Pomegrenade, a Collective Song

with Khaled Jarrar, Safira Berrada-Riggs, Mohammed Salah, Alber Tablaji, Iskandar Dridi, H. Sinno

The cassette tape starts, it’s playing Michael Jackson's Freedom, but 30 seconds in, you hear the songs of anti-colonial resistance. When you were a child your mother prepared rummaneyye (رمانية) a warm, hearty dish of pomegranate, lentils, eggplant, pomegranate juice, cumin, and coriander. A dish that was displaced together with the Palestinians from Yaffa to Gaza. Join artist Khaled Jarrar for a special supper and evening of collective song in recognition of the importance of music and food in sustaining Palestine’s ongoing fight against genocide and land theft. The artist will prepare rummaneyye, followed by songs of Palestinian resistance and liberation performed by Safira Beradda, Mohammed Salah, Alber Tablaji, Iskandar Dridi, and H. Sinno.
As a starting point for the evening, the artist shares a personal recollection on a seminal encounter with revolutionary songs:

I was ten years old when I met them at their cave. My Momma would send me out with food for them and their laundered clothes. Five men in this hidden cave were the Palestinian Black Panthers with their hand made guns. They took the food from me directly and started eating. They looked so hungry. After they ate, they changed their clothes and gave me the old clothes to be washed. When I was leaving, Kamal, who was the co-founder of the Black Panthers, gave me a cassette tape with Michael Jackson printed on the cover, a cover-up of Palestinian liberation songs that were forbidden to listen to or distribute, and the cassette ended with the voice of Prince.

Accessibility

CTHQ is located on the 7th Floor of 59 East 4th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. The building entrance has no steps and elevator access is provided directly to CTHQ. Service animals are welcome.

A variety of seating options are available including: plastic chairs with backs and wooden benches and stools. This event begins at 6:00 pm and ends at 8:00 pm.

Accessibility Requests

If you have any questions regarding accessibility or to request specific accommodations, please email: [email protected].

Covid Guidelines

While masks are not required, they are available to all guests at CTHQ and mask-wearing is encouraged. If you are feeling sick or have tested positive for Covid-19, we ask that you please refrain from participating in CTHQ programs in order to care for fellow community members.

Transportation

The closest MTA subway stations are: Astor Place on the 6 line, 2nd Avenue on the F line, and 8th Street-NYU on the R Line. These stations are not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are: Bleecker Street on the 6 line and Broadway-Lafayette on the B/D/F/M line, with an elevator on the north side of Houston St. between Lafayette St. and Crosby St. Parking in the vicinity is free after 6 PM.

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