# Landing in Palestine: Skateboarding and the Anti Colonial Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A595VZmipg Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/4A595VZmipg --- ## Quick Overview Mhamed's book "Landing in Palestine" documents Palestinian skateboarders using their craft as a purposeful escape from Israeli settler-colonial domination, challenging the prevailing victimizing imagery of Palestinians by showcasing their life, joy, and resistance through the act of skateboarding and photography. **Key Points:** - Mhamed's book 'Landing in Palestine' documents five Palestinian skateboarders using their craft as a 'purposeful escape' from Israeli settler-colonial domination in the occupied West Bank. - The title 'Landing' signifies both the act of landing a skateboard trick and the ongoing 'impermanence and struggle to land, to getting our land back, to our connection to this land.' - Skateboarding in Palestine acts as a 'spatial critique of explicit and mundane violence,' providing a 'portal' to momentarily escape the occupation and connect with the land. - The book includes personal narratives, such as Kilani's illegal crossing into 48 Palestine to see his girlfriend, where he 'had to unlearn himself and act like a different person' due to the occupation's fragmentation. - Mhamed, born in Palestine and raised in Michigan, describes his own journey of 'unlearning bits and pieces of my American identity' to become Palestinian American through his reconnection with Palestine and skateboarding. - A DIY skate project, building a ramp and rail, was a 'small gesture of creation' and a 'political act built in dedication of the future of Palestinians on skateboards,' fostering community and providing core memories for children. - The book's design intentionally includes extensive text and footnotes to provide crucial context about Palestine, ensuring readers understand the narrative without assumptions, and features gatefolds as 'portals' into the skaters' individual worlds. **Context:** The event features Mhamed, a Palestinian American photographer and skateboarder, discussing his book "Landing in Palestine," which documents the skateboarding scene in the occupied West Bank. He is joined by Steven Shihi, a professor of Middle East Studies and author of "Camera Palestina," and Tamam Abdhadi, an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. The discussion centers on the intersection of skateboarding, photography, and Palestinian identity under Israeli occupation, exploring how the act of skateboarding can serve as a form of resistance and a means of reclaiming space and narrative. ## Detailed Analysis Mhamed's book, "Landing in Palestine," is a documentary photography and writing project spanning 2014 to 2022, focusing on five Palestinian skateboarders, including Mhamed himself, who utilize skateboarding as a purposeful escape from the confines of Israeli settler-colonial rule in the occupied West Bank. The project explores the deep connection between skateboarding and photography, noting how photographers are essential to capturing the fleeting nature of tricks, much like Palestine's visual history has been entwined with photography, often through Orientalist or victimizing lenses. Mhamed emphasizes that the book aims to present alternative images of Palestinians, moving beyond the 'genocidal regime of visuality' that often portrays them as victims. The title "Landing" signifies both the act of landing a skateboard trick and the broader, ongoing struggle for Palestinians to reclaim their land, highlighting the impermanence and continuous effort involved. The book's design intentionally integrates extensive text and footnotes to provide crucial context about Palestine, ensuring readers are informed rather than left to assume. It also features unique gatefolds that act as 'portals' into the individual skaters' worlds, including their own photographs and interviews. The narrative is framed around the 2021 Palestinian Unity Uprising, prompting reflection on the role of skateboarding during intense periods of conflict. Mhamed recounts a cathartic DIY skate project, building a ramp and rail, which became a 'political act built in dedication of the future of Palestinians on skateboards,' fostering community and providing a 'core memory' for children. The project ultimately seeks to place Palestinian skateboarding on the global map, connecting it to broader anti-colonial struggles and demonstrating how the craft serves as a critique of suffocating space under occupation. ### Book Overview and Purpose - Mhamed's 'Landing' project documents skateboarding in Palestine from 2014-2022 - It features five Palestinian skaters, including Mhamed, who use skateboarding as a purposeful escape from Israeli settler-colonial domination - The book includes 22 essays, poems, interviews, and prose, with a narrative framed around the 2021 Palestinian Unity Uprising. ### Skateboarding as Anti-Colonial Image - Photography and skateboarding share a long relationship, with photographers essential to capturing fleeting tricks - Palestine's history is also entwined with photography, often used for Orientalist or victimizing imagery - The project aims to present other images of Palestinians, challenging the 'genocidal regime of visuality' and decolonizing imaginations. ### The Concept of 'Landing' and 'Purposeful Escape' - The title 'Landing' signifies both landing a skateboard trick and the ongoing struggle to reclaim land in Palestine, highlighting its impermanence - 'Purposeful escape' describes skateboarding as a consensual, voluntary act of self-care and connection to land, not an abandonment of struggle - Skateboarding provides a 'portal' into another world, offering momentary freedom from occupation. ### Personal Narratives and Identity - Mhamed, a Palestinian American, discusses 'unlearning' his American identity to become Palestinian American through skateboarding - The book features personal stories like Kilani's illegal border crossing to see his girlfriend, illustrating fragmented Palestinian experiences - Kilani's statement, 'Whenever I cross, I have to unlearn myself and act like a different person,' highlights the psychological impact of occupation. ### Book Design and Engagement - The book's design intentionally includes extensive text and footnotes to provide context and inform readers about Palestine - Gatefolds serve as 'portals' into individual skaters' worlds, featuring their own photos and interviews - The cover, showing the back of Mhamed's skateboard, symbolizes the attempts and sacrifices involved in 'landing' tricks and reclaiming land. ### Community Building and Resistance - A DIY skate project, building a ramp and rail, served as a cathartic act after the Unity Uprising - This 'small gesture of creation' was a political act dedicated to the future of Palestinian skateboarders - The project aims to put Palestinian skateboarding on the global map, documenting its existence and connecting it to broader anti-colonial struggles.