#hula

#hula

As the women built a thrumming rhythm from their drums and began to chant while others danced, the Hula Halau O Nalua and Ote'a Api School of Polynesian Dance seemed to teleport from the interior of an industrial park in Fremont to a Hawaiian island. It was a Wednesday evening, and a class of about 25 students had gathered in this halau, or hula school, to practice their dances.

But Israel has continued since then to demolish hundreds of homes and critical civilian infrastructure in what residents see as an effort to not just prevent their return but erase their history. In the village of Hula in southern Lebanon, a monument engraved with the names of almost 100 Lebanese killed here in 1948 just after the creation of the state of Israel lies covered in graffiti and smashed to pieces.