Aaaand sign off. Mainstream Western media, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Believe it or not, this reporter was actually somewhat professional by the typical standards we see from channels like CNN. I’ve seen much worse.
Kurd’s comment on the interview:
“I knew this interview was going to have a biased, inaccurate framing, and it did from the start. But I made sure I course corrected. I’m happy that you cannot edit a live interview, because there’s no way I could have spoken so bluntly about the myth of “both sides” and Israeli “self-defense” had this been prerecorded. Thanks CNN for taking my testimony about settler-colonialism.“
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Here are some backups. Because some social media - like Instagram, occasionally delete some posts about what’s happening in Palestine.
Yesterday, Israel bombed one of the biggest bookshops in Gaza. The Samir Mansour bookshop was one of the few publishing houses in Gaza as well. I saw a video of the owner of the bookshop fighting tears and talking about how much this bookshop meant to him and how he used to skip meals to be able to save money to get this bookshop going. This bookshop was part of the Kahil building which had various stores and offices.
In another video that was circulating, a guy from Gaza was explaining why Israel targets these buildings and towers. Every day you hear about a building targeted and leveled. He explains that these towers have been the main destination for the youth of Gaza as they usually contain coffee shops, bookshops, restaurants, educational and learning centres. So by destroying them, Israel is destroying memories and any potential for communal relationships.
This is what we mean when we say Israel is not only committing a full blown genocide as we have been witnessing publicly for days now, with over 200 deaths in the span of a week (as of May 19, 2021), but also this other form of incremental genocide that has been ongoing for decades; even when Israel isn’t bombing Gaza on a daily basis, there has always been an effort to erase Palestinian history and culture, from appropriating tatreez and the Palestinian cuisine to destroying literary works.
Highly recommend watching The Great Book Robbery documentary for more on that as it goes into the details about Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian books during the Nakba.
Erasing culture is an essential component of settler-colonialism, and what Israel is targeting in Gaza right now is by no means coincidental or “accidental”.
hello everyone! if you live in the united states, we have until the 25th of may to protest the biden administration’s arms deal with isr4el by contacting our senators (call, email, etc.)! it’s as easy as looking up your senators (local district office > dc office) and letting your voice be heard. it’s your right as a constituent to hold them responsible and something as simple as sending an email or leaving a voicemail could potentially save lives and play a part in fighting against the ethnic cleansing of the palestinian people. if that’s not enough, may 25 is my birthday, so consider it a 20th birthday present :)
“They are killing us… we can’t kill you. We can’t kill you. You hear us, Occupiers. We’re just kids and parents with no intention of doing anything…”
“The explosion happened by my house..I’m speaking English because I want to save my planet. I’m from Palestine… it’s not fair…”
“When I was born I only hear explosions… I never hear happiness… kids are dying. Is this a Eid? Is this an Eid? Kids dying…”
“I’m only 10…I want to be a doctor to help my people, but I can’t. I’m just 10. I don’t even know what to do. I get scared… I’d do anything for my people, but I don’t know what to do. I’m just 10… it’s not fair.”
(I’m crying my eyes out)
All videos taken by Sanad Abu Latifa on the ground in Gaza this morning and provided to me by Hana Salah.
It’s very hard to remain an ally to Jewish people when many support Zionism. I am trying so hard not to come off as anti-Semitic but I am struggling any advice?
first, go to firsthand Jewish resources to make sure you’re not being Antisemitic. this is what I know:
Click on this link to listen to why this Jewish speaker uses their real name for the first time to talk against Zionism. it is taught from an early age, and instructed in ways to ensure to pass the teachings against Palestine along for generations.
This is NOT a Jewish resource because I made it, though I have placed more on this carrd I made (and will update if need be!!): howtosupportpalestine.carrd.co.
of course, as always: we can always use Jewish input!!!
In light of Israel moving its forces into Gaza, please remember they aren’t “responding” to violence. Israel is the initiator by virtue of being an occupying power over the Palestinian territories, including Gaza. Before a single rocket was fired, Palestinians in Gaza were already suffocating under a brutal siege.
i was watching a video of noura erakat’s (a human rights attroney and palestinian activist) interview with cnn (released 13th may, 2021) and she said the same thing. you can watch the video here. i’ve tried to transcribe a part of it to the best of my abilities:
“israel’s propaganda has been so thorough and so deep that the mere mention of hamas obscures the entire context of the palestinian struggle for freedom, now ongoing for over one hundred years. hamas has become a boogey man in israel’s rhetoric. if hamas were to disappear, palestinians would still remain under subjugation and oppression. we saw, just this morning, that the israeli leadership has affirmed that the reason they want to de escalate their attack on the gaza strip, is because they don’t want to oust hamas, because they fear that a power vacuum there would lead to chaos. this is a holding position and one that’s quite violent because the palestinians themselves are suffering the most. for the past 15 years, there has been a debilitating seige on the gaza strip - a 365 square kilometer piece of land - that borders the mediterranean sea and israel, as well as egypt. they have been put on a subsistence diet of how much they can eat. their electric generators have been shot. they are kept in an open air prison. even if everything today were to stop and there would be an end to escalation, palestinians would still be enduring violence. children would still not be able to live freely. they would not be able to travel. they would not be able to dream - of studying abroad, of marrying who they want, of building homes - because they have been subject to this structural domination of seige, of war, of dehumanization. so i urge people to listen - who do care - that to understand the root of this - and if you care about violence and if you care about actually having peace - then the first thing we have to do in the gaza strip is to lift the seige. end the naval blockade. allow palestinians to live even a little bit.”
