Daybreak in Gaza
Dear Friends, I still have stories to share about my time in the West Bank earlier this year, but I feel compelled to write about what’s happening now,...
All Postcards
Dear Friends, Earlier this year (2025), I was very lucky to spend three months in the West Bank. I’m on sabbatical from my university this year, and I...
War with Iran
Dear Friends, I’m working on some more Postcards about my time in Palestine. They’re not ready yet, but I thought I’d write today about what I’m hearing from...
16 Postcards
Dear Friends, With mixed emotions, I am back home in the US. My heart remains in Palestine, and I hope to return again soon. The kindness, warmth, and...
Going home
Dear Friends, With mixed emotions, I am back home in the US. My heart remains in Palestine, and I hope to return again soon. The kindness, warmth, and...
Dinner with a family in Bethlehem
Dear Friends, On my first day in Bethlehem, I asked a small group of men on the street for directions. As they vied to assist, one of them recognized me, and...
Easter in Bethlehem
Dear Friends, Belated holiday greetings - Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Eid Mubarak to all. Some of you have asked about Easter in Bethlehem. It was...
Bethlehem
Dear Friends, It’s Easter weekend and I am in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. I traveled here recently from Ramallah. As a US citizen, I am allowed to...
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Dear Friends, The Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at Bethlehem University is a beautiful oasis of hope and peace in the midst...
The Palestinian Museum
Dear Friends, The Palestinian Museum, on the grounds of Birzeit University just 16 miles from Jerusalem, is a must-see. It’s a small, visually stunning...
Defending and celebrating scholarship
Dear Friends, I had the honor of serving on a master’s thesis committee for a student in Translation Studies at the Arab American University of Palestine...
The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music
Dear Friends, We woke up last week to the devastating nightmare of renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza, alongside Israel’s total blockade of desperately needed...
Majdal
Dear Friends, In the last postcard I introduced you to Haya (you can read about her here), and today I’d like to introduce you to another amazing person...
Haya
Dear Friends, I would like to introduce you to Haya, one of the wonderful people working at the Lavender Boutique Hotel (previous postcard on the hotel...
Gaza's 'Riviera'?
Dear Friends, Many of you have asked me what people here are saying about the current American president, and his plans for Gaza. This is not the sort of...
Just a nice day
Dear Friends, Yesterday, the morning was very cold (34 degrees), but by the afternoon the sun was shining and it was much warmer (high 50s). As I wrote in my...
Do I feel safe?
Dear Friends, The answer is yes - I do feel safe. Ramallah has been described as a bubble. All is calm in this city, and it is rare to see an Israeli soldier...
Why am I here?
Dear Friends, Today’s postcard is a little different. It’s not about my experiences here in the West Bank, but it aims to explain: why am I here? I’m on...
Lavender Boutique Hotel, Ramallah
Dear Friends, If you missed the first blog post about my travels to the Dead Sea and from there to the West Bank, you can find it here. In short, I journeyed...
Scenes from Ramallah
Dear Friends, We had a HUGE rain and windstorm yesterday - like a strong blizzard, but with rain. It was 45 degrees, but according to my phone it felt like...
First Postcard from Palestine
Friends, family, and dear colleagues, This is the beginning of a blog I’ll be writing over the next few months, Postcards from Palestine. Here’s an update on...