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Palestinians in the US Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/jps/article-pdf/18/4/18/161399/2537495.pdf by Oregon State University, [email protected] on 01 May 2021 The AmericanExperience: Palestiniansin the U.S. KathleenChristison* Withbetween 150,000 and 250,000 members, the Palestinian commu- nityin the United States accounts for only approximately 10percent of the twomillion-strong Arab-American community (numbers that also equal somethingless than 4 percentof the American Jewish community). No reliableimmigration or census figures exist for Palestinian Ameri- cans.Because the U.S. Immigrationand Naturalization Service has only rarelyrecognized "Palestinian" as a nationality,meaningful immigration statisticsare lacking. In the1980 census, the first in which respondents had an opportunityto list theirancestry, only 21,288 individualslisted Palestinian.1The PalestinianStatistical Abstract for 1983 lists 108,045 Palestiniansas livingin theU.S.,2 buteducated guesses by those active in Arab-Americanorganizations seem to fallin the200,000-400,000 range. The latterfigure is probablyhigh, but a rangecentering on the200,000 figureseems reasonable. Whatever the exactnumber, it is quitesmall comparedwith other ethnic minorities. IfPalestinian Americans are difficult to pinpoint numerically, they are anythingbut politically indistinct. A surveyof the Palestinian community in theU.S. indicatesthat, while first-generation Palestinian immigrants tendto makea rapidadjustment to Americansociety, they remain, to an unusualdegree among immigrant communities, highly conscious of and *KathleenChristison worked as a politicalanalyst with the CIA from1964 to 1979and writesabout the MiddleEast. PALESTINIANAMERICANS 19 deeplyinvolved in the politics of their native land. Even more unusual, the American-bornsecond generation of Palestinians also exhibits a highand growingdegree of political consciousness and ethnic pride. This politicalconsciousness tends to affectthe degreeof political Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/jps/article-pdf/18/4/18/161399/2537495.pdf by Oregon State University, [email protected] on 01 May 2021 acculturationin thiscountry. America often demands more of itsimmi- grantsthan it doesof its native-born citizens. Unlike native-born Ameri- cans,immigrants must eschew criticism of anyaspect of the American systemor risk being thought ungrateful, and they must submerge interest in foreigncauses or riskbeing regarded as ofquestionable loyalty. Although manyimmigrants have achievedthis, for a greatmany Palestinians, submergingtheir political identity in orderto become"American" in this sensehas been impossible. To a greaterextent than is trueeven with the strictly defined refugee communitiesinthis country-who flee their countries, not voluntarily, but to escapepolitical oppression-large numbers of Palestinianstend to be herenot by political choice but simply because there is nowhereelse to go. Forthese Palestinians, becoming American is nota choicemade enthusi- asticallybut a passiveact, takenbecause there is no otheror no better alternative.Other refugees seem in generalnot to harbora lingering attachmentto theirhomelands to theextent Palestinians do-no doubt becausein Vietnam,Cuba, theSoviet Union, and othercountries from whichlarge numbers of refugees have fled to theU.S., foreignoccupation andalienation of land are not issues as theyare for Palestinians. Because thereis Palestinianland but no homeland,because that land is under foreignoccupation, and because Palestinians have refused to accedeto that occupationwithout some political compensation, there is fora greatmany Palestiniansa sense of incompletenessin the adoptionof any other homeland,a sense of something still to come that perpetuates the vision of a foreignhomeland and thereby differentiates them from other immigrant Americans. "BeingPalestinian changes your whole life," explains Norma Sayage, a SanFrancisco real estate agent born in the U.S. ofPalestinian parents who fledJaffa in 1948. It meansthat your whole life is circledaround this cause. It is circledaround gainingan identity.It's circled around becoming a personto everybodyelse. It changeswhat you want to study,what your daily schedule is. You wakeup in themorning and you think,"What can I do today?"Being Palestinian is first and foremostwith most Palestinians.3 The followingpreliminary study of Palestinian-Americanattitudes towardbeing American is basedon interviewswith seventy-two Palestin- 20 JOURNALOF PALESTINESTUDIES iansin Los Angeles,San Francisco,Houston, Albuquerque, and Washing- ton, D.C. conductedbetween October 1987 and November1988. The interviewsubjects were chosen at random,largely through referrals from Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/jps/article-pdf/18/4/18/161399/2537495.pdf by Oregon State University, [email protected] on 01 May 2021 otherinterviewees. Subjects include resident aliens as well as American citizens,in a ratioof slightly less than one to three.Most of the seventy-two intervieweesare immigrantsto the U.S.; onlyten wereborn and raisedin theU.S. or camehere at a veryearly age. Mostare also fromthe West Bank orGaza; onlytwenty-five are from areas of Palestine taken by Israel in 1948. These includetwenty who fledor whosefamilies fled in 1948 and fivewho remainedin Israeland retainIsraeli citizenship. Of the tenwho grewup in the U.S., nine are fromWest Bank families.Locating women willing to offertheir views has been difficult;only fifteenof the total sample are women,all but threeof whomare fromthe West Bank. Eighteenof the seventy-twoare Christian.Ages in the sample range fromfifteen to sixty-eight. Assimilation Assimilationis an internal,very individual process, and it is virtually impossibleto makegeneralizations about Palestinian-American adjustment to Americansociety. There is no correlationbetween Palestinian nation- alismand the degreeof assimilation.The bestPalestinian nationalists are not byany means the leastAmerican; nor are themost assimilated, or the completelyAmerican second generation, necessarily lacking an acutesense of beingPalestinian. Failure to. speak Arabic in the home, the abilityto speak unaccentedEnglish, marriageto a non-Arab,socializing with non-Arabsare all signsof assimilation, but they need not also indicatethe loss of a Palestinianidentity. Alienation The degreeof Palestinianadaptation to Americansociety covers the spectrumfrom total alienation to totalembrace. Alienation is rare,but it is stillpossible to live in this countrywithout ever becominga part of it. Culturalalienation is moreoften the case withwomen, who, because of Arabcultural strictures, are often-perhapsusually-prevented from inte- gratingin Americansociety. Based on a studyof Muslim Palestinian women in Chicago, Louise Cainkarhas concludedthat because womenare the principalprotectors and transmittersof Palestinianculture, they are often deliberatelykept apart from the Americanmainstream. "Many Palestinian PALESTINIANAMERICANS 21 menand women fear that the entire familial foundation of the society will collapseif women focus their energies elsewhere than the family."4 Alienationis also often true of the elderly, who might come to the U.S. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/jps/article-pdf/18/4/18/161399/2537495.pdf by Oregon State University, [email protected] on 01 May 2021 accompanyinggrown children who immigrate. These elderly immigrants mostoften live withtheir children, never learn English, do not work, dependon familyfor transportation, andsocialize only with family or other Palestinians."I think for the elderly people, it is very hard to get acquainted withAmerican society," says Nahil Abid, a youngSan Franciscogrocer fromthe West Bank town of Dayr Dibwan, who was himself born in the U.S. butgrew up in DayrDibwan and still identifies himself as primarilya Palestinian."We are very close, the Palestinians. But when you come here, youare isolated.It's differenthere. Everybody is not too close to each other."5 ManyPalestinians are harshlycritical of Americanmores. Qassem Khalil;a physicianin Los Angeles who arrived in 1986from medical school in Cairo,says he can neverbe whollyAmerican because he cannotaccept manyAmerican mores. "I can'tbe pure,"he says."To consideryourself an American,you should accept a lotof traditions. I can't accept a lotof them, so I can'tbe an American."A Muslimand unmarried, Khalil is opposedto the prevalenceof alcohol,sexual freedom, and divorcein American society."I don'tlike to raisemy kids here and havemy daughter have a boyfriend.No way.This is your dignity. That's the most major problem for AmericanPalestinians, to havekids in thiscountry."6 IbrahimM., anotherLos Angelesphysician, has evenless affinity for Americanculture and society.He is herefrom a WestBank town, still carryingan Israeliidentity card or hawiyyah,and will stay for as longas is necessaryto makehis fortuneand returnhome. He has an American passport,but it is a conveniencerather than a statementof allegiance. Askedwhat it meansto himto be an American,Ibrahim asks in turn, "Whatdo youmean by this question?" and when the question is rephrased, he repliessimply that it is goodto be an Americanbecause with a U.S. passport"you don't feel that you are a foreigner." Ibrahimsocializes almost exclusively with other Palestinians, largely thosefrom his hometown, and controls his children's friendships. He sends thechildren back to theWest Bank for schooling during what he callsthe dangerousage in theU.S., fromtwelve to sixteen, and his oldest son, who spentthe lasttwo years of highschool
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