Noor Abdel-Haq

Period 6
11/20/15
One Nations Culture
For my senior project I will be teaching a class of tenth grade World History students on
the culture of Palestine and its people as well as give a small fifteen minute presentation about
the culture of Palestine to a Human Geography class. For the Human Geography class, I
accomplished this presentation by putting together a captivating PowerPoint that grabbed the
audiences attention and left them wanting to know more about the culture and ways of the
Palestinian people. Overall, I received a positive response to the presentation, which was
followed by many thoughtful questions and insight on the culture and history of Palestine.
Teaching the tenth grade World History class will prove to either be a challenge or something
that comes natural to me. In order to prepare myself for the presentation coming up next
semester, I will create a carefully laid out lesson plan that will keep the attention of the students.
I can do this by giving worksheets, activities, and keeping my lectures to a bare minimum. My
hopes are to leave a classroom full of students who have been enriched by my teachings. In this
paper, I want to research the many different components that go into any culture (food, music,
clothing, etc.) as well as how the Palestinian peoples art is shaped by the conflict between
Palestine and Israel. As a Palestinian, I have firsthand experience with not only the culture of
Palestine, but the conflict between Israel and Palestine. While I research, I hope to look for new
sources other than the one I was given as I grew up in my Palestinian household. Overall, I will
research the culture and the conflict and what it has done to residents of Palestine. I hope to look

at Palestine and the conflict in a new light after finding non-biased sources that will broaden my
horizons and widen my spectrum of knowledge as a Palestinian-American.
Palestine is located in the Middle East next to Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Throughout its
long history, Palestine has been facing extensive conflict with European Jews who wished to
return to their homeland (WordPress, 2011). In 1918, the British Mandate took over Palestinian
territory, leaving a significant struggle for Palestinians to hang on to their culture and traditional
ways (Sherman, 2002). This ultimately becomes a trend for the Palestinians as they attempt to
latch on to their slowly fading culture. By far the largest succeeded attempt to eliminate
Palestinians from their land occurred on May 14th, 1948 when Israel officially became its own
state (How Palestine Became Israel, 2013). This occurrence, known as Al Nakba or
Catastrophe, left 750,000 Palestinians as refugees, leaving their homes and fleeing to Syria and
Lebanon. To this day, Palestinian refugees carry the keys to their homes in a hope to return. It
also left the destruction of 531 Palestinian towns and 33 massacres led by Zionist extremists. In
1967, Israel proved its military dominance through the 1967 Six-Day War (What Was the 1967
Six-Day War?, 2012). During the war, lasting only six days, Israel successfully took over land
occupied by Jordan, Egypt, and Syria (What Was the 1967 Six-Day War?, 2012). This land
included the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights. As of now,
Palestine remains an occupied territory made up by the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Despite the
occupation, Palestinians still hold on to their culture, religion, and traditions.
Every Palestinian household shares a similar culture that is represented through food,
clothing, music and other forms of entertainment. Islam, the main religion in Palestine, widely
dictates the diet of the people living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the holy month of
Ramadan, Palestinians enjoy delicacies such as katayef, mamoul and knafeh, all of which are

sweets that are eaten as an after-dinner treat. Falafel and hummus, both street foods, are also very
popular in Palestine and are typically eaten during breakfast time or as an appetizer with a side of
tea (Food: Middle Eastern, 2015). Another very important dish in Palestine includes a sweet
pastry dish called namoura or hareesa (Food: Middle Eastern, 2015). Unfortunately, food
became a very difficult thing to obtain during the siege in Palestine and still continues to be part
of the struggle of the conflict. Due to high prices on food set by the Israeli government, poor
Palestinians find it significantly difficult to get a hold of food for their families (World Food
Programs, 2015). Aside from these complications, Palestinians still relish the food their ancestors
enjoyed in the past, making Palestinian food very unique.
Aside from food, Palestinians use music and poetry as way of entertainment. In 1948,
when Palestinians were placed in refugee camps by Israel, Palestinian music and poetry blew up.
This time period, known as the al nakba or catastrophe, influenced several artists to create music
and poetry as a way to help men, women, and children in their struggle through relocation of
their homes and as a form of political resistance to occupation (Cultures of Resistance, 2005).
Ibrahim Tuqan, a Palestinian nationalist poet wrote several poems as a way to express
disapproval of the British Mandate (Ibrahim Tuqan, 2015). Authors like Tuqan greatly
influenced many Palestinian poets to resist any threat to their freedoms in a peaceful manner.
Palestinian hip-hop, starting in 1998, featured rappers who spoke of the struggle of the Israeli
occupation. A famous group from Gaza, known as PR or Palestinian rappers have revolutionized
Palestinian hip-hop and have used it as a way to show that any small voice can make a huge
difference (Nachmann, 2005). Although hip-hop in Palestine is relatively young, it still continues
to grow in the West Bank and Gaza and gives a way for the youth of Palestine to protest in a
peaceful and artistic manner. Most music from 1948 till now speaks of the occupation using

instruments such as the flute, drums, and tambourines. Songs range from talks about small-town
affairs to the struggle of oppression.
Another important part of Palestinian culture is the clothing that is worn by both the men
and the women of the nation. Although years have gone by, Palestinian clothing has not evolved
in a dramatic way. For example, women still wear a long embroidered dress known as a thob to
weddings, parties, or even around the house (Saca, 2006). Men wear similar gowns that are also
embroidered with beads. The job of cloth-making fell in the hands of the women, who would
make and design clothing, pottery and other crafts (Saca, 2006). The current mode of wear
includes normal, everyday clothes that can be seen in the United States as well as these
traditional articles of clothing. The clothes of the Palestinian people differs from every village
yet still shares the common designs and embroideries. All in all, the clothing of the Palestinian
people is shaped by religion and the region in which each person lives.
In all cultures, artwork and dress wear is created as a representation of the people. In
Palestine, an art piece or mode of dress is regarded as not only something that is appealing to the
eye, but a form of political resistance to the Israeli occupation (Gonzalez, 2009). Such examples
include the popular neck piece known as a kuffiyeh and the Palestinian flag. The kuffiyeh, or
hatta, was originally worn by Palestinians peasants, signifying a socio-economic status within
the nation (The Kufiyeh Project). As Palestine began to be colonized by Zionists, the hatta
began to be worn by all Palestinians as a way to resist the occupation and growth of Jewish
settlements (The Kufiyeh Project). Another way in which Palestinians show their opposition to
the occupation is through the Palestinian flag. The colors, red, black, green, and white, have
many symbolic meanings ranging from mourning of loss (black), peace and love due to the fact
that Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus Christ (white), the green land of Palestine (green),

and the people who sacrificed their lives for the land of Palestine (red) (Bipolar Bear, 2003).
When the right to fly the flag was taken away from the Palestinian people who wished to display
their opposition, they held watermelons instead because a watermelon has similar colors to the
Palestinian flag (Taylor, 2008). Another very important way for Palestinians to demonstrate their
talent and resistance is through graffiti drawn of the walls that separate the West Bank from
Israeli territory. The wall contains hundreds of paintings depicting the Palestinian flag and quotes
demanding Palestinians the right to return to their land (Leuenberger, 2011). The infamous wall
was originally set up by the Israeli government to provide the Jews living in Israel a sense of
protection. On the other hand, the wall is looked at by Palestinian human rights activists as a wall
that segregates the people of Palestine from their original homeland (Leuenberger, 2011). As a
response to this segregation, Palestinians have used the wall as a canvas to paint their desires and
dreams to return. Artwork and dress has been used from the very beginning to express
disapproval to the occupation and is still used today.
Throughout my extensive research, I learned many new things that I will be able to apply
to my teachings of the tenth grade World History class. Prior to my research, I was unaware of
the significance and detail that goes into the culture of the Palestinian people. Now that I have
looked through numerous reliable sources, my knowledge has grown and I feel more comfortable
getting up and teaching a class about this subject. Aside from knowing that there tension between
Palestinians and Israelis, I was not greatly educated on why this tension was taking place. After
learning about events such as al nakba and the six-day war, I have learned the details and
purpose behind the animosity both nations hold for each other. I am prepared to teach this subject
knowing full well that I will receive critique for it but I feel that the research I have done will
help me respond to that criticism in a respectable and educated manner. Due to the fact that I

have researched this subject so thoroughly, I believe that I am ready to go on and teach it to a
group of students who may be nave and uninformed on the pressing issue of the Middle East.
Overall, I hope to enter a classroom full of students ready to learn about this heated subject and
leave the same group of students who have been culturally enriched.

Work Cited

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