Rania
& Matt's Wedding
 On
Saturday morning, ten a.m. Roman time, Matt & Rania
“tied the knot” on the Capitoline Hill, the
Campidoglio, overlooking the Roman Forum. They were officially
married by the mayor of Rome in a civil ceremony. They
both said “yes” and it is now official. America
and Palestine have now been united.
I
have known both for many years. Matt is the son of Charles
and Dianne Keil. His father was a career diplomat and
was the Consulate General in Rome for many years. Dianne
was the middle school art teacher at the school where
I teach. About two years ago Chuck retired from active
service after an incredible assortment of experiences
and posts throughout the world. He and Dianne have since
moved back to the States in retirement bliss.
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 Rania
is another story. I have known her and her family almost
since childhood. Palestinian by birth, a citizen of the
world, as her new husband is, she rarely takes “no”
for an answer. She is a political activist constantly
campaigning for the rights of Palestinians. She is a university
professor of political science and has already written
a number of books on the subject. Her father, an ambassador,
represents the Palestinian people to the Italian Republic.
Aside from being a statesman he is also a gifted lecturer
and I have attended, throughout the years, numerous conferences
he has held on the subject. Rania’s early commitment
to the Palestinian cause can be seen in her senior year
photograph from high school (1989) taken with Arafat.
Rania is an ex-student of mine and we have maintained
contact throughout the years as I have done with many
of my students. At times, I feel as if I have an extended
intercultural family throughout the world. |
  
In the first photograph is
Charles Keil and Nemer Hammad, followed by Matt’s mom,
Dianne, and Rania’s mother, Ghada.
They celebrated their nuptial vows on Marymount’s vast
campus. Its rolling green hills,
tennis courts, soccer fields, numerous terraces and its famous
umbrella pines made it the perfect setting. I am sure that one
day the school where I teach will become an exclusive country
club. The location is perfect, just 15 minutes from downtown
Rome nestled in the countryside.
 Family,
friends and well wishers began to gather about seven-thirty
that evening and the celebration continued well into the
night. I heard that the last of the guests left about
four the next morning. We dined on Italian and Mid-Eastern
delicacies – there were three antipastos, three
first courses, two main courses and then finally Arabic
sweets. I must admit
that I could have stopped after the rich antipastos.
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The
evening was orchestrated extremely well. Between courses
we were entertained by a well known Lebanese singer and
his musicians. Many of the guests couldn’t help
but get up and dance to the music. There was also an incredible
belly dancer who wove her way dancing through the crowd
with a candelabrum as her headpiece. I felt as if I were
in down town Cairo at the closure of Ramadan.
 
What made the evening particularly special for me were
the people. Numerous friends of
Rania’s and ex-students of mine made their appearance.
It was great to “catch up.”
Here
is Rania with ex-classmates.
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In
the first row of this photo are three women who
are all very important in my life. First on your
left is Vittoria, the head of our Italian dept.
and dear friend, then Sr.A.Marie who is the head
of all of the Marymount schools in Europe and also
my boss, and next to her is Frieda. Frieda teaches
elementary art at Marymount and has been a dear
friend for the past 35 years. |
A
special treat for me was to see Emily Jacir again.
Emily is an ex-student of mine who is making her
name in the contemporary art world. At her tender
young age she has already shown at the Whitney in
New York and was recently at the Biennale in Venice.
She is a wonderful, gifted young woman and I am
very proud of her…plus, she listens to me! |
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I
am also very proud of Rania and Matt
and
wish them nothing but goodness in this world………………………
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