The Resistance Report Unbound: The Arts and Culture of Palestine - Interview with Yousef M. Aljamal
Mar 25, 2026
Yousef M. Aljamal, Palestinian author, translator and Gaza coordinator at AFSC, reflects on life from Nusirat camp to activism. He discusses Refaat Alareer’s teaching and legacy, compiling If I Must Die, and sustaining Gaza’s storytelling. Conversations cover rebuilding Gaza, family displacement from 1948, migrations to Europe, and international solidarity.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Growing Up And Learning To Tell Gaza's Story
- Yousef M. Aljamal grew up in Nasirat refugee camp under constant Israeli incursions, electricity outages, and overcrowded UNRWA schools.
- He met Refaat Alareer at Islamic University in 2007, who trained students in English literature and translation to tell Gaza's stories.
Using English Literature To Counter Empire Narratives
- Refaat Alareer emphasized writing in English to confront imperial narratives and reach global readers, seeing literature as a long-term tool of resistance.
- He trained many students to publish so Palestinian stories would persist, transcend language, and influence future readers and scholars.
How War Homework Became Gaza Rises Back
- After the 2008–09 attack on Gaza, Refaat assigned short stories to help students process trauma and document experiences.
- Those stories formed Gaza Rises Back, published with JustWorld Books and helped launch student writers internationally.
