Bethlehem cancels Christmas this year.
A midnight mass in the Palestinian city’s Church of the Nativity will only be held to mourn the loss of the lives in Gaza.
afikra | عفكرة
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- In the years after the 1967 Six Day War, the Israeli army arrested/harassed anyone displaying the Palestinian flag's colors in Gaza and the West Bank. In response, many Palestinians in the region would carry sliced watermelons in a sign of subversive protest.
- 9 Sudanese Films To Watch: A Thread 📽️ 1. Al Mahatta (via Berlinale), directed by Eltayeb Mahdi
- Context and history matter. Empower yourself with knowledge to understand how we got here. In solidarity 🇵🇸 This list is intended as a growing resource, so drop your recommendations for relevant films, documentaries and videos below.
- In 1959, Dar Al Hilal in Egypt started issuing Mickey in Arabic, which lasted until 2003. In 1967, writer Magdi Naguib and illustrator Muhammad Altahami created Mickey as a character who wakes people up for Suhoor in Ramadan (مسحراتي).
- Umm Kulthoum paid a visit to Fairouz’s hotel after she heard that the singer would be hosting a concert in Cairo. They exchanged greetings and compliments and talked about how much they admire each other’s work, 1966.
- Gauze – the light, open-weave cotton (or silk) fabric that’s used for both medicine and tailoring – gets its name from the city of Gaza which was a regional center of weaving and where it originated.
- Replying to @afikraSimilarly, prominent Palestinian artists have stated they risked imprisonment for simply painting depictions of watermelons, as well as other images (like poppy seed plants) that might have incorporated the national colors. Image: “Palestinian Flag” by Khaled Hourani
- French actor Jean-Claude Pascal congratulates Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum on November 14, 1967 after her concert at the Olympia concert hall, in Paris. Unknown Photographer.
- We asked our podcast guests Aida Abbashar & @KholoodKhair what we should be reading to learn about Sudan. These are their recommendations ⤵️🧵 (Read our blog for more in-depth info about each book 🔗 afikra.com/blog/sudan-rea…)
- Munira Ramadan was a Sudanese athlete and the very first female football referee in the Middle East and Africa - possibly the world! . Check out Scene Arabia's great piece about her to find out more.
- In one month in 1964, Malcom X visited Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia, where he completed his pilgrimage to Mecca.
- Khaldieh Library (المكتبة الخالدية) was opened year 1900 in Palestine and included 1318 books at the time. By 1936, the number of books increased to reach 7000. 📷: Founders Ragheb, Moussa & Khalil Al Khalidi (Palestine), Taher Al Jazairy (Syria) & Mohammad Al Habbal (Lebanon).
- In November 2021, The Guinness Book of World Records announced the entry of the Lebanese singer “Sabah” (الشحرورة صباح) into their records because of her huge artistic archive. Sabah presented 4,000 songs, 85 films and 27 plays.
















