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensures the self-determination , safety and human rights of both peoples.
” You Don ’ t Have to Publish Both Sides When One Side Is Fascism Trump ’ s New Press Secretary Fits Right In When it was over , Bowman won in a landslide .
Engel could not even , it appears , carry the Jews .
We don ’ t actually know how much of Bowman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was attributable to Jewish voters , but one clue comes from the polling station at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale : It went for Bowman 500 , Engel 324 .
Engel did not lose specifically because his district liked Bowman ’ s position on Israel better than his , though many obviously did .
He lost because , given all the crises facing his constituents , Israel had lost its centrality .
Engel stayed in Washington during the pandemic to keep his eye on the committee , especially no doubt its reaction to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of the West Bank , rather than returning home to tend to the needs of his constituents , reeling under the threat of the pandemic and inspired by the politics of racial reawakening .
Zionism and liberalism faced off , and liberalism won .
The lesson here for Jews is that the days when AIPAC directives and Mellman-like scare tactics on behalf of Israel could trump commitments to liberal principles are coming to an end .
Bowman ’ s victory is one harbinger , and so was the strong support for Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bowman—conditioning US aid to Israel , a position that ’ s been anathema to the so-called “ pro-Israel ” community for nearly 60 years .
As Israel grows increasingly illiberal—embracing not only annexation but also official racism , theocratic governance , and increasingly anti-democratic restrictions on the freedoms of its Arab minority—the choice for American Jews will grow increasingly stark .
Liberal Zionism—a cause to which I have committed myself for my entire adult life—has come to look like a contradiction .
The Jews of Israel , alas , appear to have made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory demonstrates that American Jews will now be making their own .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
It is usually a mistake to try to draw historical lessons from events just days old. It’s an even dicier proposition when it involves just the 50,000 voters who participated in last Tuesday’s Democratic primary in New York’s 16th district. But I’ve been working for years on a book about the history of the Israel/Palestine debate in the United States and I’m going to risk it, because I think American politics—specifically American Jewish politics—is undergoing a significant shift with important implications.
Whether drawn to socialism, communism, anarchism, or plain old liberalism, American Jews have always tended toward the left side of the political spectrum. And for many decades, the founding and defense of the state of Israel proved largely consistent with the social and economic liberal ethos upon which the American Jewish community eventually settled. Sure, the story that American Jews told themselves about Israel was always a distorted one, and the Zionist ideology Israel eventually embraced was far more amenable to democracy and equality in theory than in practice. But wasn’t that true of American liberalism as well? Yes, a significant percentage of the 750,000 or so Palestinians who were exiled in 1948 did not leave voluntarily and the ones who remained did not enjoy anything like the democratic rights or economic opportunities that Israeli Jews did, much less the idealistic promises of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. But there was so much else to celebrate about Israel. Despite being surrounded by nations that wished to destroy it, its pioneers were “making the desert bloom,” rejuvenating the Hebrew language, producing great literature, and, on the Kibbutzim, proving that socialism was not a pipe dream. In the wake of the Holocaust, it felt to many like a divinely inspired miracle.
In its policies on the world stage, Israel also offered a great deal for liberals to admire. Israel initially avoided taking sides in the Cold War, and, while the United States was stuck in the throes of its McCarthyite Red Scare, the country remained sufficiently democratic and committed to free speech as to allow Arab-supported Communists to be seated in its parliament. Former prime minister Golda Meir would recall that she was “prouder of Israel’s International Cooperation Program and of the technical aid we gave to the people of Africa than I am of any other single project we have ever undertaken.” (Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere called her “the mother of Africa.”)
Matters grew far more complicated after the 1967 war and the resulting occupation. Many American Jews drew far closer to Israel than before as both the threat of its potential destruction and the exhilaration of its spectacular victory struck an emotional chord. This, however, had the effect over time of hollowing out their own experience of Judaism and replacing it with Zionism. In the early 1970s, a small group of liberal Jewish intellectuals, including a number of highly respected rabbis, began to raise difficult questions about Israel’s willingness to make peace with the Palestinians and formed an organization called Breira (“Choice” in Hebrew). But they found little resonance among most American Jews and were unceremoniously quashed by the mainstream Jewish organizations, who considered public criticism of Israel akin to treason. It was not until 1982—when those admirable socialist pioneers had been replaced by the likes of Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, and these far less romantic figures launched their invasion of Lebanon and cruel siege of Beirut—that uneasiness with actual, existing Israel reached a sufficiently critical mass that liberals could voice their discontent in public without fear of Spinoza-like excommunication. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Related Article Jamaal Bowman Wants to Spend Less on the Pentagon and More on the Bronx John Nichols
Since then, as anyone who has paid even the slightest attention to the question is well aware, Israel has become a conservative cause. Capitalism and creeping theocracy replaced socialism. The occupation became further entrenched and increasingly brutal. In foreign policy, Israel supported apartheid in South Africa and dictatorships in Latin America. In the United States, it became the pet cause of the most regressive elements: first neocon warmongers, then evangelical anti-Semites, and finally the likes of Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and other avatars of American fascism.
Conservatives, neo- and otherwise, have insisted for over half a century that American Jews should abandon their liberalism and join up with the right wing, where support for Israel is not merely uncontroversial but obligatory. Instead, most liberals chose just to make an exception for Israel while sticking to the rest of their left-leaning agenda. Since his first election in 1988, Eliot Engel was an extreme example of this tendency. Over and over, when Israel’s lobbyists and their funders demanded 100 percent support for Israel regardless of how much it contradicted everything else about one’s beliefs, these liberals caved. As The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein demonstrated, Engel never met an Israeli priority he couldn’t wholeheartedly back. When it came to the Iran nuclear deal, he stood with Benjamin Netanyahu over Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Later, he stood with Trump and Kushner on moving the embassy to Jerusalem and continuing to support the Saudi murderers of Jamal Khashoggi. But being AIPAC’s patsy was not enough for Engel. He even embraced the racist right-wing leader of the Zionist Organization of America—an organization that owes its existence to the far-right Trump and Netanyahu funder Sheldon Adelson and whose leader, Morton Klein, recently tweeted of Black Lives Matter, “BLM is a Jew hating, White hating, Israel hating, conservative Black hating, violence promoting, dangerous Soros funded extremist group of haters.”
As chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Engel was a macher in Washington but nowhere to be found at home. His power as a committee chair and decades of schmoozing his colleagues—together with their own sense of self-preservation in opposing almost all primary challengers—led to his endorsement in his primary by almost all national Democratic politicians, including many members of the Black caucus. But his absence from the district along with its changing demographics made him the perfect target for the progressive group Justice Democrats, who famously recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Justice Democrats found a remarkable opponent to run against Engel—an African American former middle school principal named Jamaal Bowman. Current Issue View our current issue
Endorsed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Bowman made it a point of reaching out to Jews. Bowman explained that while he believed “firmly in the right of Israelis to live in safety and peace, free from the fear of violence and terrorism from Hamas and other extremists, and support continued US aid to help Israel confront these security challenges,” he also believed “that Palestinians are entitled to the same human rights, safety from violence and self-determination in a state of their own.”
He said he also strongly objects to “Benjamin Netanyahu’s move toward annexation, increased settlement expansion, and racist rhetoric toward minorities.” And as for the Boycott Divest Sanctions movement, Bowman opposes it, though not to the point of shutting down its supporters’ First Amendment rights.
Most political reporters treat what is commonly referred to as “the Jewish vote” as entirely dependent on how “pro-Israel”—that is, how hawkish/anti-Palestinian—a candidate is. This has long been nonsense. The vast majority of Jewish voters no longer prioritize Israel over issues of economic and social justice. The fact that so many liberal politicians do is largely—though not exclusively—the product of the corrupt nature of our political funding system and the ability of the AIPACs and the Adelsons to exploit its weaknesses.
The 16th District is just under 12 percent Jewish and nearly 60 percent Black and Latino. With Engel looking vulnerable, the Democratic Majority for Israel, a PAC led by consultant Mark Mellman, spent an estimated $2 million trying to prop up Engel and smear Bowman. Progressive Jewish organizations like If Not Now and The Jewish Vote—an offshoot of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice—campaigned and raised funds for Bowman alongside Justice Democrats. The progressive Jewish City Council member Brad Lander wrote in an op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “To my fellow liberal Jews: please don’t take the bait…. Bowman shares our commitment to a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensures the self-determination, safety and human rights of both peoples.” More From Eric Alterman Conservative Jews Made a Terrible Bargain With Trump and the Right Over Israel December 21, 2022 Todd Gitlin Told His Truth Everywhere He Went February 8, 2022 Why the Media No Longer Cares About Nicaragua September 28, 2021
When it was over, Bowman won in a landslide. Engel could not even, it appears, carry the Jews. We don’t actually know how much of Bowman’s more than 60 percent landslide was attributable to Jewish voters, but one clue comes from the polling station at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale: It went for Bowman 500, Engel 324.
Engel did not lose specifically because his district liked Bowman’s position on Israel better than his, though many obviously did. He lost because, given all the crises facing his constituents, Israel had lost its centrality. Engel stayed in Washington during the pandemic to keep his eye on the committee, especially no doubt its reaction to Netanyahu’s recent push to annex parts of the West Bank, rather than returning home to tend to the needs of his constituents, reeling under the threat of the pandemic and inspired by the politics of racial reawakening. Zionism and liberalism faced off, and liberalism won.
The lesson here for Jews is that the days when AIPAC directives and Mellman-like scare tactics on behalf of Israel could trump commitments to liberal principles are coming to an end. Bowman’s victory is one harbinger, and so was the strong support for Sanders and Warren, both of whom supported—with Bowman—conditioning US aid to Israel, a position that’s been anathema to the so-called “pro-Israel” community for nearly 60 years.
As Israel grows increasingly illiberal—embracing not only annexation but also official racism, theocratic governance, and increasingly anti-democratic restrictions on the freedoms of its Arab minority—the choice for American Jews will grow increasingly stark. Liberal Zionism—a cause to which I have committed myself for my entire adult life—has come to look like a contradiction. The Jews of Israel, alas, appear to have made their choice. Bowman’s sweeping victory demonstrates that American Jews will now be making their own.


thenation--2020-07-01--My Grandmother, Icon of Palestinian Resilience

My grandmother passed away on Tuesday , June 16 .
She was 103 years old .
One of my poems , “ This Is Why We Dance , ” begins with “ Home , in my memory , is a green , worn-out couch / And my grandmother in every poem.
” Each day after school my grandmother would welcome me at the door with jasmines wrapped in Kleenex .
I grew up in her wisdom , and my poetry was a reflection of that .
She is the axis to my actions , the orchestrator of my cadence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ A month ago , I wrote yet another poem about her , “ The Biggest Punchline of All Time , ” stating : “ I fear this poem will turn eulogy in real time.
” My grandmother lived through wars and then some .
Older than Israel itself .
For this , she was hailed as the “ icon of Palestinian resilience ” by Jerusalemites .
During the 1948 Nakba , she left her Haifa home meticulously cleaned , not knowing she would be readying it for its colonizers .
A refugee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city , she finally settled in Jerusalem , only to be confronted with the Naksa—Israel ’ s occupation of Arab lands following the 1967 War—followed by the annexation of Jerusalem , and , in her last days of life , the imminent annexation of the West Bank .
She passed away amid the chaos of the “ Deal of The Century ” and Israel ’ s plans to make Palestinian subjugation permanent and call it a state .
Her activism led her from court halls to protests to hospitals .
Relentless , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funny story to tell with what remains of the family .
In 2009 , Israeli settlers , adorned with backpacks as if going on a weekend camping trip , entered our homes in East Jerusalem escorted by Israeli police .
They claimed that our home was theirs .
After a tumultuous battle with two colonial committees in Israeli courts , the settlers seized half of our home .
Their takeover was part of a broader effort to ethnically cleanse the entirety of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood .
We were among 180 Palestinian families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which claimed that our homes were built on Israeli lands .
Across the street from us , we watched the Ghawi family thrown out of their home and set up a makeshift camp on the street on their land where Israelis settled .
As a child , I witnessed my grandmother , 80-something at the time , as a freedom fighter , an ambulance and a half , treating tear-gassed protesters with yogurt and onions .
In 2009 , I saw her rally her body against heavily armed and American-accented Israeli settlers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land as their own by divine decree .
As if God were a real estate agent .
Because the Israelis moved into half of the house , separated from my family only by drywall , the 2009 confiscation of our home was highly publicized and so the house became an international hub to which solidarity activists and curious liberals alike made pilgrimages .
But my grandmother refused to be a humanitarian case for gazing eyes .
She was not a clueless woman .
She was always ready with her talking points and historical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she would ask some of the visitors , before letting them know that the United States is largely to blame for our homelessness and statelessness .
She would say the same to people from England .
“ We don ’ t want your sympathy , we want your action , ” she would say .
Her punch lines intact .
My grandmother was suffering from dementia for a year before her death .
But despite sometimes forgetting my name , her political conviction stuck .
The atrocities she witnessed blanketed her subconscious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her memory ’ s decay , her stories of the Nakba were still highly detailed , her comments hurled at TV news coherent and complex .
Her wit stuck too .
Last July , visiting my aunt in Nablus , my grandmother did not know where we were and asked how we ’ re getting back to Jerusalem .
“ On our bikes , ” I answered her jokingly .
“ You take your bike and I ’ ll come on my horse , ” she retorted .
Her smirk unwavering .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eulogize her .
Even in writing this , I find myself having trouble with tenses .
There are people who can not exist in the past tense .
For a hundred years , she walked a tightrope between pride and self-respect .
My grandmother taught me everything I know about dignity .
She taught me how to launch my sentences like missiles .
How to be resilient .
Even in the face of eviction , monetary punishment , tens of trials , and threats of imprisonment , she persisted .
“ I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go back to my Haifa house that I was forced to flee in 1948 , ” she famously said , demanding her right of return .
I do not know when I will digest her death .
I am currently in Atlanta , and Palestine thousands of miles , an apartheid reality , and a pandemic away .
I do not know when I will be able to go back .
Needless to say , the absence of a farewell is heartbreaking .
There is not enough poetry nor explanation that would quantify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
The day she passed , social media was effusive with condolences .
Blogs and news outlets mourned the death of “ Palestine ’ s jasmine tree , ” and much like the trees , my grandmother died standing .
Struggling .
I had hopes of publishing my first collection of poetry , Rifqa , to honor her in her lifetime .
To immortalize her .
However , I am certain that Palestine will not let its icon of resilience die .
There are people that just do not die .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the lines of stones in the Old City .
I know her roots are entangled underneath my every step .
A few years ago , my grandmother and I watched men preach about patience on TV .
“ Be patient !
For after patience comes relief !
” My grandmother responded , “ After patience comes the grave !
” Over 100 years she demanded justice .
And much like James Baldwin , who could not live 60 more to see the “ progress ” he was constantly promised , it has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We are yet to see the fruits of our seven-decades-old patience .
I am heartbroken that she died without having seen a free Palestine , though I promise her that the grandchildren have not forgotten .
This fight is a revolution until victory .
Rifqa embodied that until her very last breath .
This was my last poem for my grandmother during her lifetime .
The Biggest Punchline of All Time Rifqa took from me my molotovs if not a metaphor they ’ d make a good vase for jasmines a good jazz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV volume lowered to make room for familial dysfunctionality Over the years her fingers thinned veins like those of the vines verandas required less wandering And Teta gave up the remote control .
I fear this poem will turn eulogy in real time .
Sheikh on the screen babbles about relief It is what comes after patience .
After patience there is but a grave , Teta says .
Why cradle a century-old ; whose punchlines are still intact ?
Her daughter in law my mother is her cane .
When not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a bed or the edge of a sentence she clings onto physics and wit her cane never a stick for the elderly , she who once knew purple shrouds , who once knew clouds as in-nose residents shall not bow her head .
It ’ s a fight really 4:00 am and my parents are screaming hospitals Teta fell again .
Her body did Did she ?
She ’ s OK. Alhamdulillah .
A hundred years tightroping the distance between pride and self-respect I grew up in a circus .
I grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ER was uncommon so I never held breath or hands hope for me was a serendipitous outcome , always Teta walks fragile she ’ s a straight spine in theory I got from her her hunch and her hunch Last July , she asked how we ’ re getting home .
On our bikes I said , giggling .
You take your bike and I ’ ll take my horse .
Her punchlines intact her smirk unwavering I assign imagination to memory molotovs in Fendi bags pamphlets in python shoes silk scarves masquerading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : fashion and liberty Teta remembers what she has to rifles in rice bags bellies split open women mistaking pillows for offspring men sirening the street performing ardor women whose gods no longer respond men emasculated by refugee status she does not remember my name unkindness is much more memorable than blood she remembers seven decades later what martyred her homeland the first time Habibi ?
Why are you in America ?
School .
God bless you .
Mohammed who ?
Why America ?
Be careful !
Tell them , ‘ America is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Drink the sea ’ Let them ride their tallest horses Jerusalem is ours .
The biggest punchline of all time .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
My grandmother passed away on Tuesday, June 16. She was 103 years old. One of my poems, “This Is Why We Dance,” begins with “Home, in my memory, is a green, worn-out couch / And my grandmother in every poem.”
Each day after school my grandmother would welcome me at the door with jasmines wrapped in Kleenex. I grew up in her wisdom, and my poetry was a reflection of that. She is the axis to my actions, the orchestrator of my cadence. She cameoed my poetry and praxis. A month ago, I wrote yet another poem about her, “The Biggest Punchline of All Time,” stating: “I fear this poem will turn eulogy in real time.”
My grandmother lived through wars and then some. Older than Israel itself. For this, she was hailed as the “icon of Palestinian resilience” by Jerusalemites. During the 1948 Nakba, she left her Haifa home meticulously cleaned, not knowing she would be readying it for its colonizers. A refugee, cast with her children from city to city, she finally settled in Jerusalem, only to be confronted with the Naksa—Israel’s occupation of Arab lands following the 1967 War—followed by the annexation of Jerusalem, and, in her last days of life, the imminent annexation of the West Bank. She passed away amid the chaos of the “Deal of The Century” and Israel’s plans to make Palestinian subjugation permanent and call it a state. Her activism led her from court halls to protests to hospitals. Relentless, she worked and worked until survival was a funny story to tell with what remains of the family.
In 2009, Israeli settlers, adorned with backpacks as if going on a weekend camping trip, entered our homes in East Jerusalem escorted by Israeli police. They claimed that our home was theirs. After a tumultuous battle with two colonial committees in Israeli courts, the settlers seized half of our home. Their takeover was part of a broader effort to ethnically cleanse the entirety of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. We were among 180 Palestinian families facing eviction orders from Israeli courts, which claimed that our homes were built on Israeli lands. Across the street from us, we watched the Ghawi family thrown out of their home and set up a makeshift camp on the street on their land where Israelis settled.
As a child, I witnessed my grandmother, 80-something at the time, as a freedom fighter, an ambulance and a half, treating tear-gassed protesters with yogurt and onions. In 2009, I saw her rally her body against heavily armed and American-accented Israeli settlers and police in our yard, claiming our land as their own by divine decree. As if God were a real estate agent.
Because the Israelis moved into half of the house, separated from my family only by drywall, the 2009 confiscation of our home was highly publicized and so the house became an international hub to which solidarity activists and curious liberals alike made pilgrimages. But my grandmother refused to be a humanitarian case for gazing eyes. She was not a clueless woman. She was always ready with her talking points and historical facts. “Are you American?” she would ask some of the visitors, before letting them know that the United States is largely to blame for our homelessness and statelessness. She would say the same to people from England. “We don’t want your sympathy, we want your action,” she would say. Her punch lines intact. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
My grandmother was suffering from dementia for a year before her death. But despite sometimes forgetting my name, her political conviction stuck. The atrocities she witnessed blanketed her subconscious. So much so that, amid her memory’s decay, her stories of the Nakba were still highly detailed, her comments hurled at TV news coherent and complex. Current Issue View our current issue
Her wit stuck too. Last July, visiting my aunt in Nablus, my grandmother did not know where we were and asked how we’re getting back to Jerusalem. “On our bikes,” I answered her jokingly. “You take your bike and I’ll come on my horse,” she retorted. Her smirk unwavering.
In truth, I am not ready to eulogize her. Even in writing this, I find myself having trouble with tenses. There are people who cannot exist in the past tense. For a hundred years, she walked a tightrope between pride and self-respect. My grandmother taught me everything I know about dignity. She taught me how to launch my sentences like missiles. How to be resilient. Even in the face of eviction, monetary punishment, tens of trials, and threats of imprisonment, she persisted. “I will only agree to leave Sheikh Jarrah to go back to my Haifa house that I was forced to flee in 1948,” she famously said, demanding her right of return.
I do not know when I will digest her death. I am currently in Atlanta, and Palestine thousands of miles, an apartheid reality, and a pandemic away. I do not know when I will be able to go back. Needless to say, the absence of a farewell is heartbreaking. There is not enough poetry nor explanation that would quantify this grief and so I will spare it.
The day she passed, social media was effusive with condolences. Blogs and news outlets mourned the death of “Palestine’s jasmine tree,” and much like the trees, my grandmother died standing. Struggling. I had hopes of publishing my first collection of poetry, Rifqa, to honor her in her lifetime. To immortalize her. However, I am certain that Palestine will not let its icon of resilience die. There are people that just do not die. I can already imagine her wrinkled face replicated in the lines of stones in the Old City. I know her roots are entangled underneath my every step.
A few years ago, my grandmother and I watched men preach about patience on TV. “Be patient! For after patience comes relief!” My grandmother responded, “After patience comes the grave!”
Over 100 years she demanded justice. And much like James Baldwin, who could not live 60 more to see the “progress” he was constantly promised, it has taken my grandmother’s time. We are yet to see the fruits of our seven-decades-old patience.
I am heartbroken that she died without having seen a free Palestine, though I promise her that the grandchildren have not forgotten. This fight is a revolution until victory. Rifqa embodied that until her very last breath.
This was my last poem for my grandmother during her lifetime.
The Biggest Punchline of All Time
Rifqa took from me my molotovs
if not a metaphor
they’d make a good vase for jasmines
a good jazz for the dinner table
where revolution is TV volume lowered
to make room for familial dysfunctionality
Over the years her fingers thinned
veins like those of the vines
verandas required less wandering
And Teta gave up the remote control.
I fear this poem will turn eulogy in real time.
Sheikh on the screen babbles about relief
It is what comes after patience. After patience
there is but a grave, Teta says.
Why cradle a century-old;
whose punchlines are still intact?
Her daughter in law my mother
is her cane.
When not a metaphor, her cane is
the edge of a bed or the edge of a sentence
she clings onto physics and wit
her cane
never a stick for the elderly, she who once knew
purple shrouds, who once knew
clouds as in-nose residents
shall not bow her head. It’s a fight really
4:00 am and my parents are screaming hospitals
Teta fell again. Her body did
Did she?
She’s OK. Alhamdulillah. A hundred years
tightroping the distance between pride and self-respect
I grew up in a circus. I grew up in ERs and death post the ER
was uncommon so I never held breath or hands
hope for me
was a serendipitous outcome, always
Teta walks fragile
she’s a straight spine in theory
I got from her her hunch
and her hunch
Last July, she asked how we’re getting home.
On our bikes I said, giggling. You take your bike and I’ll take my horse.
Her punchlines intact her smirk unwavering
I assign imagination to memory
molotovs in Fendi bags
pamphlets in python shoes
silk scarves masquerading ramage
a grandson fascinated by both rebellions: fashion and liberty
Teta remembers what she has to
rifles in rice bags
bellies split open
women mistaking pillows for offspring
men sirening the street performing ardor
women whose gods no longer respond
men emasculated by refugee status
she does not remember my name
unkindness is much more memorable than blood
she remembers seven decades later
what martyred her homeland the first time
Political conviction sticks.
Chants chandeliering her subconscious
Habibi? Why are you in America?
School. God bless you. Mohammed who?
Why America? Be careful! Tell them,
‘America is the reason’. Tell them ‘Drink the sea’
Let them ride their tallest horses
Jerusalem is ours.
The biggest punchline of all time.


thenation--2020-07-01--Online Learning Isn’t Even Remotely Equal

Ivanka Brutus , a fifth-grade student in a Black and low-income county in Miami , Fla. , struggled to complete her coursework when school moved online .
Her Internet connection is extremely spotty—the beginning of Tropical Storm Arthur brought flood levels to the county that haven ’ t been seen in 20 years .
And as hurricane season continues , it ’ s only expected to get worse .
“ I have experienced many tough things while learning online , ” Brutus told The Nation .
“ I still don ’ t have access to my own computer , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time.
” Brutus is one of thousands of low-income students of color who struggled to keep up with coursework during the pandemic because of a host of financial and structural barriers .
In addition to dealing with an increased health risk and lack of governmental financial aid , these students are also more likely to live in overcrowded or unstable housing , lack access to reliable food that they may have otherwise received at school , and face other obstacles in the way of a fulfilling virtual learning experience .
In anticipation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well into next year , the ACLU is calling on Congress to address inequities among low-income students , students of color , disabled students , and others whose needs are not being addressed through current remote learning strategies .
On May 14 , the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) wrote to Congress demanding that it provide several billion dollars in funding toward equal remote learning access and privacy protections for K-12 students as part of the phase 4 Covid-19 relief package .
According to Senior Advocacy and Policy Counsel Chad Marlow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ensure that all students ’ needs are met in distance learning .
Representatives from the ACLU argue that students should be provided with hardware such as a laptop or tablet to complete their online coursework if they do not own one , should be able to freely access software such as online applications or programming needed for school , and should have reliable Internet access at home .
“ We want to make the schools understand what their obligations are in terms of providing equal access to remote education , ” Marlow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law to provide accommodations to disabled students , poor students , undocumented students , and other students who might have specific needs in this moment , and we want to make sure that everybody ’ s needs are met.
” This story was produced for Student Nation , a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words .
For more Student Nation , check out our archive .
Are you a student with a campus activism story ?
Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation .
In its letter to Congress and in letters to state and local leaders from over 25 state chapters , the ACLU is urging members to provide $ 2–3 billion per month for the duration of the crisis , and at least 30 days after the crisis ends , which would go toward an emergency benefit to make broadband services available to all eligible low-income households .
To help students further , the organization is calling on Congress to provide $ 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed by Representative Grace Meng and Senator Ed Markey , to cover immediate assistance for students and library patrons who need access to technology to engage in remote learning in their homes .
The ACLU argues these measures are necessary to address the digital divide that the pivot to online education has exposed : Poor and rural students across the country are struggling to complete coursework because of lack of technology or Internet access .
According to 2019 data from the Pew Research Center , only 63 percent of people living in rural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home and 46 percent of people living on less than $ 30,000 a year do not own a computer .
Online learning has understandably been devastating for these communities , and governmental and school-specific responses have often been inadequate .
A school district in Philadelphia advised students without a proper Internet connection to study in parking lots to access free Wifi .
Students deprived of Internet service in rural Alaska have been forced to study at McDonalds .
While federal funding has been set aside for K-12 education through the CARES Act and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fund , this funding has not provided comprehensive care to the nation ’ s most vulnerable students .
“ My personal laptop tends to freeze and disconnect from the Internet , and my school laptop is worse , ” said Angela Muralles , an 11th grader at James Monroe High School in North Hills , Calif. “ During my AP English language exam , my computer disconnected from the Internet around five times while my time kept counting down .
I also live in a home of eight , and our Internet connection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone among us has a test , my siblings and I take turns disconnecting from our Zoom classes in order to avoid any technical difficulties .
The four of us feel powerless when it comes to this form of education.
” Muralles is one of many students struggling to complete standardized testing remotely .
Recent AP exams administered online in May caused glitches and technical difficulties for many students , and about 1 percent of students were not able to submit their test , according to the College Board .
While some schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing requirements in light of the pandemic , most colleges continue to require these tests as part of admissions .
As both the SAT and ACT are currently planning to potentially move online this summer , the consequences of students ’ facing barriers to complete this standardized testing could be formidable .
In addition to Internet and technology concerns , the ACLU ’ s letter to Congress addressed the need to protect student ’ s privacy during online learning .
Many have expressed concerns over the surveillance tactics that third-party video applications such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ users .
Zoom in particular has been criticized for privacy violations , including allowing outside websites to join a call without the user ’ s consent and allowing the host of a call , usually a teacher , to track whether other participants have separate browsers open .
In the context of virtual learning , this means that students are often surveilled without consent .
“ In the rush to roll out these technologies , there was very little attention paid to protecting student privacy , which is a major problem , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these third-party applications could have serious implications for students down the line in a number of ways .
Students could end up not being able to get home loans , not get into the colleges they apply to , or worse.
” According to Marlow , certain data such as a student ’ s name , date of birth , and submitted homework assignments are being uniformly collected by third-party providers .
Some providers , like Zoom , allow even more access , as hosts are able to capture the screen of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ webcams .
Different providers have various regulations surrounding what information is collected , how long they retain the information , and whom they share it with .
While providers often boast that users ’ information is safe and not to be sold , recent discoveries have indicated that this might not always be the case , meaning a student can potentially put personal information at risk every time they log on for class .
“ Let ’ s say a student checks a box saying they would prefer to have their provider in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marlow said .
“ ICE would be very interested in learning more about this student , and if they or someone in their family is undocumented , they have now been put in an immediate , tangible , and truly problematic risk .
The ways that private data is collected on students can be used to disadvantage them later in life , and no student should be exposed to risk because they want to learn during a public health crisis.
” Many students are unaware of the risk that these third-party platforms expose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real consent to being surveilled—still , platforms like Zoom are required for most virtual learning .
Students as young as preschool age are in online classrooms during the pandemic .
“ I am afraid sometimes because apparently people can hack into Zoom and look at us , ” Brutus , the fifth-grader , said .
“ It ’ s very scary because we are all only kids and our faces are exposed.
” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stated recently that most students can expect a mix of in-person and online classes in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creating contingency plans for an online school year , once more necessitating that funds be found for adequate technology and that proper privacy restrictions be put in place .
While some , including many parents , are looking forward to in-person classes so that they no longer are forced to juggle full-time child care with work , others view this shift to remote education as good news .
One in five teachers reported being unlikely to return to campus if schools were to reopen in the fall , according to USA Today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public high school in Georgia , told The Nation that online learning has been beneficial for many of her students .
“ Every school handled remote learning differently , but we elected to stop holding formal classes and instead just gave the students assignments that they could complete on their own , ” Jordan said .
“ If students had a question we could schedule time for a one-on-one call , so they would get more personal attention .
Online learning also helped with a lot of behavioral issues , and things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My view is that we should be moving more virtual in the future.
” Jordan continued that her school provided every student a Chromebook before the pandemic began , and noted that many low-income students at the school were able to get free WiFi through a program that Xfinity offered .
Marlow argues that this furthers the ACLU ’ s assertion that students can excel in online learning if provided the proper tools .
“ Education in this country is a right , not a privilege , ” he said .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a proper education to the best of our ability , even during a pandemic.… There are resources available , and where the resources are not adequate , we need to come up with more .
”

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
Ivanka Brutus, a fifth-grade student in a Black and low-income county in Miami, Fla., struggled to complete her coursework when school moved online. Her Internet connection is extremely spotty—the beginning of Tropical Storm Arthur brought flood levels to the county that haven’t been seen in 20 years. And as hurricane season continues, it’s only expected to get worse. “I have experienced many tough things while learning online,” Brutus told The Nation. “I still don’t have access to my own computer, and our power can cut off at any time.”
Brutus is one of thousands of low-income students of color who struggled to keep up with coursework during the pandemic because of a host of financial and structural barriers. In addition to dealing with an increased health risk and lack of governmental financial aid, these students are also more likely to live in overcrowded or unstable housing, lack access to reliable food that they may have otherwise received at school, and face other obstacles in the way of a fulfilling virtual learning experience.
In anticipation of virtual learning continuing this fall and possibly well into next year, the ACLU is calling on Congress to address inequities among low-income students, students of color, disabled students, and others whose needs are not being addressed through current remote learning strategies. On May 14, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote to Congress demanding that it provide several billion dollars in funding toward equal remote learning access and privacy protections for K-12 students as part of the phase 4 Covid-19 relief package.
According to Senior Advocacy and Policy Counsel Chad Marlow, the ACLU is proposing several strategies to ensure that all students’ needs are met in distance learning. Representatives from the ACLU argue that students should be provided with hardware such as a laptop or tablet to complete their online coursework if they do not own one, should be able to freely access software such as online applications or programming needed for school, and should have reliable Internet access at home. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
“We want to make the schools understand what their obligations are in terms of providing equal access to remote education,” Marlow said. “Students are required under law to provide accommodations to disabled students, poor students, undocumented students, and other students who might have specific needs in this moment, and we want to make sure that everybody’s needs are met.” This story was produced for Student Nation, a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words. For more Student Nation, check out our archive. Are you a student with a campus activism story? Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at [email protected]. The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation.
In its letter to Congress and in letters to state and local leaders from over 25 state chapters, the ACLU is urging members to provide $2–3 billion per month for the duration of the crisis, and at least 30 days after the crisis ends, which would go toward an emergency benefit to make broadband services available to all eligible low-income households. To help students further, the organization is calling on Congress to provide $4 billion for an Emergency Connectivity Fund, proposed by Representative Grace Meng and Senator Ed Markey, to cover immediate assistance for students and library patrons who need access to technology to engage in remote learning in their homes.
The ACLU argues these measures are necessary to address the digital divide that the pivot to online education has exposed: Poor and rural students across the country are struggling to complete coursework because of lack of technology or Internet access. According to 2019 data from the Pew Research Center, only 63 percent of people living in rural America have a broadband Internet connection at home and 46 percent of people living on less than $30,000 a year do not own a computer. Current Issue View our current issue
Online learning has understandably been devastating for these communities, and governmental and school-specific responses have often been inadequate. A school district in Philadelphia advised students without a proper Internet connection to study in parking lots to access free Wifi. Students deprived of Internet service in rural Alaska have been forced to study at McDonalds. While federal funding has been set aside for K-12 education through the CARES Act and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, this funding has not provided comprehensive care to the nation’s most vulnerable students.
“My personal laptop tends to freeze and disconnect from the Internet, and my school laptop is worse,” said Angela Muralles, an 11th grader at James Monroe High School in North Hills, Calif. “During my AP English language exam, my computer disconnected from the Internet around five times while my time kept counting down. I also live in a home of eight, and our Internet connection isn’t the best. When someone among us has a test, my siblings and I take turns disconnecting from our Zoom classes in order to avoid any technical difficulties. The four of us feel powerless when it comes to this form of education.”
Muralles is one of many students struggling to complete standardized testing remotely. Recent AP exams administered online in May caused glitches and technical difficulties for many students, and about 1 percent of students were not able to submit their test, according to the College Board. While some schools such as UC Berkeley have dropped standardized testing requirements in light of the pandemic, most colleges continue to require these tests as part of admissions. As both the SAT and ACT are currently planning to potentially move online this summer, the consequences of students’ facing barriers to complete this standardized testing could be formidable.
In addition to Internet and technology concerns, the ACLU’s letter to Congress addressed the need to protect student’s privacy during online learning. Many have expressed concerns over the surveillance tactics that third-party video applications such as Blackboard and Zoom have employed on users. Zoom in particular has been criticized for privacy violations, including allowing outside websites to join a call without the user’s consent and allowing the host of a call, usually a teacher, to track whether other participants have separate browsers open. In the context of virtual learning, this means that students are often surveilled without consent.
“In the rush to roll out these technologies, there was very little attention paid to protecting student privacy, which is a major problem,” Marlow said. “Data collection from these third-party applications could have serious implications for students down the line in a number of ways. Students could end up not being able to get home loans, not get into the colleges they apply to, or worse.”
According to Marlow, certain data such as a student’s name, date of birth, and submitted homework assignments are being uniformly collected by third-party providers. Some providers, like Zoom, allow even more access, as hosts are able to capture the screen of a student or remotely turn on microphones or webcams. Different providers have various regulations surrounding what information is collected, how long they retain the information, and whom they share it with. While providers often boast that users’ information is safe and not to be sold, recent discoveries have indicated that this might not always be the case, meaning a student can potentially put personal information at risk every time they log on for class.
“Let’s say a student checks a box saying they would prefer to have their provider in Spanish rather than in English,” Marlow said. “ICE would be very interested in learning more about this student, and if they or someone in their family is undocumented, they have now been put in an immediate, tangible, and truly problematic risk. The ways that private data is collected on students can be used to disadvantage them later in life, and no student should be exposed to risk because they want to learn during a public health crisis.”
Many students are unaware of the risk that these third-party platforms expose them to and are unable to give real consent to being surveilled—still, platforms like Zoom are required for most virtual learning. Students as young as preschool age are in online classrooms during the pandemic. “I am afraid sometimes because apparently people can hack into Zoom and look at us,” Brutus, the fifth-grader, said. “It’s very scary because we are all only kids and our faces are exposed.”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stated recently that most students can expect a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall. New York and Virginia are creating contingency plans for an online school year, once more necessitating that funds be found for adequate technology and that proper privacy restrictions be put in place. While some, including many parents, are looking forward to in-person classes so that they no longer are forced to juggle full-time child care with work, others view this shift to remote education as good news. One in five teachers reported being unlikely to return to campus if schools were to reopen in the fall, according to USA Today.
Linda Jordan, a math teacher at a public high school in Georgia, told The Nation that online learning has been beneficial for many of her students. “Every school handled remote learning differently, but we elected to stop holding formal classes and instead just gave the students assignments that they could complete on their own,” Jordan said. “If students had a question we could schedule time for a one-on-one call, so they would get more personal attention. Online learning also helped with a lot of behavioral issues, and things like bullying went down as well. My view is that we should be moving more virtual in the future.”
Jordan continued that her school provided every student a Chromebook before the pandemic began, and noted that many low-income students at the school were able to get free WiFi through a program that Xfinity offered. Marlow argues that this furthers the ACLU’s assertion that students can excel in online learning if provided the proper tools.
“Education in this country is a right, not a privilege,” he said. “We have a duty to provide students with a proper education to the best of our ability, even during a pandemic.… There are resources available, and where the resources are not adequate, we need to come up with more.”


thenation--2020-07-01--Silver Linings on a River

Silver Linings on a River

tillwater , e.—Biking through my neighborhood , I notice a new Trump/Pence sign on the lawn strewn with Americana ornaments .
A far cry from the rainbow animal sculptures down the road celebrating LGBT pride .
Our small community on the Stillwater River is sandwiched between the progressive college town of Orono , headquarters to the University of Maine , and the working-class paper mill community of Old Town , near the home of the Penobscot Nation and the world-famous canoe .
These disparate places are connected by the river , which I am fortunate to have winding along my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offered sanctuary to my parents after a war divided our country , Cyprus , in 1974 .
This river was my companion as a child who spent most of her time outdoors .
This river urged me to move with my family back to Maine from New York when , after eight years , the apple started to sour .
This river , a small artery in the web of life , offers me relief today as humanity cries , I can ’ t breathe .
It may be hard for urbanites to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elixir on those of us who choose a more rural existence .
It is also hard here to maintain equilibrium kayaking down a lush river , say , knowing that tear gas and batons await so many who are dear as they take to city streets to demand basic human rights .
Over Zoom calls and driveway check-in sessions , I have heard friends struggle with depression and anxiety , crippled by fear .
Why am I at peace ?
At the risk of sounding detached , it struck me why my response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The past two decades have dealt some First World blows .
Financial hardship , physical injury , and professional disappointment were the start , but it was the two miscarriages and the premature death of seven people I adored that made the Grim Reaper more of a sidekick than a boogie monster .
Food for Hard Times and Pleasure—Kimchee Out of Anything More in this series At the same time , over those years , my anxiety about the state of the planet festered in the form of dystopian nightmares .
Those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 election .
I knew nature would be sacrificed .
Looking at my then-1-year-old , this felt like a hand around my throat .
Now , as human lungs labor across the globe , Earth has a reprieve .
The Himalayas peek , unobscured by curtains of city smog .
For a brief moment in the continuum of human destruction , a virus hit a pause button on us .
The lonely filling station in town advertises gas at $ 1.48 a gallon .
How low could the prices go ?
I wonder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and billions of years of fossilized matter remains in the ground .
Fewer particles choke the air .
The planet ’ s future feels less grim , and in my tiny bubble this relieves more anxiety than Covid-19 produces .
Could we collectively imagine that future without the suffering ?
Transfixed by the river , I have watched islands of ice break apart and thaw with each passing day , the geese announcing their victorious arrival in flying V formations .
In the forest , seedlings take root around decaying birch trees , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With death comes life .
By confining us , the virus sends us inward .
The killer becomes the universal muse , cracking open our minds and offering us new stories to tell .
Anyone who has the luxury to reflect must at least acknowledge this moment of opportunity .
By month three of quarantine , those here who have yet to suffer a devastating personal loss appear to be adjusting .
Like Alice falling down Wonderland ’ s well , we recognize our shattered reality .
Familiarity with the Reaper offers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As hibernation wanes , we can put one foot in front of the other and build a mosaic out of the shards .
New projects arise ; movements are born .
People talk about revolutions .
In the forest , my now 4-year-old daughter finds a message , a painted rock hidden inside a dead tree trunk .
On it is written the word breathe .
She tells me she is going to leave it there , for nature .
Yes , nature does need to breathe .
She is our ventilator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this river ’ s edge , mosquitoes gnawing at my neck , ticks crawling up my scratched , muddy calf , I begin to understand the difference between living inside fear and living alongside it .
Reassurance arrives in simple moments .
A song lyric spontaneously crystallizes a thought and releases me from worry .
Two bald eagles soar overhead just as , in the midst of a conversation , I mention my two late cousins , one having died of AIDS , the other of cancer .
Timed just right , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave me dumbfounded .
They remind me in the darkest hours that nature—this force that exists both inside and outside of us—hands us a kaleidoscope to see reality differently .
Enables us to imagine what we can not yet see , but might cocreate .
I walk , one foot in front of the other , soaking in the infinite hues of green .
Scenes From a Pandemic is a collaboration between The Nation and Kopkind , a living memorial to radical journalist Andrew Kopkind , who from 1982–94 was the magazine ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This series of dispatches from Kopkind ’ s far-flung network of participants , advisers , guests , and friends is edited by Nation contributor and Kopkind program director JoAnn Wypijewski , and appears weekly on thenation.com and kopkind.org .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
S tillwater, M e.—Biking through my neighborhood, I notice a new Trump/Pence sign on the lawn strewn with Americana ornaments. A far cry from the rainbow animal sculptures down the road celebrating LGBT pride. Our small community on the Stillwater River is sandwiched between the progressive college town of Orono, headquarters to the University of Maine, and the working-class paper mill community of Old Town, near the home of the Penobscot Nation and the world-famous canoe. These disparate places are connected by the river, which I am fortunate to have winding along my backyard. It was this river that offered sanctuary to my parents after a war divided our country, Cyprus, in 1974. This river was my companion as a child who spent most of her time outdoors. This river urged me to move with my family back to Maine from New York when, after eight years, the apple started to sour. This river, a small artery in the web of life, offers me relief today as humanity cries, I can’t breathe.
* * *
It may be hard for urbanites to understand the impact of nature’s elixir on those of us who choose a more rural existence. It is also hard here to maintain equilibrium kayaking down a lush river, say, knowing that tear gas and batons await so many who are dear as they take to city streets to demand basic human rights.
Over Zoom calls and driveway check-in sessions, I have heard friends struggle with depression and anxiety, crippled by fear.
Why am I at peace?
At the risk of sounding detached, it struck me why my response feels different from what it perhaps should. The past two decades have dealt some First World blows. Financial hardship, physical injury, and professional disappointment were the start, but it was the two miscarriages and the premature death of seven people I adored that made the Grim Reaper more of a sidekick than a boogie monster. Scenes From a Pandemic Untethered, or The Year of Living Virtually Patricia J. Williams The Art of the Meal Mary Lewis Maybe We Shouldn’t Go Back to Normal Bri M.
At the same time, over those years, my anxiety about the state of the planet festered in the form of dystopian nightmares. Those nestled in my waking brain with the 2016 election. I knew nature would be sacrificed. Looking at my then-1-year-old, this felt like a hand around my throat.
Now, as human lungs labor across the globe, Earth has a reprieve. The Himalayas peek, unobscured by curtains of city smog. For a brief moment in the continuum of human destruction, a virus hit a pause button on us. The lonely filling station in town advertises gas at $1.48 a gallon. How low could the prices go? I wonder. Cars remain in the driveway, and billions of years of fossilized matter remains in the ground. Fewer particles choke the air.
The planet’s future feels less grim, and in my tiny bubble this relieves more anxiety than Covid-19 produces. Could we collectively imagine that future without the suffering? Transfixed by the river, I have watched islands of ice break apart and thaw with each passing day, the geese announcing their victorious arrival in flying V formations. In the forest, seedlings take root around decaying birch trees, frogs croak sounds of a new season. With death comes life.
By confining us, the virus sends us inward. The killer becomes the universal muse, cracking open our minds and offering us new stories to tell. Anyone who has the luxury to reflect must at least acknowledge this moment of opportunity. Current Issue View our current issue
* * *
By month three of quarantine, those here who have yet to suffer a devastating personal loss appear to be adjusting. Like Alice falling down Wonderland’s well, we recognize our shattered reality. Familiarity with the Reaper offers us each a chance to start anew. As hibernation wanes, we can put one foot in front of the other and build a mosaic out of the shards. New projects arise; movements are born. People talk about revolutions.
In the forest, my now 4-year-old daughter finds a message, a painted rock hidden inside a dead tree trunk. On it is written the word breathe. She tells me she is going to leave it there, for nature. Yes, nature does need to breathe. She is our ventilator, after all.
After years meandering this river’s edge, mosquitoes gnawing at my neck, ticks crawling up my scratched, muddy calf, I begin to understand the difference between living inside fear and living alongside it. Reassurance arrives in simple moments. A song lyric spontaneously crystallizes a thought and releases me from worry. Two bald eagles soar overhead just as, in the midst of a conversation, I mention my two late cousins, one having died of AIDS, the other of cancer. Timed just right, such occurrences stop me in my tracks, leave me dumbfounded. They remind me in the darkest hours that nature—this force that exists both inside and outside of us—hands us a kaleidoscope to see reality differently. Enables us to imagine what we cannot yet see, but might co-create. I walk, one foot in front of the other, soaking in the infinite hues of green.
Scenes From a Pandemic is a collaboration between The Nation and Kopkind, a living memorial to radical journalist Andrew Kopkind, who from 1982–94 was the magazine’s chief political writer and analyst. This series of dispatches from Kopkind’s far-flung network of participants, advisers, guests, and friends is edited by Nation contributor and Kopkind program director JoAnn Wypijewski, and appears weekly on thenation.com and kopkind.org.