NVN Wednesday: WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

by Karen Marker

Awdah Hathaleen

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An Israeli settler has shot and killed a well-known Palestinian activist whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” according to witnesses, the latest deadly episode in the Israeli-occupied territory. The activist, Awdah Hathaleen, 31, was an English teacher from the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Khair. Footage he filmed was included in the documentary, which depicted the challenges Palestinians living in the territory face under Israeli rule. —The New York Times, July 29, 2025

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An Israeli man whose sanctions were lifted by US President Donald Trump was seen firing a gun at the time of Hathaleen's killing, and has been arrested... It has emerged that Hathaleen was denied entry to the US just last month. He and his cousin were turned back at San Francisco International Airport despite having visas for a peace tour sponsored by faith groups. —WION, July 29, 2025

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Let us paint murals
on our temple walls 
like Maxo Vanco did 
inside St. Nicholas Croatian 
Catholic Church in the 1930’s.

Let us make our Palestinian
Mother like Mary who looks 
like us holding a child
who looks like ours
but wasted from starving.
Let her eyes pierce
the hearts of those
who say this 
doesn’t really happen.

Let us paint murals
of all the mothers 
gathered in grief
around their beloved 
sons’ bodies, and the body
of our friend in the South 
Hebron Hills, six weeks ago 
turned back at the SF airport, 
a valid visa in hand, 
two days ago shot in the chest
by a settler in his village.

Let all the unbelievers
see the footage of the murderer
who has been repeatedly
pardoned for crimes. 

Let us paint the Angel of Justice.
Remember this is the time 
for breaking the silence.

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Oakland, CA poet Karen Marker is a social activist and retired school psychologist whose poetry has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including The MacGuffin, The Monterey Poetry Review, the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, WordPeace, and Slant Poetry. It can also be found in the Kent State University May 4^th Special Collections and Archives. Her first poetry book Beneath the Blue Umbrella came out recently with Finishing Line Press and explores family mental illness, stigma and healing.