Palestinian Journalist Zeiad Abbas: ‘God Is Not a Real Estate Agent’

On this week’s episode of “Scheer Intelligence,” Palestinian journalist and filmmaker Zeiad Abbas Shamrouch tells of his childhood living in a refugee camp following what he refers to as the “Nakba,” or the “catastrophe.” That’s how Palestinians refer to the events of 1948, when 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were expelled or fled from their homes, becoming second-class citizens in the process.

In his interview for the show, Abbas, himself a refugee from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the West Bank, touches on the “birthright” movement, the Palestinian diaspora and U.S.-Israeli relations. “The moving of the embassy to Jerusalem, it’s like you erase the rights of the Palestinian people in East Jerusalem,” he says. Though American media outlets have focused closely on the Trump administration’s relations with Russia, many have overlooked or downplayed how Israel has influenced U.S. foreign policy.

Abbas questions the lack of media coverage of the Palestinian crisis and the continual suffering of his people. “We have one aquifer in Gaza,” he says, adding that, “according to all the human rights organizations … 95 percent of the water in the aquifer in Gaza is polluted … [and] 12 percent among the young deaths in Gaza [are caused by] diarrhea, related to the pollution.”

Abbas is a filmmaker, journalist and educator who has worked with Palestinian and international media organizations and has participated in the production of several documentary films. He is the manager for cross-cultural programs for the Middle East Children’s Alliance, as well as cofounder of the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh. Abbas also served as co-producer and production manager for the film “Promises,” which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.

Listen to the episode in full below: