Palestinian grandmothers trend on Twitter following Israel’s ban of congresswomen
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Photos and stories of Palestinian grandmothers have been trending on Twitter Saturday in support of US lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, who dropped her plan to visit her grandmother in the West Bank, citing Israeli restrictions regarding free speech.
Tlaib requested to visit her 90-year-old grandmother on humanitarian grounds after she and another Democratic congresswoman, Rep. Ilhan Omar, on Thursday were barred by the occupation state from visiting Palestine in their capacity as US lawmakers. But she changed her mind about the family trip hours after it was approved on Friday under condition of not advancing the BDS movement during her trip.
Palestinian-American political activist Linda Sarsour shared a photo of her grandmother in honor of Tlaib’s ancestor and attached the hashtag “#MyPalestinianSitty” to the message. “Sitty” is the Arabic word for grandmother.
“This #MyPalestinianSitty hashtag is in honor of Rashida Tlaib’s grandmother, Sitty Muftiya,” Sarsour wrote. “Her courage, clarity, and fierceness are inspirational. She reminded Palestinians how much we have to be proud of. Our grandmothers teach life.”
This #MyPalestinianSitty hashtag is in honor of @RashidaTlaib’s grandmother, Sitty Muftiya. Her courage, clarity, and fierceness are inspirational. She reminded Palestinians how much we have to be proud of. Our grandmothers teach life. pic.twitter.com/KVB4OdpmSH
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) August 18, 2019
Tlaib retweeted the message and later posted a photograph of her other grandmother with the message “This was my other #MyPalestinianSitty who no one could mess with. She was proud of being from #BeitHanina and was one fierce woman.”
Twitter users joined the trend, posting photos of their Palestinian grandmothers. Many included stories about how their grandmothers were displaced so that the occupation state of ‘Israel’ is established in 1948.
Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh shared a photo of his grandmother and said, “#MyPalestinianSitty survived the Deir Yassin massacre, the first village that was ransacked before the Nakba strikes with the purpose to set an example for other Palestinian villages if they didn’t surrender. Out of 600 villagers, over 200 were murdered. We will never forget.”
#MyPalestinianSitty survived the Deir Yassin massacre, the first village that was ransacked before the Nakba strikes with the purpose to set an example for other Palestinian villages if they didn’t surrender. Out of 600 villagers, over 200 were murdered. We will never forget. pic.twitter.com/5BNum6GeqF
— ameer al-khatahtbeh (@boysaint) August 18, 2019
Samer posted two pictures of his grandmother and wrote, “This is #MyPalestinianSitty who passed away 4 years ago in the West Bank because she was denied proper medical treatment under israeli apartheid and strict regulation of medical imports. Palestinians are humans too and we deserve full human rights no matter what anyone says.”
https://twitter.com/WaladShami/status/1162901602749095936
Elena wrote, “For people that question the historical legitimacy of Palestine, this is my Tata’s (another word in Arabic for grandma) identification card. #MyPalestinianSitty”
For people that question the historical legitimacy of Palestine, this is my Tata’s (another word in Arabic for grandma) identification card. #MyPalestinianSitty pic.twitter.com/p5BskUa2kk
— elena ☼ (@elenaaabeee) August 18, 2019
