I remember the first Palestinian traditional thobe my mother ever bought me: I was about 9 years old and was a part of a class where we learnt how to dance Dabkeh, the official Palestinian folk dance that every Palestinian was taught as a child. We would wear the long dresses with intricate black and red hand-stitching, as a symbol of our Palestinian background, dance to traditional Arabic songs and eat iconic Palestinian dishes like stuffed vine leaves. These traditions have been instilled in almost every Palestinian I know, because for most of us it is the only way we can get a glimpse of our home country. And so it can be disheartening when one sees these customs being taken and credited as someone else’s.<\/p>\n
It was announced back in October that the Miss Universe pageant of 2021 would be held in Israel, and several commentators had a lot to say about the news. One of them was Rafaela Plastira, who represents Greece, when she shocked the internet by announcing that she would not be attending the pageant because she “could not go up on the stage, acting like nothing is happening when people are fighting for their lives [in Israel and Palestine].\u201d She also wrote, “Palestine you are not only in my mind every day but you have the most beautiful place in my heart forever.”<\/p>\n
\n