Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)
As many are aware, the city of Lod is in the news -- and in the worst way possible. Today, I opened The New Yorker website, to find a photo taken just across the street from the Na'am offices.
That photo shows a narrow sidewalk overflowing with young men -- it is the scene of the funeral of a young Arab man who was killed by Jews. Those young men are angry: Their anger is fresh, and it is 70 years old. Mousa Hassuna's killers were set free without a police investigation or trial. One man is waving a Palestinian flag, while Israeli flags have been attached to the fence next to the sidewalk.
Outside the frame are Israeli police, who have been called up en masse, putting the city under military lockdown.
Outside the frame are right-wing Jewish settlers who have come by the busload to incite, preparing to light fires in dumpsters near the road. The city's ancient center, just a few blocks away, is a war zone.
The women of Lod are angry too. They are angry that armed haters are allowed into the city, that guns are brandished in public and that killers are treated differently when they are Jewish and when they are Arab. They are angry that the city that is their home is under threat.
In response, Na'am delivers humanitarian aid to the people of Lod, and it is part of a national emergency call list offering mental, medical and other assistance to Arabic speakers in the center of the country.
For those who watch the news in Hebrew, Samah Salaime can be seen speaking out on a panel (the others are right-wing Jewish men).