Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Contact
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Toggle search form
  • photo credit author Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.NGPhoto.biz and Wikipedia
    Emergency Court Motions to Stop Elbit Drone Parts Shipment via Frankfurt Airport  Activism
  • American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by Israeli soldiers May 11, 2022
    Documentary names soldier it says killed Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 American Arabs
  • Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ
    Jordan bans 12 news sites for ‘spreading media poison’ following corruption report Arab World
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech Activism
  • ADC creates emergency fund to defend people who are being punished for expressing views on the American-sanction violence by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Photo courtesy of ADC
    ADC Condemns ADL, Rep. Torres’ Defamation of Dr. Lara Sheehi Activism
  • UN Special Committee on Israeli practices in occupied territories warns of a second Nakba  Arab World
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month Activism
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders American Arabs
  • Stuffed Grape Leaves. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    A recipe on how to make Stuffed Grape Leaves with lamb, ox tail and rice American Arabs
  • Andrew Boutros, interim US Attorney Northern District of Illinois. Photo courtesy of the US Attorney's Office
    Andrew S. Boutros Takes Oath of Office as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois American Arabs
  • Israeli massacres of Palestinian civilians March 18 2025
    Palestinians demand investigation of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip Arab World
  • Illinois Muslim Action Day April 9 2025
    Illinois Muslim Action Day Policies at April 9 Statehouse News Conference American Arabs
  • Investigation demanded in March 23 massacre of 15 first responders by Israel's military in Rafah
    Investigation demanded into Israel slaughter of First Responder in Rafah on March 23, 2025 Arab World
  • More than a dozen candidates running for various local offices in the Chicagoland suburbs attended an Ifatr dinner Thursday, March 13, 2025 hosted by the Arab American Chamber of Commerce at the Jerusalem Banquet Hall in Bridgeview.
    Candidates promise fairness and engagement at Arab Chamber Iftar event March 13 Activism
  • Orland Fire Protection District, Fiscal Voices, receive endorsement of the Arab American Democracy Coaliton
    Independent candidates for Orland Fire receive Arab and Muslim American endorsement Activism
Poster for the movie Exodus, which defined American support for Israel. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Palestinians failing in telling their story

Posted on June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 By rayhanania 10 Comments on Palestinians failing in telling their story
SHARE ...
1         
 
  
1
Share

  • Tweet

Palestinians failing in telling their story

Where is the Palestinian “Exodus”? Palestinians have failed to tell their story to counter the lies propagated by lies spread by Israel. The Israelis have built up myths catered to appeal Audiences in America, where the power rests to determine who will dominate the Middle East. Arabs have underestimated the influence of the population in the United States, a major error that has cost them a nation. Sadly, most Palestinians don’t even recognize their failure and instead focus on emotion and that hate it creates

Published in the Arab News Newspaper June 15, 2017

By Ray Hanania

The 50th anniversary of Israel’s military invasion of Arab East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank pretty has pretty much passed the way of the anniversaries have passed in America and the Arab World.

Palestinian activists, Arab and Muslim organizations in America issued passioned, well-meaning statements denouncing Israel and urging people not to forget.

In the Arab and Muslim World, it passed with barely a rumble.

The people and the leadership in the Arab community have changed. What’s not changed is how we tell our story. We’re basically doing the same things today that we did in 1948 and in 1967, with less physical resistance and less violence, of course.

But we don’t really need violence. What we need is to do a better job of telling our story.

Poster for the movie Exodus, which defined American support for Israel. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Poster for the movie Exodus, which defined American support for Israel. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Palestinians continue to protest and organize and hold conferences where the speak to the “choir.” Sometimes, the activism is effective, such as with the BDS movement. BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) has made gains, but it’s still not enough to bring about real change.

It hasn’t brought about substantive change. Israel continues to expand slowly and steadily erasing the Palestinian identity.

What we should be doing is what Israel began doing since 1948. Israel knows how to tell its story to mass audiences, effectively and in a compelling narrative. The story Israel tells is not accurate, of course. It is built on lies, exaggerations and the demonization of Palestinians and anyone who criticizes them.

We need to do a better job of telling our story.

I was in a major Chicago library the other day in the Middle East section where I found dozens of books by Israelis and Jews who shared their experiences in “building” a state in the shadow of the Holocaust in a compelling writing style.

The two sides were together, but the literature of the two sides is vastly different, not just in the facts that each tell but in the style in which they tell it. The Israeli story wasn’t weighed down with footnotes or even facts. They were not written the way most Arabs books are written, as factual but boring academic dissertations.

Yes, sadly, the truth can be boring and “boring” is not read.

The pro-Israel books offered compelling stories of what it is like to be them. They neutralize the Palestinian narrative. The Israelis succeed in “connecting” with their audiences, in this case American readers, far better than the Palestinians and Arabs have been able to do.

Only a very few Palestinian and Arab writers have told their stories in a personal way that might connect with American readers.

It isn’t just the print industry that is the problem. It’s everywhere. The gap between how Israelis present their story and how Palestinians and Arabs present their story is immense. It exists in the movies, the theater and on television not just in the popular TV sitcoms but also in the fundamental “brain” shows like those on the History Channel.

The truth is that after 70 years the real story of Palestine has not been told in a powerful, compelling or effective way for audiences to embrace. Yet the Palestinian story is very powerful, the kind that makes for great books and great movies.

I’ve written about the power of the fictional story Leon Uris wrote about the birth of Israel, called “Exodus.” Uris was commissioned by Israel to create a compelling narrative, a myth that was both believable and that would bring American audiences to the edge of tears and compassion.

Yet, where is the Palestinian “Exodus?”

Is it because we don’t have the money? We have the stories. The nightmare in Gaza alone could tug at the heartstrings of Americans, yet it doesn’t because it hasn’t been produced.

The difference in the effectiveness of the Israeli narrative and the Palestinian narrative is not a gap based on substance or facts. It is a gap based on “delivery.” And by delivery I mean the manner in which a story is told.

The Palestinian and Arab narrative is handicapped by ineffective communications that lack some fundamental basics when speaking to Western audiences, especially Americans. What are those fundamental basics?

• It’s not what you say, but how you say it.

• You don’t win the debate by winning the argument. You win the debate by winning the audience.

• The more you look, act, dress and sound like the audience you are addressing, the more the audience will embrace your narrative. It is a fact of human nature.

• Most importantly, don’t stand in the way of your own story. Let the story tell itself. Your anger, your emotion and even your passion can be a roadblock for audiences not an asset. Put your passion into crafting the story, not in telling the story.

Compelling narrative comes from the delivery of the story, not from the narrative itself. What I mean by “delivery” is not how you hand it to someone, but the substance of what you are saying. You have to tell the story in a way that your audience wants to hear it, not in the way you want to tell it.

Don’t talk to yourself.

If the audience is not “listening” or is not receptive to your story, then it won’t be heard.

Is there not someone out there who knows how to tell the Palestinian story the way the audience needs to hear it?

Nearly 70 years since the Nakba and 50 years since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war shame, I am still wondering.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning Palestinian American columnist and author. Email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)

newswire info
  • About
  • Latest Posts
rayhanania
rayhanania
Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
rayhanania
Latest posts by rayhanania (see all)
  • Israelisnipers shooting and killing hospital workers in Gaza - December 11, 2023
  • CAIR Condemns Israeli Executions of Wounded, Unarmed Palestinian in West Bank   - December 11, 2023
  • Arab and Muslim American voters face a “simple choice” between Biden’s inhumanity and Trump’s edgy politics - December 9, 2023

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
1         
 
  
1
Share
 
2
Shares
1    1    
 
 Tweet 
Arab News, Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine & Jordan, Ray Hanania Tags:Exodus, failed Palestinian literature, Israeli fiction, Israeli lies, Leon Uris, Palestinian narrative, propaganda

Post navigation

Previous Post: Taybeh announces OctoberFest details, Sept. 16 – 17
Next Post: Muslims need tune-up on free speech, and lots of catching up

Related Posts

  • USS Liberty Survivors of The Six-Day War Read and Write   Arab World
  • Laila Alhusinni, originally from Damascus, hosts a regular radio show in the US state of Michian. It goes out to the large local Arab American community which makes up as much as 40 per cent of the population.
    Organic Arab American ethnic community journalism vanishing American Arabs
  • R-L : Mayor of Taybeh, Mr. Nadim Barakat, former Mayor of Taybeh, David Khoury, and representatives of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem standing with the magnificent chanter Jack Rabah!
    A Taybeh Day for Saint George Arab World
  • Qatari Airlines in Doha Airport. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    All Arabs Must Feel Like Qataris Abdennour Toumi
  • Mordechai Vanunu Reports and the Thomas Merton Connection Arab World
  • UN official keynotes AHRC human rights gala American Arabs

More Related Articles

Al Ahli Hospital, Gaza City, courtesy of Al Ahli Hospital Gaza: UN experts decry bombing of hospitals and schools as crimes against humanity, call for prevention of genocide Christian & Muslim
Palestinian refugees fleeing Israeli and Zionist violence during Israelis war against Palestinians in 1947-1948 Anera launches partnership with RBK (ReBootKamp) to accelerate youth employment Arab World
Mediterranean Diet: koosa, stuffed zucchini recipe American Arabs
USS Liberty Survivor Ron Trader. Rest in Peace Shipmate Bloggers
Filmmaker Colette Ghunim Traces of Home documentary. Documentary Filmmaker returns to find parents’ ancestral homes in Mexico and Palestine American Arabs
The Power of Humor in the Palestine-Israel conflict American Arabs

Comments (10) on “Palestinians failing in telling their story”

  1. Ray Hanania says:
    June 24, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Whose fault do you think that is? How many Palestinians write about their stories in an effective way .. YOU write better than most Palestinians I know and YOU tell their story better, but that doesn’t mean the story is being told … it has to be done in a specific way that most of our community just doesn’t understand and doesn’t want to understand … they’d rather cling to egos, reject self-criticism and analysis (evaluation) and instead of seeing their faults, they pretend they don’t exist

    Log in to Reply
  2. Eileen Fleming says:
    June 23, 2017 at 8:17 am

    This American writer responds to Ray Hanania: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fc670a685095714e373f826010c519237e71892d49d60dabc87d3030312b41dd.jpg
    https://thearabdailynews.com/2017/06/23/entertaining-american-audiences-palestinian-exodus-side-story/

    Log in to Reply
    1. Ray Hanania says:
      June 23, 2017 at 8:33 am

      No the problem is we haven’t told out stories … Just a couple of efforts in a divided community that loves suffering more than hope

      Log in to Reply
      1. Eileen Fleming says:
        June 24, 2017 at 6:28 am

        If you read “KEEP HOPE ALIVE” you may just change your mind because Dr Diab exemplified HOPE beyond the suffering that ALL refugees forced from their home under threat of death know. Dr Diab did NOT wallow in his pain he was pro-active!

        Dr Diab was a secular Muslim and one of THE BEST at following what Jesus taught- in fact I use to tell him he was a better Christian than any self-professing Christian I have known because he DID what Jesus commanded: Forgive and LOVE ones enemies.

        Log in to Reply
  3. Eileen Fleming says:
    June 22, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Hey Ray the Palestinian EXODUS has been told in an American way thanks to Dr. Khaled Diab, a 1948 Palestinian Muslim refugee who made his way to the USA and realized the American Dream. The events of 11 Sept. 2001 birthed within him a now defunct non-profit: The Olive Trees for Peace Foundation. We raised awareness and funds for over 40,000 fruit bearing trees rooted on both sides of The Wall before we disbanded.

    Dr. Diab blessed me by telling me his memories which I wrote for an American audience here:
    https://www.amazon.com/KEEP-HOPE-ALIVE-Historical-Fiction-ebook/dp/B008F89I9S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

    PS: One of the chapters won honorable mention in a Nakba art and literature contest by the US Campaign to END Israel’s Occupation of Palestine.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1db79636730967964c3fa25cb08f7e5d43472a4a9e250f079d7bafc5c2ec040b.jpg

    Log in to Reply
    1. Ray Hanania says:
      June 23, 2017 at 8:32 am

      Not very well, but we’re expected to accept breadcrumbs instead of bread, i can see why you would make this claim … Better to feel good rather than deal with the problem

      Log in to Reply
      1. Eileen Fleming says:
        June 24, 2017 at 6:38 am

        BS Ray because NO WAY do I “feel good rather than deal with the problem” as proven by my 12 years of public service in the struggle for JUSTICE for Palestine: an END to the Occupation, so much as I traveled 8 times on my dime to BOTH sides of Israel’s Wall to listen and learn from everyone who would share their stories with me and then I ran for Congress on a foreign policy platform: to END USA collusion in Israel’s nuclear deceptions, Occupation of Palestine and to establish every June 8 to be known as USS LIBERTY REMEMBRANCE DAY.

        Of course I lost but did feel better writing all about it:

        https://www.amazon.com/Vanunus-WAIT-Liberty-Remembering-Conscience-ebook/dp/B00ATZ7PO0/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/106651b41f785882d370a6b243474d0a63349a816843ea50bafc3444847b2fbb.jpg

        Log in to Reply
        1. Ray Hanania says:
          June 24, 2017 at 8:33 am

          Yea, it’s easier to bury our heads in the sand and pat ourselves on the back pretending that no one likes us because we are on the cross … I disagree

          Log in to Reply
  4. Ray Hanania says:
    June 20, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    But don’t you think that Palestinians need to tell their story better and more effectively. We’re not a poor community. We have many very wealthy leaders and industries in our community, and we have huge talent. But I think we get carried away with anger and emotion instead of setting it aside and being strategic.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Ray Hanania says:
      June 20, 2017 at 3:14 pm

      Thank you … I definitely believe you raise some real serious points … we have to just keep trying because WE have the POWERFUL STORY … we just need to work harder to get it out to the public, especially to the American people

      Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ray Hanania's 4 times a week columns at https://RayHanania.com at Substack

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Photo courtesy of Journalist Abdennour Toumi
    France: Political Compromise vs Political Instability
    August 28, 2024
  • Zakia Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia
    Arabs eat Middle East food like they are making love
    June 27, 2024
  • Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice
    Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs
    June 8, 2024
  • Pictured: Rahm Emanuel, Afghan activist Salman Aftab who was co-chair of the Iftar dinner, and several non-Arab Muslim leaders. Also pictured is Ald. Joe Moore. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania for Arab News
    Comprehensive look at the failings of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
    January 18, 2024
  • NEWSWIRE
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech
    June 1, 2025
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month
    April 29, 2025
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders
    April 27, 2025
  • Mike Ghouse
    Celebration of 500th Interfaith Marriage Ceremony
    February 14, 2025

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • NEWS
  • photo credit author Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.NGPhoto.biz and Wikipedia
    Emergency Court Motions to Stop Elbit Drone Parts Shipment via Frankfurt Airport 
    June 7, 2025
  • American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by Israeli soldiers May 11, 2022
    Documentary names soldier it says killed Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022
    June 1, 2025
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Faisal Abbas Book Anecdotes
    Book Review: Arab author shares his anecdotes living in the United Kingdom
    October 22, 2024
  • Columnist Ray Hanania at the ADC Convention in Dearborn with the author Susan Abulhawa
    Book Review: Mornings in Jenin bySusan Abulhawa
    September 14, 2024
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Television set and remote. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
    MBC GROUP unveils MBCNOW, its brand-new groundbreaking entertainment service aggregator
    February 24, 2025
  • ArabCon 2024 Gala Program features Dr. Cornel West, Macklemore, and more
    September 6, 2024
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2025 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme