As Palestinians in the diaspora, there was always a feeling that something was buried deep inside of us. We could never describe it, but we knew something was there—something in us long before our first breath. Our mothers and grandmothers knew about it, but they never spoke of it. It was like a chip embedded deep inside us that lay dormant for years and, for many people, decades. But occasionally, when we would hear from our loved ones back home or watch the violence against our people, we felt something like a slight radiation, burn, or pulse throughout our entire body and soul. But those sensations were ephemeral and suppressed by fear. The fear of alienation or losing jobs, money, comfort, and stability.
In the days and months following October 7, 2023, something changed. Something triggered. We received a signal from the homeland that was so strong it radiated vibrating noises in our ears and shook us to our core. It was an out-of-body experience that caused a series of flashbacks, where we recalled memories, stories, and songs that were whispered in our ears during our childhood. It was as though we were in a trance-like state, watching old footage of ourselves and our relatives back home—dancing dabke, laughing, crying, and mourning. We were praying and resisting, throwing rocks and rebuilding homes, planting seeds and harvesting olives, cooking and flipping maqluba.
Moments later, we awoke from this spiritual retreat from within, and clarity came to the fore. What was embedded inside of us was a form of Sumud—a superpower that all Palestinians are instilled with, but only those living in the homeland have been using it.
And the message from the signal was as clear as the sky above Al Aqsa Mosque: It was time. It was the moment our grandparents and their parents had been waiting for. It was the moment our parents sacrificed their lives and health to provide us with opportunities for education, wealth, and influence.
The fear of losing our jobs or being alienated no longer inhibited us. We trust in God, and he blessed us with Sumud. And so, it was time for us to be steadfast and courageous, turn our silence into a roar, stand up, and use the education, tools, and influence we’ve accumulated to reclaim the land we’ve been separated from. It was time for us to lock arms with our sisters and brothers and fight for what is ours: every olive tree, poppy, piece of land, and rock — from the river to the sea.
It was time to free Palestine because Palestine freed us.
– Dr. Ed Hasan