When Sani Meo asked me for a contribution to the October 2024 issue of This Week in Palestine (TWiP), I couldn’t refuse. I had explained to him in the past that I have a very hard time saying no to Palestinians. It’s particularly difficult saying no to TWiP, a remarkable monthly (and as such misnamed) publication which has been documenting all things Palestine for nearly twenty-six years, thus creating an invaluable archive of knowledge in words and imagery. And it’s all done on a shoestring. 

To quote from an email of  Sani’s, they’ve never missed an issue, not “even when the Israeli soldiers raided our office back in June 2014, vandalized it, and stole our servers, large screens, and photo archive”.

I have written for them in the past and also co-edited two issues and fully edited the December 2022 issue.

My first article was in the January 2018 issue (no. 237): a short one on Palestine’s first Arab photographer Khalil Raad (who incidentally had taken my great-grandparents wedding photo) for the Personality of the Month section of the magazine.

For the August 2021 issue (no. 280) on West Jerusalem, I wrote The Nakba of Qatamon relating the story of how my maternal family fled their home in 1948. For the May 2022 issue (no. 289), themed Life in Pre-1948 Jerusalem, I wrote two articles—on my Semiramis project and on the Jerusalem, We Are Here project—and helped draft and/or edit several others. As a result I was made content co-editor, which planted the idea that I could help out with editing when needed.

And so in late 2022 I found myself out of the frying pan and into the fire, editing single-handedly the magazines’s first bilingual issue when both content and language editors were unavailable. (I edited the English version which was then translated into Spanish.) It’s the hardest I’ve worked since, well… since I had a paying job! But it was a most rewarding experience through which I came to develop a tremendous appreciation for the editor’s role and connected with some wonderful people from Chile for the December 2022 issue (no. 296) on Chileans of Palestinian Origin (Chilenos de Origen Palestino).

For February 2022, TWiP was producing a special issue sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme/Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP) in addition to their regular one, so extra hands were needed at the editing screens. I did the bulk of the work on the Partners4Good issue (no. 298.5) until the main editor was done with the regular issue and could wrap this one up too.

Having, as a result, worked closely with Sani Meo on several occasions, I have enormous respect and admiration for his dedication, his resilience, his perseverance, and his capacity to juggle one and a million things at once. He interacts with the authors of the current issue, scouts authors for the upcoming ones, he goes back and forth with two levels of editors (content and language) and with the designers, he troubleshoots, he fundraises, he hustles. And I’m guessing that sometimes he sleeps—but not too much. (I know for a fact that to decompress he plays Scrabble!) And through all of that he somehow manages to maintain his sense of humour. I’ve never had so many laughs and giggles on chat. He’ll be texting me at all hours and have me on the floor laughing. It makes working for him and with him a delight. His team is no less dedicated, professional, effective, and caring. 

In 2022 Sani received Rebuilding Alliance’s Storyteller Award in the San Francisco Bay Area:
“In recognition of Sani Paul Boulos Meo and your team’s determination to provide a Palestinian narrative and strengthen culture through outstanding graphic design and for your resilience and hope as the eternal optimists of Palestine!”

As enriching and gratifying an experience as it may be, contributing in one way or another to TWiP, I knew that at some point I had to start saying no or the Semiramis project would never happen. Having recently connected them with a terrific option for a substitute editor, I rested easy that my duty was done and going forward I could focus my energy on my own research. 

But then in mid-August, Sani wrote to say that given that I fall in the category of “If you didn’t grow up in Al-Quds, you are receiving this email because Al-Quds holds a special place in your heart”, he expected an article from me for the October issue which would be themed: Al-Quds (Jerusalem). Since October 2023, TWiP has focused almost exclusively on Gaza, so he wanted to make sure that Jerusalem was not neglected. 

How do you say no to that? I didn’t but I negotiated. I felt that the best I could do with my limited time was to repurpose one of my old blog posts—My Jerusalem—and Sani agreed.

So this is a relatively short post to introduce my latest published article which is an adaptation of the older post—and to put in a plug for This Week in Palestine. Take the time to check out this wonderful magazine, the beautiful October 2024 issue dedicated to Jerusalem, and perhaps consider subscribing or making a donation if you’re so inclined. It will be time and money well spent. ❖

My Jerusalem by Marina Parisinou