I am often mistaken for a Palestinian. Those who know me, know that it honors me although I don't believe in flags or stamps or labels, but...for Palestine and the Palestinians, anything and everything. Some of my Arab enemies refer to me as Palestinian thinking that they are offending me. Former Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon (and current Minister of Information and Wahhabi Culture), `Abdul-`Aziz Al-Khujah, refers to me as "that Palestinian." Yesterday, Ghassan Sa`ud wrote a profile of Strid Ja`ja` (Ga`ga` in Egyptian accent) for Al-Akhbar. He told me that he had this exchange with her (I am citing with his permission of course):
" قلتلها وأسعد؟ قالت "مين أسعد، تبع الفلسطينية يلي بيضل معصب من كل الناس"؟
(I told her: and As`ad? She said: As`ad who? The one who belongs to the Palestinians and who is always angry at all people?)
Tell Mrs. Ga`ga` (Ja`ja` in Phoenician accent), that it honors me to belong to the Palestinian people and their cause. Especially when that association is thrown at me from a family which belongs to....Israel and its occupation.
