Throughout this semester, my English class has been quite the journey, and I’ve seen some real progress in areas we’ve been focusing on. As I look back, I can’t help but feel the depth of my growth in each aspect.

At the start, dealing with the expectations and language norms in my Arabic-speaking community was a real challenge. But as the semester unfolded, something changed inside me. Now, I approach language standards with more confidence, free from worrying about what others think. Learning standard Arabic has become more
than just a school pursuit; it’s a personal journey of self improvement, free from societal pressures.

Exploring different writing styles and understanding how language works in various situations has been a big focus in my English class. Engaging with poetry, speeches, and essays has given me a broader perspective on how language can be a versatile tool for expression. Understanding rhetorical situations has helped me adapt my writing to different contexts, showing a new awareness of my audience and
purpose.

Improving my use of rhetorical terms and strategies has been a game-changer this semester. Inspired by Safwat Salem’s TED talk, I tried to connect with readers on a more emotional level by using pathos in my writing. This intentional use of rhetorical strategies in both my Language and Literacy Narrative and research paper is proof of how much I’ve grown in recognizing and applying persuasive techniques.

Using both traditional print resources and digital tools has been a key part of my development as a communicator. Whether I was researching, drafting, or revising assignments, I found a balance between old-school print and modern digital platforms. This approach not only expanded my understanding of effective communication in today’s world but also aligned perfectly with the ever-evolving landscape of language and literacy.

One of the most significant aspects of my English class has been getting better at finding and evaluating research sources. Collaborating with classmates in peer review and feedback sessions has been a crucial part of honing my skills in critically assessing the credibility and relevance of sources. This progress is evident in my
research paper, where, with a classmate’s guidance, I successfully tackled challenges in organizing sections and refining my thesis.

In a nutshell, this semester in English class has been a positive shift in how I approach language standards. I’ve explored different writing styles, consciously used rhetorical techniques, seamlessly integrated print, and digital tools, and improved my ability to find and evaluate research sources. Looking forward, I’m excited to build on these accomplishments in my future English studies.

I. Introduction
The unborn remain unborn; the morgues have overflown. A father collects his children’s body parts in garbage bags. It is 2023, and Deceased women, children, and men are being pulled from beneath the rubble in Gaza, Palestine. The Israeli government attempts to justify the killing of 13,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as reported by The Health Ministry of Palestine (The Guardian, 2023). The excuse remains that they are trying to eradicate a so-called terrorist organization that goes by the name of Hamas, which, according to Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, uses civilians as “Human-shields” (YouTube, 2023). Israel has imposed the world’s largest open-air prison and blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2006, cutting off water, food, electricity, and internet from entering the Strip without approval from Israeli governance. They went as far as to make it illegal for Palestinians to collect rainwater in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, asserting their authority over the region (United Nations, n.d.). Israel has displaced at least 1.7 million Palestinians from the southern part of the Gaza region since October 7, forcing 2.2 million of them into the Northern part, further populating the already densely populated area (Relief web, 2023). On October 7, 2023, Palestinian resistance executed the operation, “Al-Aqsa Flood “. Gazans obstructed a fence that enclosed the Gazan population since 2002 (Pinkas, 2023). The operation was in response to 75 years of anger built up from the illegal ongoing occupation expansions and the abuse of the Holy Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as wrongful imprisonment and murders of Palestinians in the West Bank. Hamas militants came into areas that were nearing the Gaza border on paragliders and automotive vehicles. They infiltrated military bases, Israeli Settlements known as kibbutz, as well as a music festival, which, according to Israeli security assessments, Hamas had no initial knowledge of (Breiner, 2023). Israel has reported 1,200 deaths from the October 7 attack, as well as the capturing of 240 Israeli hostages, which included civilians and soldiers (Haaretz, 2023). An Israeli newspaper outlet, Haaretz, reported that the investigation revealed an Israeli combat helicopter arrived at the scene of the Nova music festival and misfired at attendees, causing the fatalities of some. In response to the attack, Israel began intense airstrikes targeting places such as residential homes, schools, and places that are protected under international laws, such as hospitals, Refugee camps, and places of worship (Al-Jazeera, 2023). Israel’s response was not proportional. The Prime Minister of Israel has and continues to violate International law in an attempt to cleanse Palestinians from the region ethnically. Seven days into the state war, UN expert Francesca Albanese warned of an Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the region (United Nations, 2023). Palestinians have been wronged throughout history by being dispossessed of their land, displaced, and have been facing ongoing human rights violations to this day. The Israeli State made its place in the world through the violent annexation and massacre of native Palestinians, and that is why it is essential to educate ourselves on the history of Palestine before criticizing it.

Before 1948, Palestine was a region bounded by Lebanon to its North, the Gulf of AL-Aqaba to its south, the Jordan region to its East, and the Mediterranean Sea to its west (“Modern Palestine Map,” London: Tallis, 1851.). During WW1, Palestine was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. In a 1915 letter to Sharif Hussein of Mecca, Britain promised the liberation and recognition of Arab countries, which included Palestine (United Nations 1917-1947). They pledged to support their struggle for independence
from the Ottoman Empire if the Arabs enlisted military and political support from Britain. After enlisting military and political support for Britain, Britain went on to promise a national home for Jews in 1917, which was referred to as the “Balfour Declaration.” In 1920, After the war ended, Britain received a mandate to colonize the Palestinian region (Onion et al., 2018). The Balfour Declaration
explicitly stated that the migrating Jews were not allowed to “infringe the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine,” yet that is precisely what we are seeing today. The Israeli government robs and limits Palestinians from their water as well as denies them access to natural resources (Institution for Middle East Understanding,2022). According to Israeli law, Jews from all around the world have more right to Palestinian land than Palestinian natives (Law of Return, 1950). Illegal settlers force Palestinians out of their homes with the assistance of armed Israeli soldiers.

II. The “Nakba” and The Partition of Palestine
The Balfour Declaration was the pulling factor for those identifying with Zionism worldwide. According to a Jewish studies journal article, Between 1933 and 1938, out of the estimated 161,100
Jews who migrated out of Germany and Austria during and after the holocaust, 45,100 emigrated to Palestine (Wischnitzer 39), excluding the 83,794 Jews migrating to Palestine from 1882-1922 (Hadawi 15). Palestine, being one of the 46 countries that were grounds for Jewish migration, had the most Jewish migrant population. Before the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Christians who shared religious relevance to the region coexisted in Palestine. In 1947, after the increase in tension between Zionists and Palestinians, resolution 181(ll) called for the division
of Palestine into two states, a nation for the Arabs and a nation for the Jews, with the capital being Jerusalem under UN control. According to Arab Studies Quarterly, the plan of this resolution would divide Palestine into six parts: 56% of the area would be a Jewish state, while 43% of the area would be an Arab state (Nassar 79-80). The Nakba was an event from 1947 to 1948, where over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their lands and homes by Zionist forces with the use of force and violence (United Nations, 2023). The Violent Irgun and Stern Zionist militia committed the atrocities. The leader of the Irgun extremist party, Menachem Begin, was later given political authority as the Prime Minister of Israel in 1977 (Nassar 81). As my 6-year-old grandmother and her family watched the “Deir Yasin Massacre” in April of 1948 unfold, she recalled the testimonies of the few survivors who were dumped in nearby Arab neighborhoods to share what happened at the village. The survivors recalled Palestinian village men being lined up as they watched their sisters, mothers, and daughters be hung and raped in front of their eyes (Hogan, 2001). They asked the women who were pregnant if they wanted to know the gender of their babies, and then they would viciously cut her stomach open and expose the baby, leaving them both to die. They blew up homes and executed villagers with a bullet to the head and spared nobody (Hamoudi, n.d.). Being petrified is an understatement. When zionist militants entered my grandmother’s neighborhood, her Palestinian Jewish neighbor hid her beneath her bed. She was later put into a basket
and lowered from her neighbor’s window to escape the city of Haifa to eliminate the possibility of being a victim of such heinous crimes. The British mandate was terminated in 1948, and the Israeli State was officially established that same year (University of Central Arkansas, n.d.). The UNGA adopted Resolution 273 (III), formally making Israel a UN member in 1949 (United Nations, 1949).

III. 1967 Six-Day War and The Unification of Arab Nations For Palestine

The 1967 war, also known as the Six-Day War, was evidence of the Palestinian occupation and abuse. Opposing the rise of the Jewish State, which cost the livelihood of Palestinians, tensions arose in the Middle East between Arab nations and Israel. The Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, was expecting an attack on his ally nation, Syria, and commanded military forces to advance to the Sinai
peninsula, where they expelled the UN peacekeeping force, which had been protecting the border along with Israel. He banned Israel from using the Straits of Tiran route. By early June of 1967, Israeli leaders voted to strike the Arabs. They decided that if they attacked, it would be much easier to defeat the Arabs due to their lack of preparation. Israel began what was known as Operation “Focus” on Egypt. Israeli forces were able to enter and occupy the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syrian Golan Heights, and the Egyptian Sinai (History, 2018). 500,000 Palestinians were additionally displaced (PBS, n.d.) The UN unanimously adopted resolution 242 in November of 1967, which stated that Israel must withdraw from the newly gained territory and that they must give the right to every State in the region to live in peace within safe and established borders, free from violence, as well as their territorial integrity and political
independence. Israel argued that the resolution was not specific over which occupied areas it must withdraw from and continue inhabiting the regions. However, resolution 242 clearly stated a “withdrawal of Israel’s armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict” (United Nations, 1967).

IV. Palestinians right to Resistance and Revolt

In 1974, the United Nations affirmed the Palestinian’s right to self-determination, sovereignty, liberation, and refugee return (Rabee et al. 2021). The First Intifada took place in 1987. The Intifada, translated to “the shaking off” or the “uprising,” was a resistance movement in response to the occupation and annexation of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians took to the streets to riot. As a result, Israel mass arrested Palestinians and collectively punished those who rebelled against the occupation. By December of that year, 2,200 Israeli armed settlers permanently occupied 40% of the Gaza Strip, forcing 650,000 former occupants of that land into the remaining 60% of the Gaza Strip, making it one of the most densely populated regions in the world (History, 2020). By 1988, Palestinian casualties were at 300, meanwhile, 11,000 were injured (History, 2010). In 1993, the Oslo Accords were signed by both Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Liberation Organization president, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, later assassinated in 1995 by a Jewish extremist who did not want peace with the Palestinians. The Oslo Accords stated a withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the established PLO to rule specific areas to create a resolution. This step marked the end of the first Intifada (Office of The Historian, n.d.). Within the 30 years following, we witness the
expansion of illegal Israeli settlements unfold in Palestinian territories (Youtube, 2023). The second Intifada began in 2000 after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited Al-Aqsa mosque with more than 1,000 heavily armed soldiers. Before the visit, Palestinians were already boiling over the broken Oslo Accords agreement, and they had enough. Sharon’s visit marked the anniversary of the “Sabra and Shatila” refugee camp massacre, which many blamed for failing to stop the bloodshed (Al-Jazeera,
2020). In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip after pressure from the armed resistance and retaliation in the region. The Hamas organization was founded around the time of the first Intifada to
liberate Palestinians from ongoing oppression. Although Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005, their authority remained. After Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas as their central governance in 2007, Israel imposed a blockade on the Strip controlling the Sea, Air, and Ground.
Borders enclosed the Gazan population (UNICEF, n.d.). No food, water, or electricity entered the Strip without approval from the Israeli government. They have continued to occupy other areas claimed during the Six-Day War, most notably the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Controlling many aspects of the Palestinians’ lives, creating an atmosphere full of suffering and psychological warfare for Palestinians was an apparent goal. (Onion et al., 2018).

V. Conclusion

Context is crucial to approach an understanding of any type. October 7 did not happen in a vacuum. Palestinians are currently suffering ongoing airstrike bombardments in Gaza, where half of the
population are children (PRB, 2002). Not to forget that Israel has been claiming they are only striking areas that are suspected of being Hamas operation Bases with no sufficient evidence to prove such
claims. On October 13, Israel commanded the southern Gaza population to evacuate within 24 hours before they began severe shellings. They provided them with two “safe routes”. As a vehicle was evacuating Palestinians to the North from the south of Gaza, Israel sent a deadly airstrike that actively targeted those fleeing on that convoy, killing many. At the same time, the majority were children (The Guardian, 2023). The United Nations released a statement saying it “considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences” (United Nations, 2023). If Israel was only targeting Hamas, what is the justification for the 186 people, including more than 30 children, who have been killed in the West Bank by Settlers and the Israeli military since October 7, where Hamas does not reside? It was even reported that there were Palestinian deaths that the Israeli government did not take any fierce action against. The killer of Palestinian farmer Bilal Muhammed Saleh, 40, was released days after his arrest. This serves as evidence of the lack of care the Israeli
government has for Palestinians (Inskeep et al., 2023). The injustice towards Palestinians is not something we can graze over. We cannot expect peace to form suddenly. Liberation is the prerequisite
for peace. Without the liberation of the Palestinian people and the repossession of their homes and livelihoods, peace could never be achieved.

The artist who lives by Art

By: Raya Mustafa

October 18, 2023

 “I don’t think I’d really have much of a personality without art.”, an idea that manifests in every aspect of Alonzo Gonzalez’ life. Alonzo was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, New York. Growing up he felt indifferent when it came to writing. Nothing about writing captured the interest of Gonzales. Finding a secret path to writing through art is what allowed him to check off writing as a personal development. Alonzo enjoys drawing. Unlike his peers, he was not gifted with the ability to draw on his own, he instead had to work his way up to have the ability he carries today. 

Thank you, Alonzo Gonzales, for giving me the opportunity to provide a peer review for your language literacy journey. The narrative written by Alonzo focuses on his struggle with writing, being overcome with the help of his artistic abilities. The journey highlighted Alonzo impressively connecting his drawing progress, to his ability to story-tell/write.                  

In a brief conversation with Alonzo Gonzales, I learned that art has played a major role in different aspects of his life. “I went over how watching this video taught me how to take things step by step and I put that in my drawings and then I correlated it to a lot of other things in my life.” He revealed that art was used as a tool to mold out other abilities he lacked strength in. Alonzo starts off by acknowledging that writing was not the focus of his improvement, but drawing allowed him to improve by doing both simultaneously. Art was the means that allowed Alonzo to get better in both writing and storytelling. 

Alonzo shares that his transformation, did not happen overnight but instead was a step-by-step process. He exemplified this by referring to a video that taught him how to draw a boy. Applying this technique to growth made Alonzo realize that this was the approach that was most effective in his learning journey. From precision to focus, Alonzo was able to achieve his goals through art. He shares a technique used in art, “lining in art actually made me a better writer when I want to be, not all the time. And it just made me more precise in my thinking and made me take my time with things”. Art did not stop at story telling with Alonzo. Art and the strategic approach Alonzo took to get better at art was affected by other aspects of his life, like video games. With his approach to art, Alonzo was able to plant a seed of patience that benefits him throughout the breadth of life.  His strategic approach to improve in art captured other aspects of his life that he feels has been an accomplishment. 

When Alonzo was asked about what he would be without art, he expressed that art was his personality and identity, and that he would not feel like a fulfilled person. “Without art, I don’t think I’d really be much of a person”, he says. Just as someone’s life can be filled with sleep, gaming and sporadic workouts, art fills a void in Alonzo’s life. Through this response, Alonzo emphasizes the importance of art in his life. 

Alonzo underscores the influence of art in his approach to various life challenges, through personal development, precision, strategy, demonstrating the power of creativity and perseverance he can recognize himself through art. 

They were family friends and my sisters and I were always sleeping over. Their father, who is a Sheikh of the community, would always greet us with the Islamic greeting;“ Asalamu Alaykum”-peace be upon you. These sleepovers were the highlight of my childhood but they carried a foreign practice during their morning hours. We would awake at the prick of dawn and offer our prayers. Although my family and I were practicing Muslims and are considered more practicing than the average American Muslim family, this particular family unified in every aspect of life which was admirable to anyone viewing. After the morning prayers and after I laid back into the comforts of my small death, the message of the Sheikh relayed from his daughters and we were all called to the living room to read our daily dose of The Holy Quran. This was my least favorite part of the sleepovers.

 

I did not hate this part of the sleepover because I felt ‘disconnected from the faith’ but rather because reading and writing in Arabic was my greatest weakness. I spoke broken Arabic at home and even with it being broken, both my parents and seven siblings always knew what I intended to communicate, which led me to never be corrected. I hated that I had so much passion for Islam yet I was unable to read a single sentence from the book that taught me all the values I embodied or tried to embody. I felt like an imposter within my own faith. Every sleepover morning, I was reminded of that feeling. 

I was six years old when my mother placed me into kindergarten at the local Islamic center where she worked as a valued Quran teacher. I repeated kindergarten three times. Maybe it was the familiarity of my mother being there that kept me in the bubble of my broken Arabic. When I had gotten to the level of study that my mother was teaching, I remembered watching my mother take pride in the other classmates and not in her own children. I felt ashamed that my mother, who was a very well respected teacher, taught children who weren’t her own. Meanwhile, her children at home could barely form a proper Arabic sentence.

Sheikh Hamoud was the principal of that local center. Upon entering the living room where he would allow every attendee to read a page, I would attempt to hide behind my sisters so that I would blend in with the crowd of Arabic illiterates. This was the case for a while until this particular sleepover I noticed an improvement in my three older sisters’ Arabic pronunciation. Now I was alone. I had nobody I could watch butcher the reading to make myself look better. I was forced to focus only on myself.

That same year I remembered being tired of the awkward silence I caused during my segment of the reading. I remembered entering my parents room where the air conditioning created this soothing white noise. My mothers blanket stopped below her chest as she sat up with her back against her pillow resting on the bed frame and her reading glasses resting above her Apple cheeks. In her hand was “الرحيق المختوم”-The Sealed Nectar. I approached her while holding a copy of the Quran. She looked at me with a blank stare as her head and glasses were fixated towards her reading. My mother has always implemented Islamic practices in the lives of her eight children, however, during our childhood we did not value them as much as she wished we had.   You could assume how she felt seeing her younger daughter voluntarily want to learn. After getting her full attention I asked if I could read with her. She had buried her excitement when she accepted my request beneath her poker face. I knew my mother was smiling. From there on my mother was my teacher.   

My reading came naturally after years of constant practice. I had finally matured and experienced enough life to understand that I do not have to remain in a condition. I had the ability to change, sitting back and feeling sorry for myself was not going to teach me Arabic, Connecting to my mothers tongue was. Now that I am older I begin to ponder over the reality that we are in. embarrassment has been instilled within many generations throughout various cultures for one purpose. Although it may not seem like it is positive, It most definitely can be. Embarrassment builds resilience, or at least it did for me. Today I am proud to say that I am no longer ashamed to enter a session of reading with Sheikh Hamoud. 

Step into a world where words dance and ideas unfold. Join me on a brief exploration of language and expression. Enjoy the journey!