Following yesterday’s post putting a spotlight on Reem’s bakery in Oakland, California – the bakery with a mural of terrorist Rasmea Odeh – I found the following video on the Reem’s Facebook page.
It is Reem’s owner Reem Assil speaking to a group called Real Food Real Stories, followed by a Q&A, during which the subject of the terror mural comes up. Assil responds by painting Odeh as a women’s right activist, who has been targeted simply because she has been “outspoken on palestine.” There is no mention of the terrorism that landed her in jail, only an unsubstantiated allegation that she was sexually tortured in prison. Note also how Assil paints Odeh as an emblem of resilience, invokes intersectionality, tries to turn it into a feminist issue, and claims anyone opposing the mural or accusing Assil of supporting terror are themselves guilty of xenophobia.
The entire discussion is rather infuriating, actually. Assil really plays up intersectionality, goes on at length about she was traumatized after 911 (with crying; no mention of the suffering of the victims of terror), admits to trying to influence the views of her customers (“Trojan Horse” effect), and claims Israeli food is cultural appropriation.
Lucky for you, I created this summary video, so you need not sit through the whole video.
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