Leena Ismail, Car Nazzal, Eman Srouji, Leila Srouji, Amal Tamari, Pam Totah, Marina Wahbeh, Karina Yanes

The eight of us come from different places, different families, different walks of life, but we will always meet at the table. It is where we roll warak diwali, make ka’ak, listen to the stories of our parents and grandparents, and share stories of our own. 

This is our story.

As our collective formed online, the phrase “do you know [insert pali potter here]?” kept coming up. One knew another, and our number of participating artists grew to eight. We all met for the first time in person for this conference, this moment in time, to share a meal together. 

This is our joyous resistance. 

This is how we celebrate our heritage. 

Through the diaspora, we found one another. The familiarity of the table is what we are all connected to - gathering to nourish our bodies with food, nourish our minds with conversation, and nourish our souls with love. 

Those in Gaza are facing starvation, a tool of genocide, and yet they resist. They set their tables amidst rubble and without certain loved ones. They gather together in the remnants of their homes, their communities, their country. Yet they survive. We survive. Palestinians will carry on through one of the most beautiful ways of resisting - togetherness. 

We, eight artists, are stronger together. We have created our table; we will always meet here. We hope you will meet us here too. 

Ahlan Wa Sahlan. Welcome to our home.