Support Palestine
The last few weeks have been an extremely difficult time for Palestinians following the eviction notice given to residents of Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem. Currently, there are 38 Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah, four of them facing imminent eviction, while three are expected to be removed on 1 August. On 2nd May 2021, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered that the Iskafi, Kurd, Jaanoi and Qassem families – consisting of 30 adults and 10 children – evacuate their homes by 6 May. These families have been shunted around the courts for almost four years. The court gave the Hammad, Dagani and Daoudi families living in the same area until 1 August to evacuate.
Protests have since broken out in Palestine, and several other cities around the world, including Doha, Berlin, London, Paris, Toronto and Madrid, leading to the genocide of more than 200 Palestinians including 47 children after Israel launched air attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. Al-Jalaa tower, an 11-storey building in Gaza City housing some 60 residential apartments and a number of offices, including those of Al Jazeera Media Network and The Associated Press, al-Sayed has also been levelled to the ground by Israel’s fighter jets. The Israeli army claimed that the building housed “military interests of the Hamas intelligence”, even though it provided no evidence to back up its claims.
Muslims around the world have since wondered what action to take, feeling helpless and guilty about the situation. If you’re wondering what you can do to support Palestinians, here are five ways to show your solidarity.
1. Donate to Support Palestine
There are a list of organizations and campaigns you can donate to. They are not limited to the ones listed below:
The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
MECA works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment, and education. The MECA team is currently distributing food parcels in all areas of Gaza, and visiting the schools with displaced families to see what is needed while also supporting medical aid to their NGO partners.
Donate to their Palestine Emergency campaign here.
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
The PCRF has an ongoing fundraiser for Gaza to provide urgent humanitarian and medical aid to injured and sick children in Gaza on a need basis.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (1991) addresses medical and humanitarian Palestinian youth in Palestine and the Middle East. The organization helps provide free medical care for children who otherwise could not access it.
Support here.
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Medical Aid for Palestine is running a Gaza emergency funding appeal to help provide the much needed medications, medical supplies and disposables to Palestinian hospitals and emergency services in both Gaza and Jerusalem.
Donate here.
Muslim Aid USA
Muslim Aid USA is working with different partner organizations and hospitals on the ground such as PRCS to respond with the crises in Gaza and Jerusalem.
Read more about their programs, and find out how you can donate to their Palestine Emergency campaign through:
Palestine Emergency
Or their crowdfunding campaign using this link.
Human Appeal
Human Appeal is also running a campaign to support Palestinians in Gaza amid the genocide they are currently enduring. Funds from their campaign will directly go towards equipping the already strained hospitals with needed supplies and medicines. They are also providing food parcels and water to affected families.
Find out how you can donate to the Gaza Emergency Appeal here.
Al Makassed Hospital / Jerusalem Hospitals
Al Makassed Hospital is a charitable hospital run by Palestinians in Jerusalem, and is one of six Palestinian hospitals in the city- part of the The East Jerusalem Hospital Network. Since the onset of recent events, the hospital has been at capacity, as more protestors in the city are injured and hospitalized.
United Palestinian Appeal (UPA)’s
The Emergency Relief Fund is partnered with Al Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem. You can donate to the campaign through this link.
Taawon
This is also running emergency support to the Jerusalem Hospitals and first aid responders. Learn more and donate here.
Islamic Relief Canada
Islamic Relief Canada is running two appeals to support Palestine:
The Palestine Emergency Appeal
The Gaza Appeal
Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP)
MAP’s campaign response to the current emergency across occupied Palestine. Their local partners are providing much needed medical aid during this time.
Support here.
ANERA
ANERA is also responding by providing access to medical supplies and aid to Palestinian healthcare facilities.
More information on how to donate here.
2. Lend Your Voice to Support Palestine
Continue to share what’s happening in Sheikh Jarrah*, in Gaza, in ‘48, and in Palestine as a whole. The last few days have shown us that our voices do matter and that among all the disheartening news we’ve been experiencing and sharing, there is hope for the freedom of our land and people. In speaking about and sharing the injustices going on in Palestine, you need to understand that language matters. Replace the word “clashes” with “colonialism”. Use the word “Apartheid” in place of “Conflict” and the phrase “State sanctioned violence” in place of “Both sides”.
3. Get Informed
In order to show your support, you will need to have adequate knowledge of the history of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. A good way to do this is by reading books. Here are just a few books you can read to become aware of what’s going on:
– Freedom is a Constant Struggle; Ferguson, Palestine and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davies
– Palestine Speaks: Narratives of Life Under Occupation (Voice of Witness) Edited by Cate Malek
– A Map of Absense: An Anthology of Palestinian Writing on the Nakba, Edited by Atef Alshaer
– The Lady from Tel Aviv (Fiction) by Raba’i Al-Madhoun
– Qissat: Short Stories by Palestinian Women, Edited by Jo Glanville
– Mornings in Jenin (Fiction by Susan Abulhawa
– Meet Me in Gaza by Louisa B. Waugh
– Legacy of Empire: Britain, Zionism and the Creation of Israel by Gardner Thompson
– The Arabs and The Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives by Gilbert Achcar
For a quick breakdown of what’s going on, below is a brief explainer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
4. Watch Movies and Documentaries on Palestine
Just in case you don’t have time to read on the Palestine-Israeli conflict, here are a few movies and documentaries to walk you through what’s going on:
- Born in Gaza (Netflix): This documentary focuses on the devastating violence of the Israel-Palestine conflict and its effects on the children of Gaza.
- 5 Broken Cameras: A documentary on a Palestinian farmer’s chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.
- The Present (Netflix): Yusuf and his daughter set out to buy his wife an anniversary gift, a gesture demanding much patience and negotiation skills in the West Bank.
- Omar (The Movie): A young Palestinian freedom fighter agrees to work as an informant after he’s tricked into an admission of guilt by association in the wake of an Israeli soldier’s killing.
5. Follow Accounts Dedicated to Uplifting Palestinian Voices
Here are a few organisations giving us access to untold stories, facts and expert sources on all things Palestine
- The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU): This is an independent non-profit organization that provides journalists with quick access to information about Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as expert sources, both in the United States and in the Middle East. Follow their Instagram page.
- Let’s Talk Palestine: This is a social media page dedicated to teaching and informing the public about everything Palestine. Follow their Instagram page.
- Visualising Palestine: This organisation provides visual stories for social justice in Palestine. Follow their Instagram page
- Palestinian Youth Movement: This is a transnational, independent, grassroots movement of Palestinian and Arab youth struggling for the liberation of Palestine and its people. Follow their Instagram page.
