DUBAI: US-Palestinian DJ duo Simi and Haze Khadra sat down with best-selling author Jay Shetty on his weekly podcast “On Purpose,” where they discussed everything from their latest beauty brand to how they embrace their Middle Eastern roots.
“Being Middle Eastern is inextricable to how we are and how we see the world,” said Simi during the 42-minute discussion. “You know, anybody who’s come across Middle Eastern culture, you know, it’s a hotbed of literature, art, architecture, mysticism, generosity, understanding, loyalty. Those values are just paradigmatic of Arab culture wherever you find it in the world,” she added.
The sisters were raised by Palestinian parents between Riyadh, London and Dubai.
They are very vocal about the occupation in Palestine, often taking to their social media platforms to raise awareness on the situation.
“Learning about our culture, and I think even talking on Palestine on our platform, I feel lucky because we are Palestinians. So, in many ways we have carte blanche to talk about it and people are not going to criticize us the way they criticize somebody who’s not Palestinian,” she said.
“I think we do have a responsibility to highlight that the situation in Palestine is not a new situation. It’s a story of colonialism and disposition and it’s happened in history over and over again... But when you talk about it in terms of Palestine, they make it seem like this crazy, multi-faceted, complex issue and any criticism against it is classified as anti-Semitic and I think that’s where a lot of the tension comes in,” added Simi. “But that’s what the mainstream media wants you to believe.”
Simi revealed that at first it was difficult for her to talk about the situation with her friends, because the Palestinian children in the videos shared online “looked like her cousins.”
The sisters also credited their upbringing with giving them a well-rounded view of the world.
“I think having all of these experiences and being in so many places and meeting people of all different cultures, it’s given us a heightened sense of empathy and compassion for being a human being and a sense of understanding that someone who grew up in one place wouldn’t have,” the pair said.
