The Resurgence of a Palestinian Protest Song
Actor recently said the words “Free Palestine” on live television as part of his Saturday Night Live monologue. And Oscar-winning film director used his acceptance speech to denounce the use of Judaism to justify the genocide in Gaza.
The issue of justice for Palestine has not always been welcomed in the arts. But, as Youssef and Glazer demonstrated, the tide is slowly turning. Part of that tide is the performed in 1972 by Egyptian-born Palestinian singer Zeinab Shaath.
The master copy of the song, called “” was thought to be lost to Israeli theft for decades. Writing about its resurrection at is Iman Husain, a writer, artist, and fact-checker based in Brooklyn, New York. She spoke with è! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on è! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about the fascinating story behind Shaath’s song.
Sonali Kolhatkar
joined è! in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of è! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute’s Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice (2023) and Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence (2005). Her forthcoming book is called Talking About Abolition (Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women’s Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master’s in Astronomy from the University of Hawai’i, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on “My Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host” in her 2014 of the same name.
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