Hamada Shaqura on cooking in Gaza
Our first Dispatch from Issue Sixteen
Since August, when the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative at last gave an official stamp of approval to longstanding testimonies of famine conditions in Gaza, hunger has become the most visible manifestation of the ongoing Israeli genocide. But Israel has wielded starvation as a weapon against the Palestinian people for years, and food insecurity stalks the forces of imperialist conquest, extraction, and domination wherever they extend. In order to help document, contextualize, and reckon with the problem of hunger in Gaza and elsewhere, we are dedicating the Dispatches section of our upcoming issue to the politics of food in and beyond Palestine. A roster of journalists, activists, and experts will analyze and critique the relationship of food to systems of violence around the world.
In our first preview piece, the Palestinian food writer Hamada Shaqura discusses the Gazan culinary tradition, which has been assaulted by years of Israeli blockade and bombing. Shaqura relates his experience cooking for children after the start of the genocide, attempting to deliver whatever nourishment and flavor can be summoned in the depths of famine. Read his piece online today, and be sure to subscribe to receive the full issue when it is published later this fall.
The Silence in My Kitchen | A Dispatch from Gaza
HAMADA SHAQURA
Hunger here is not just the absence of food. It is an attempt to erase who we are and the way we come together around a table.
I have followed Chef Hamada since he started cooking. A legend. A good man. I loved reading this piece. Thank you 🙏🏼 🇵🇸
Hamada is a beloved hero, and should be a role model for the world. I pray for his protection.