On Saturday, Philadelphians gathered in the International Arrivals Hall at the Philadelphia International Airport to welcome Leyan Abu Alatta, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl who lost her leg when Israel bombed her home in Gaza. Abu Alatta arrived in Philadelphia with her mother, brought to the U.S. by Health, Education, Aid, and Leadership (HEAL) Palestine, a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to providing healthcare and educational support to Palestinian youth. Abu Alatta will be treated at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, where she will receive an artificial leg and medical treatment for her injuries.

Philadelphia’s BlackStar Film Festival is set to kick off on August 1st. Opening day programming features films that hail from Brazil, Manila, the American Midwest, Pakistan, and more. And though this year’s offerings are as emblematically diverse and probing as ever, if you ask festival director Nehad Khader what makes the right kind of BlackStar film, her answer is an evocative commentary on both film and artmaking in a time of sociopolitical upheaval: “We like to look for films that break something,” Khader told Al-Bustan. “Maybe they’re breaking form or breaking genre. Or doing something really unexpected… But think of those films that make you ask questions. That challenge you to think outside of what you already believe.”

For Trenton-based artist Alia Bensliman, putting women at the center of her work is a responsibility she inherited from her late grandmother, the prominent Tunisian feminist Asma Belkhodja. Belkhodja served as the first Secretary General of the Union of Tunisian Women when the nation gained independence from France in 1956, and she was a singular and formative influence on her young granddaughter. “Because of my family,” Bensliman told Al-Bustan in an interview, “I grew up with the vocabulary of women’s rights.”

As violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalates, Philadelphia’s Sudanese diaspora is speaking out in support of Sudan’s liberation, increased humanitarian aid, and increased attention to the crisis. Last month, hundreds gathered for a rally and march that started at Dilworth Park, sharing stories emerging from Sudan, where famine and displacement is worsening.

Three teachers at Philadelphia’s Baldi Middle School have just filed a federal complaint with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) after facing severe disciplinary action for their support of Palestinian students. As part of their complaint, the three teachers – Caroline Yang, Emily Antrilli, and Jordan Kardasz – are underscoring community members’ allegations that the Philadelphia School district is failing to take accusations of discrimination against Palestinian students and pro-Palestine staff seriously.

As pro-Palestine protests continue gaining momentum on college campuses around the world, primary and secondary school teachers, students, and families are bringing the fight for their right to teach about Palestine to the Philadelphia Board of Education. At yesterday’s public school board meeting, teachers, staff, and families concerned about the protection of free speech in school testified about their growing concern that the district has been mishandling discourse on Palestine in schools.