Nationalist Hip-Hop and Palestinian Identity

Introduction

Dam means eternity in Arabic. In both Arabic and Hebrew it also means blood. As an acronym, it stands for Da Arabian MCs, a famous Palestinian rap group that is spreading a message of Palestinian nationalism and unity. DAM is composed of two brothers, Tamar and Suhell Nafar, and their friend, Mahmood Jreri. Born and raised in the small mixed Arab-Jewish town of Lod, they witnessed many social and political problems that inspired them to begin rapping, and would lead to them becoming the first and foremost Palestinian rap group in the world. Their messages about social injustices and standing up to the indignities foisted upon the Palestinian people resonated among people of all ages and social standing, and the group quickly found popularity, largely due to their most well known song "Who's the Terrorist?".  

 

However, throughout Israel there remains a lot of uncertainty regarding identity and nationalism. As one Palestinian citizen from Nazareth said,

I have no doubt that in the event of the creation of a Palestinian state, the collective choice of the Palestinian community will be to remain in Israel. But remaining in Israel will not infringe on our Palestinian identity. And my identification with the Palestinian people should not be used as a pretext to question my loyalty to the Israeli state.[1]

 

This seeming dichotomy of a Palestinian-Israeli necessarily provokes a lot of careful consideration as well as confusion. However, DAM does not let this dilemma keep them from spreading their nationalist ideas and insisting on the importance of a Palestinian identity before any other ideology. DAM promotes Palestinian nationalism and seeks to unite all Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank or Israel, through their lyrics, interactions with other rappers, and their interactions with the public.

Literature Review

           As the old saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword. Helga Tawil-Souri argues that creating culture, whether it is through film, art or music, is in itself a form of political resistance.[2] This is especially true for DAM, which raps about the importance of keeping Palestinian identity and maintaining a united Palestinian community, even while enduring the indignities of an Israeli occupation. Hugh Lovatt takes this analysis even further, noting that, “the mere fact that a Palestinian-Israeli started to publicly project himself using the Arabic language in a predominantly Hebrew speaking country is extremely symbolic as it can be seen as re-asserting a Palestinian identity in the face of Israel’s Jewish character”[3]

Benedict Anderson’s seminal work on “imagined communities” (socially constructed groups of people who perceive themselves as part of a group for various reasons) can also help in understanding DAM’s mission. When discussing ideas of the Palestinian nation, we rely on Anderson’s definition: “an imagined political community”, which “is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.”[4] Although Anderson cites print-capitalism as being responsible for making imagined communities possible, we believe that the spreading of DAM’s lyrics and message has helped to unite and solidify the Palestinian nation.    

McDonald argues that Dam, the first Palestinian hip-hop group, works within the framework of two distinct identities that are in reality quite similar and in the case of many communities in Israel, simultaneously present. “Their unique ability to navigate between and within various ethnic, national, and transnational performative frames has garnered them a strong following among Israeli Jewish, Christian, and Muslim fans….Palestinians of ’48 typically live as the feared internal "other" in Israeli society, and are simultaneously portrayed as collaborators and traitors by Palestinian nationalists for being bityûḥid [Judaized], carrying Israeli passports, speaking fluent Hebrew, and participating in Israeli politics and society.”[5] Robert Massad argues that DAM’s songs “address not only the horrors of Israeli colonial racism, but also the disunity of the Palestinian population within.”[6] Noted Arab music specialist Mark Levine has said that Palestinian rappers have “hit a cultural nerve by weaving together the postindustrial protest sounds of hip-hop, with its commitment to using words as weapons, and the Palestinian tradition of passing down history through music and storytelling.”[7]

Lyrics

Many of Dam’s lyrics reflect or promote Palestinian identity through shared  culture, connection to the land and people, and resistance to Zionist oppression.
           For Palestinians citizens of Israel like Tamer, Suhell and Mahmoud, growing up as a minority (Palestinians comprise about 20% of the Israeli population) makes it difficult to navigate the blending of cultures. Many aspects of culture have been lost, and a lot of Palestinians speak Hebrew better than they speak Arabic. Though they are fluent and sometimes rap in Hebrew when performing for Israeli audiences, DAM stresses the importance of Arabic language and literature in Palestinian culture.

Pens sweating from the heat of my hand..

See I protect the Alef Ba, and I'm erasing the ABCD from my culture

The pens speak Arabic, the pages hear Arabic,

The pen is my sledge hammer, the pages are my ground[8]

Don't grab a gun, but grab a pen and write

IM AN ARAB like Mahmud Darwish did (famous Palestinian poet)

My head is held high, in the name of Palestine

My hand will never abandon my abandoned brothers[9]

 

So don’t you dare disappoint our ancestors

Where are our deep poems?! Where are our strong statements?!

Like Najeeb Mahfuz (literally means well-remembered, also a famous Arabic writer)

And if you don't know who he is- then I rest my case…

The Arabic alphabet is like a glass, don’t break it

Hold it tight and keep filling it[10]

          

With the command to Palestinians to hold onto Arabic and fill their minds with classics such as Najeeb Mahfuz and Mahmud Darwish, DAM advocates learning about  and preserving Palestinian culture as a means of perpetuating Palestinian identity.

Dam’s song Born Here, targets an Israeli audience and is sung primarily in Hebrew. The chorus, sung in Arabic by Abir Al Zinati “likens her neighborhood, and — by extension — the Palestinian people, to a young bride unable to fulfill her dreams of marriage. Caged behind the separation wall, she expresses her hope that one day Palestinians ‘will spread their wings and fly.’’[11] Abir explained her decision to keep the lyrics in Arabic. “To shift such personal feelings into Hebrew felt like a betrayal to me. For the rhyme and flow of the song, and my own message, Hebrew just didn’t seem to work….It was important to have a Palestinian presence in the Hebrew version [of the song], for the Jewish audiences to hear Arabic, in order to fully understand us and our situation.” Arabic is an integral part of the Palestinian identity, and Dam illustrates this point clearly.

 

           DAM’s music, often incorporating traditional Arab instruments and the words of famous Palestinian poets, gives the listener a feeling of the group’s determination to preserve their Palestinian culture. Religion is one aspect of culture, and in Palestine this includes strong traditions of both Christianity and Islam. Tamer and Suhell Nafar are not religious themselves, but they do come from a devout Muslim family and the religiosity of Palestinian culture is deeply ingrained in Palestinians whether they actively practice their faith or not. Although Judaism has obviously always had a presence in Palestine, Jewish nationalism, or Zionism, has come to dominate the land. As the majority, between 80%-90%, of Palestinians are Muslims, Islam and Islamic places of worship have come under fire. Radical Israeli settlers living in illegally occupied areas of the West Bank often engage in a practice called price tagging, “which seeks to exact a price from local Palestinians for violence against settlers,” or as retaliation for “Israeli security forces...taking action against illegal construction in Jewish outposts in the West Bank.”[12] Settlers will often vandalize or destroy a mosque, olive grove, or personal property of a Palestinian and leave a graffiti message declaring the destruction the “price tag,” of whatever event they are protesting. DAM speaks out against these attacks on Palestinian religions, as well as the failure of Palestinians and Israelis to look past religion for the sake of peace.

This is for the small kids in this big world

Barely joined us, u saw that we are separated

Jews, Christians and Muslims

None of these sides wants to understand the other

Every side thinks they're better than the other

Claiming that he’s the only one going to heaven

Meanwhile, making our lives hell

If someone asks you to hate, say no[13]

Whispers full of swearing, wishing just to expel us

What?! Have you forgotten who laid the foundation of these buildings?!

Our people did that, look at the mosques and the churches

And now I find people from other parts of the world wishing to move us

It destroys our houses,

But our hearts are still beating and our Arabian roots are still strong.[14]

           

With their charge to listeners to think about who built the mosques and churches, DAM is clearly stating the Palestinians’ right to the land through their cultural and national legitimacy. In addition, an influx of settlers from all over the world has contributed to a growing feeling among Palestinians that people in the international community wish to remove Palestinians from their homeland.  

Controlled by a Zionist democratic government!

Ya’, democratic to the Jewish soul and Zionist to the Arabic soul

‘Cause its denying my existence

Still blind to my colours, my history and my people

Brain-washing my children so that they grow up in a reality

That doesn't represent them. The blue ID card worth nuthing to us

Let us believe we are a part of a nation

That does nothing but makes us feel like strangers

Me?? A stranger in my own country!![15]

          

DAM claims that as a minority in a politically Jewish country, Palestinians feel they have no voice in their government, despite the claim that Israel is democratic. Since they have no voice, their history and culture are ignored and buried by an Israeli identity that never feels completely authentic.

           Palestinian nationalism includes a connection to the land of historic Palestine as defined by the lands occupied under the British Mandate. This land was partitioned and divided with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and again with the commencement of the building of the separation wall in 2002. As the song I Don’t Have Freedom declares

You won’t limit my hope by a wall of separation

And if this barrier comes between me and my land

I’ll still be connected to Palestine like an embryo to the umbilical cord

My feet are the roots of the olive tree

Keep on prospering, fathering and renewing branches

Every branch

Grown for peace

          

 The imagery of becoming the growing olive tree, eternally connected to Palestine expresses the determination to continuing to raise children in the land of their ancestors. But DAM also acknowledges that even though they remain on those lands, their nation can often feel distant. Stranger in My Own Country claims that, “our destiny is to stay physically close to our lands, while being spiritually far away from our nation. Who cares about us? We are dying slowly.” “Here's another massacre, and a wall that’s separating me myself and I.”[16]

           While Palestinians of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel are still living in historic Palestine, many of them are refugees. For those people stuck in the West Bank or Gaza and prohibited from returning, they are not living in the land of their ancestors. A sense of belonging to a local village has always been a part of Palestinian nationalism. Mahmoud Shalabi, a rapper from the Palestinian-Israeli group MWR says, “I’m a Palestinian first and Akkowi (from the town of Akko) second. And after that I don’t care what you call me.”[17] Ask a child in a refugee camp in the West Bank today where she is from and she will likely name a city that is now in Israel, or at least would be if it hadn’t been destroyed. Though her family home is likely no longer standing, the key to the house will become a family heirloom to be passed from generation to generation, an irreplaceable part of the family’s heritage. It is likely that the child will also have relatives in Israel and the Gaza Strip that she has never met, due to harsh restrictions from the Israeli government which make it virtually impossible for Palestinians to travel freely around the country and the Territories. Identity can be a difficult concept for both refugees and Palestinian citizens of Israel. A song from DAM’s new album that was released in 2012, I’m Not a Traitor, reflects the local aspect of Palestinian identity as well as the struggle of Palestinians living in Israel to come to terms with their own identity.

I’m from Negev, I’m from Jaffa

From Ein Hod I’m from Akka

From Jawarish I’m from Nazareth....

I record of the Arabs who have questions

I record of the Arabs who have dilemmas…

Arabism is not a permit, you are not selling its items

Arab-Israeli? How did you reach this analysis?

Israel put forth a sentence and you made it normal [18]

          

When it comes to the Palestinian conflict, even one’s choice of words has political meaning. Arab Israelis is a term often used by Jewish Israelis to describe Palestinians living within Israel, ’48 Palestinians is a term usually used by Palestinians to describe Palestinians living in the area that became Israel after the 1948 War, and ’67 Palestinians refers to Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories (the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Tamar Nafar attacks the term Arab-Israeli in his lyrics, as this is a symbol of accepting the Israeli narrative and forsaking Palestinian nationalism and unity.

           Interactions with Other Rappers

           DAM also works to spread its nationalistic message of Palestinian unity through its interactions with other rappers. It is a general consensus that DAM was the first Palestinian rap group; many other rappers admire and look up to DAM as their example of a true Palestinian rap group. Mohammed al-Farra from Palestinian Rapperz (PR), a rap group based in the Gaza Strip, wistfully expressed his admiration for DAM and said, “Before meeting other rappers outside of Palestine, I hope to meet our brothers in ’48, especially Tamar Nafer”. Kan’aan, another rapper from PR said, “I’ve never been, but I wish I could go to the West Bank.”[19] Due to the limitations placed on inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, Mohammed and Kan’aan may never be able to realize these hopes. However, DAM has obviously been at least partially successful in uniting Palestinians from different areas of the country, if PR’s lyrics are an accurate measurement: “We remember what happened to the Palestinians of ‘48 when they defended our country, and liberated the prisoners.”[20]

           There is, of course, an uncertainty to DAM’s message of Palestinian unity. Tamar seemed pleasantly surprised by PR’s message of support. “Sometimes we feel ashamed of being from ‘48. We have our Palestinian pride of course, but still we feel there’s something missing. We worry they might say ‘Look. They’re living with Israelis. But to hear that Palestinians outside of Israel respect us... it surprises me.’”[21] Abir al-Zinati, a female Palestinian Israeli rapper felt similarly, “We’re always told that the people of Gaza see us as collaborators, and that we don’t give a damn about the situation. But they talked about us in their song and said we are prisoners too. This is great. This gives me hope.”[22] It would not be a stretch to conclude that PR was inspired by DAM’s message of unity and Palestinian nationalism.

           Palestinian Rapperz is not the only rap group that has been inspired by DAM. There is now a rap or hip-hop group in every major town with a significant Palestinian population, whether it is in Israel, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip. Hugh Lovatt states “The appearance of Arapiat, as well as of MWR in the Israeli town of Acre marked the spread of Palestinian hip-hop throughout Israel as well as the emergence of Khalifa E in Nazareth, SOP (Scream of Peace) in Muawiya, Abna’a al-Ghadib (Anger Boys) in  Qalansuwa, Ta’m al-Alam (Taste Of Pain/TOP) in Teera and Jaish al-Aswad (Black Army) in Sakhnin.”[23] Each of these groups is based on principles of Palestinian nationalism and has been inspired by DAM’s message. Just a few years ago, rap did not exist in Israel. However, the emergence of DAM and its message of Palestinian unity have caused other rappers and musical groups to form and express similar messages of Palestinian nationalism and unity.

          Interactions with the Public

           DAM is very conscious of its public image and does its best to utilize its publicity as a vehicle for spreading its message of Palestinian nationalism. DAM uses interviews, documentaries, and public outings to reinforce a sense of a strong Palestinian community.

           In interviews, DAM makes sure to stress that they are ’48 Palestinians, not Arab Israelis.[24] Tamar is often the spokesperson of the group and presents himself as a fiery, proud Palestinian, in contrast to his soft-spoken brother Suhell. On the matter of his personal identity, he says:

We are Palestinians who live in Israel; we are not Israeli Arabs. Our families came from Jaffa and in 1948, when the war started, they saw it as a temporary stop – they didn’t intend to stay… My parents stayed here and so we became Israeli citizens, but we identify with Palestinians…the irony is – we’re not accepted by Israelis and not by Palestinians.

 

He also makes it clear that ’48 Palestinians face distinctive problems: “It’s really hard here because 48 Arabs are in catch 22, Israel treats them as Palestinians and the Arab World treats them as Israelis” and “a lot of political people in Israel said that the Arabs within Israel are like a cancer… any 48 Palestinian knows that in the national anthem they are saying it’s a land for the Jews.”[25] Despite these hardships and possibly confusing identity roles, DAM member Mahmoud Jreri makes his feelings clear “We are living in Palestine. our history, our culture, our everything is Palestine.”[26]

Reporter Dina Shiloh recounts an interview with DAM for which Tamar insisted that if she wanted an interview, she must come to Lod and see “the most neglected town in Israel.”[27] This is not to say that Tamar despises his hometown. On the contrary, Tamar seems to find it impossible to go an entire interview without mentioning his hometown. He obviously takes pride in his difficult beginnings and the part they have played in helping to inspire his music. This deep connection to one’s home village is a unique aspect of Palestinian nationalism, which has been discussed previously.

DAM shares its message of Palestinian nationalism and community in documentaries and public outings as well. In the documentary Slingshot Hip-Hop, the members of DAM visit with a youth center and talk to children about the importance of their dignity both as human beings and as Palestinians, telling them that they must never allow self-pity to enter their thoughts. Tamar tells them, “You need to understand where you come from. Let’s talk about us. The Palestinians living inside Israel.”[28] He then has an exchange with a little boy who seems confused by being called a Palestinian, and thought that he was an Arab. Tamar tells him that the boy’s grandfather was from Palestine, and that makes the boy Palestinian. DAM never misses an opportunity to talk about Palestinian nationalism and uniting the Palestinian community.

It is clear that DAM has an agenda of pushing for Palestinian nationalism when they talk to young people or interact with the general public. Mahmoud says, “There are sixteen year olds who still don’t know they’re Palestinian.”[29] Suhell says, “I see myself as a fisherman. Today, I fished a few fish who didn’t know anything and now know a little thing. Maybe now when they see the TV news, they will think differently about it.”[30] DAM remains united and focused on its goal of uniting other Palestinians and promoting Palestinian nationalism.

Conclusion

DAM’s ideas of Palestinian nationalism and unity may be difficult for some Palestinians to accept, but that will not keep the group from spreading their message. Palestinians living in Israel still have a long way to go before they resolve both the external pressures and internal struggles placed on their complicated identities. Before this can happen there must be greater solidarity between the Palestinians of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. The challenge is daunting, but Tamer is hopeful. “We think we can change things. How did Tupac put it? I don’t guarantee that I can change the world, but I will be the spark that changes it.’ That’s what we want to do – to be the spark that makes a difference.’[31]  

The song Driver of My Fate illustrates the struggles and sums up the overall message of DAM as they assert their right to be Palestinian.

Take me to my identity, take me to my nationality

Take me to the unknown place called the "United Arabs"

Take me to the freedom that was taken from us

Take me to the heart of fighting so we'll take it back

so take me to

A future without settlements, without refugee camps

And every one is growing where his roots is

Without destroying their house

To a world where I'm allowed to visit my brothers in Syria

Where there's no occupation to imprison me

Where the Arabs agree for the first time in their lives

To the change, where I see the colors

White, green red and black

 

So take me to my Askalan, take me to my Bissan

Don't take street 2-4-2 because it leads

To a ghetto called "where is my right?"

Listen to the sounds coming out of my rusty keys

"Return Mr. Driver, return Mr. Time"

The driver can't understand Arabic?

So how can he know the addresses in the Arab land?

Drop me; I'm ready for the 1000 miles[32]

---

[1] Middle East Report N°25. Interview with Arab Israeli, Nazareth, January 2004. Identity Crisis: Israel and its  Arab Citizens. 2004: Amman/Brussels. http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Israel%20Palestine/Identity%20Crisis%20Israel%20and%20its%20Arab%20Citizens.ashx (accessed April 9 2013)(21).

 

[2] Tawil-Soury, Helga. 2012. The necessary politics of Palestinian cultural studies. p. 139

[3] Lovatt, Hugh. 2011. Palestinian Hip-Hop Culture and Rap Music: Cultural Resistance as an Alternative to Armed Struggle. Pg. 14

[4] Anderson, Benedict R. O'G. (1991). Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (Revised and extended. ed.). London: Verso. p. 224.

[5] DAM. This is Dam. Dedication. 2007.

[6] Massad, Joseph (2008) ‘Resisting the Nakba’, Al-Ahram Weekly 897 (15–21 May)(http:// weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/897/op8.htm).

[7] LeVine, Mark. 2008. Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam. Three Rivers Press. New York.

[8] DAM. This is Dam. Dedication. 2007.

[9] DAM. Change Tomorrow. Dedication. 2007.

[10] DAM. Words. Dedication. 2007.

[11] David A. McDonald. Carrying Words Like Weapons: Hip-Hop and the Poetics of Palestinian Identities in Israel. (9). http://www.biu.ac.il/HU/mu/min-ad/8-9-II/07_McDonald_Carrying-Words.pdf (Accessed March- April 11 2013).

 

[12] Isabel Kershner, Mosque Set on Fire in Northern Israel. New York Times. October 3, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/world/middleeast/mosque-set-on-fire-in-northern-israel.html?_r=0 (Accessed April 11, 2013).

[13] DAM. Change Tomorrow. Dedication. 2007. http://www.damrap.com/lyrics (Accessed April 11, 2013).

[14] DAM. Stranger In My Own Country. Dedication. . 2007. http://www.damrap.com/lyrics (Accessed April 11, 2013).  

[15] DAM. I Don’t Have Freedom. Dedication. 2007. http://www.damrap.com/lyrics (Accessed April 11, 2013).

[16]  DAM. I Don’t Have Freedom. Dedication. 2007. http://www.damrap.com/lyrics (Accessed April 11, 2013).

[17] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

 

[18] DAM. I’m Not a Traitor. Debke On The Moon. 2012.

[19] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[20] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[21] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[22] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[23] Lovatt, Hugh. 2011. Palestinian Hip-Hop Culture and Rap Music: Cultural Resistance as an Alternative to Armed Struggle.

[24] Goldman, Lisa. 2007. DAM: Palestinian Hip Hop from Israel. http://lisagoldman. net/2007/11/06/dam-palestinian-hip-hop-from-israel/(accessed April 11, 2013).

[25] Ashkar, Alaa. 2003. DAM- Rap Resistance. http://eng.babelmed.net/arte-e-spettacolo/82-palestine/446-dam-rap-resistance.html (accessed April 11, 2013)

[26] Schiller, Ben. 2010. Between Bombs and Beats. http://pulsemedia.org/2010 /07/29/dam-between-bombs-and-beats/ (accessed April 11, 2013).

[27] Shiloh, Dina. 2004. Dina Shiloh Meets Angry Young Rapper Tamar Nafar. The Jewish Quarterly. http://www.jewishquarterly.org/issuearchive/article6a2d .html?articleid=56 (accessed April 11, 2013).

[28]Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[29]Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[30] Schiller, Ben. 2010. Between Bombs and Beats. http://pulsemedia.org/2010 /07/29/dam-between-bombs-and-beats/ (accessed April 11, 2013).

[31] Slingshot Hip-Hop. Jackie Salloum. 2008.

[32] DAM. Driver Of My Fate. Dedication. 2007.