Susannah Aziz is the Palestinian-American author of children’s book Halal Hot Dogs. Using her book proceeds, Susannah successfully matched $5,000 – dollar-for-dollar – of donations made towards UNRWA food assistance and orphan support last Ramadan. Thank you Susannah!

If you’re interested in being featured with your own match or initiative for Palestine refugees, please email us at info@unrwausa.org.

Why did you decide to support UNRWA USA?

I’ve always been a big supporter of UNRWA USA. My husband Ally and I would look forward to the annual Gaza 5k event every year in NYC. We are now so proud to have our children take part as well. 

When it was time to publish my book, I wanted to do more than just simply put my book out there into the world. I wanted readers to know that I’m Palestinian. I also wanted to spread awareness about the plight of our people, and primarily, I also wanted to ‘give back’ in some form. Therefore, donating a portion of the profits of my book to a humanitarian relief organization was the best way to do this, and of course, UNRWA USA was the first organization that came to mind. I was very happy to get published, but I was extremely proud to mention Palestine and UNRWA USA in my book.

What is your book, Halal Hot Dogs about?

My children's book, Halal Hot Dogs, is about an Arab-Muslim boy named Musa who cannot wait to share halal hot dogs with his blended family, which includes his mother, father, little sister and grandfather! There is a lot of family, food, and fun featured on the pages…the characters even dance the dabke! Parwinder Singh did a fabulous job with the illustrations, and my publisher was really great about making sure we had an accurate Middle Eastern representation, which was quite comforting.

What inspired you to write for children?

I started taking an interest in writing for children after I had my own kids. Through my own experiences navigating the diverse children’s book section, I noticed that there was very little representation of Arab voices! I started researching and began writing and I’ve loved the process ever since. The inspiration for my children’s book, Halal Hot Dogs, came from living an everyday, ordinary life with my kids. We lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn at the time - a neighborhood with a huge demographic of Arabs - and we would often stroll along the streets and visit the many mosques in the area. My son would insist we stop off at one of the many halal food carts along the way to grab halal hot dogs, so it sort of became a routine, especially on Fridays after Jummah prayer services! 

Children’s books are fun for all ages. They are not only entertaining, but they provide special bonding moments between children and their caretakers. They also allow children to identify with the characters and can be quite educational for people of all ages. I had a journalism and creative writing background before I went back to school for my Master of Library and Information Science, so writing was always a part of my background.  With my children’s book, Halal Hot Dogs, it was all quite simple…I was hoping to provide a funny story with a lot of heart, featuring a loving family and of course, delicious foods from all over the place!!

Do you have a message to share with UNRWA USA supporters?

We should all push ourselves to do more for our people. We have an obligation to today’s youth; who are the future of Palestine, to do what we can to preserve our wonderful heritage, help ease the suffering, and help educate people about Palestine; past, present and future! Let us demand to be seen, demand to be heard, and help in any way that we can! Please support UNRWA USA! 

You can follow Susannah Aziz at @librarycatnyc and susannahaziz.com, and order a copy of Halal Hot Dogs