" . . . a solution divorced from the context of its problem is a solution built on quicksand" (Khalidi xxiv).
Since many Palestinian-Americans find the "old country" somewhat provincial compared to our adopted homes in Europe and North America, we find it humorous when European and North American Jews, with no previous ties to historic Palestine, wax eloquently about "home" upon first stepping foot on Ben Gurion (Lod) airport soil.
In no time the "olim," (newcomers to Israel) are swapping hummus and falafel recipes, which has been appropriated as "Israeli" food. One Palestinian woman lamented recently that she had to pull out a history book to convince an American friend that falafel was an Arabic dish. In just a matter of time, the recent immigrants, or "transplants," as a Palestinian journalist refers to them, are calling one another "habbibi," Arabic for darling, and filling up comments boxes on their blogs with "yallas," and "ya annis" (other appropriated Arabic sayings).
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