PALESTINE IN AMERICA’S PALIPALOOZA RETURNS FEATURING AMIRA JAZEERA, DJ NANOOS & MAMA YAYA

Amira Jazeera, DJ Nanoos and Mama Yaya will rock the stage at this year’s Palipalooza! Palestine in America hosts an annual cultural event to help fundraise for our  quarterly magazine. PiA has not hosted an event since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event will be hosted in Chicago at La Estrella Mini Mart and tickets are available at PalestineinAmerica.com for $20. 

Palestinian You Should Know: Tarik El-Abour

Tarik El-Abour is the first and only Palestinian to be signed by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Back in 2018, with the help of team advisor Reggie Jackson, El-Abour was signed by the Kansas City Royals to a minor league deal with the opportunity to earn a spot on the major league roster. He is currently a free agent and has been staying in shape by training daily and playing for the Palestinian national team.

Palestinian you should know: Adam Musa

Adam Musa is an outfielder and pitcher for the Palestinian national baseball team. Musa pitched seven solid innings for Team Palestine during the West Asia Cup. The team had a small pitching staff, so his performance was a huge stress reliever. He struck out 10 batters and only gave up one hit as he pitched half the team’s innings during the group stage and semi finals.

Palestinian you should know: Yunis Haleem

Yunis Haleem’s performance on the mound against Sri Lanka and his steadfastness against Pakistan in the finals earned him the “Best Pitcher” award at the West Asia Cup. Haleem, who pitched for Chicago State University, is currently team Palestine’s pitcher, infielder, outfielder and captain. Originally from Beitnunia, Palestine, Haleem led the team with nine innings pitched, five of which came in a complete game shutout against Sri Lanka—the 2019 West Asia Cup champions.

Palestinian you should know: Tariq Suboh

Tariq Suboh joined the national team a few weeks before it traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan for the team’s first international tournament, and he quickly became a cornerstone of the team. The catcher hit the first international home run in Team Palestine’s history in the stage-clinching game against Sri Lanka.Suboh most recently played professionally for Nebraska’s Lincoln SaltDogs. His leadership, experience and execution on the field has brought legitimacy to the team.

Letter from the editor: Let me introduce you to the Palestinian national baseball team

The rest of this special edition will introduce you to those players, chronicling their journey to Pakistan and their upcoming preparations for the most important stretch of games in the team’s short history.  As you flip through this edition, players like Tarik El-Abour, Malik Abdallah, Tariq Suboh, Yunis Haleem and Zaki Haj will stand out.

Film Review: Farha

While I am not Palestinian, as a Puerto Rican, I can empathize with the feeling of knowing my family's homeland has fallen victim to Western imperialism. Puerto Rico has not known independence since Columbus landed on our shores in 1493. At one point in history, the American government outlawed the very presence of our flag, the symbol of our pride. Because of this, the resiliency of the Palestinian people has always resonated with me, and I am absolutely positive that the story of Farha will resonate with you too.