By Nina Jackowski, Jana Hermans and Pip Meyer

In this podcast, Sally Azzam shares the story of her cultural café ‘Liwan’ in Nazareth. She tells us about her childhood in Nazareth, her journey in resisting the occupation since the Second Intifada, how this led to the creation of Liwan and what it stands for today.

“When you’re occupied, your mind is also occupied. You need to create, to feel strong and empowered. By having hope, you’re already resisting.”

Press on the link to hear the first PIJ podcast: 

Nazareth, “the largest Arab village in Israel”

Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel, known as "the Arab capital of Israel". Yet, it is often mistakenly assumed that Nazareth is a Christian-majority city, since the town is described as the childhood home of Jesus. In fact, two-thirds of the population is Muslim.

Within the Israeli borders dating from before the 1967-war, it has the highest Arab population of any city. In November 1947, according to UN Resolution 181, the Partition Plan, Nazareth was supposed to be in the Arabic part of Palestine. However, the Israeli army conquered the area in 1948 and attacked the city with mortar shells. Nevertheless, ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the area never happened out of fear of the reaction of the (Christian) international community.

“Turn Arab Nazareth into a ghetto suburb of Jewish Nazareth Illit”

According to the British Nazareth-based journalist Jonathan Cook, who is Sally Azzam’s husband, in order to stop the expansion of this ‘Arab capital’ of Israel and to watch over the Palestinians living in Nazareth, Israel built the Jewish enclave Nazareth Illit next to and above the city. This name serves the intention of creating a higher physically (the Hebrew translation of Illit) and morally ‘elite’ version of Nazareth. 
Cook thinks that the relation between the two cities starkly illustrates what Zionism always sought to achieve - expropriation and relocation. The Old City’s extended closure is a glaring example of this strategy. 
According to Cook, Nazareth exemplifies the results of Zionism inside Israel, since the Israeli Palestinians live inside a democratic but Jewish state, and have to deal with an education system that segregates, using ethnic criteria.

For a more detailed description by Jonathan Cook of Nazareth's reality, take a look here: https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2012-08-03/welcome-to-nazareth/

The music used in the podcast comes from the song 'Mbarak' by Apo and the Apostles.