The Resurgence of a Palestinian Protest Song

Apr 4, 2024

Actor recently said the words 鈥淔ree Palestine鈥� on live television as part of his Saturday Night Live monologue. And Oscar-winning film director used his acceptance speech to denounce the use of Judaism to justify the genocide in Gaza.

The issue of justice for Palestine has not always been welcomed in the arts. But, as Youssef and Glazer demonstrated, the tide is slowly turning. Part of that tide is the performed in 1972 by Egyptian-born Palestinian singer Zeinab Shaath.

The master copy of the song, called 鈥溾€� was thought to be lost to Israeli theft for decades. Writing about its resurrection at is Iman Husain, a writer, artist, and fact-checker based in Brooklyn, New York. She spoke with YES! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about the fascinating story behind Shaath鈥檚 song.

Sonali Kolhatkar joined YES! in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽YES! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent 麻豆社事件 Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.