Digital Activism: Solidarity with Palestinian expands online
Tags: International Solidarity, Featured, Digital Activism, Features, Palestine

Written by Cathelyde dela Torre | Layout by Shamica De Mapue

Due to the decades-long and seemingly unending conflict between Palestine and Israel rooted in the claims of the Holy Land, a region in the Middle East, which is significant to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, several protests were held around the world through social media and demonstrations. It has been 40 years since the institutionalization of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people by the United Nations General Assembly. The international community marked November 29 as its celebration day, based on the adoption of Resolution 181 (II) concerning Palestine’s future governance. However, up until now, the Palestinians haven’t seen the light of the day.

The mentioned international solidarity failed to retrieve its people’s rights as Israel still occupies most of the land of Palestine, which resulted in protests and appeals from Palestine to the court ruling, however, all they got was brutality and negligence. As a result of the horrendous casualties, wherein 5,600 Palestinians were killed while 115,000 were injured, several activists stood up against the Israeli government and took to the streets in protest. And because of the pandemic, military censorship and government control of media outlets, social media is now used by Palestine as their source of information and for mobilizing, wherein many activists have resorted to using gadgets as their sign of resistance. But of course, the road is not as smooth as we imagine. Many platforms like Facebook and Instagram that are primarily used for digital activism also censor contents that show Israeli violence.

As we celebrate the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians today, let us continue amplifying the unheard voices of Palestinian activists and their usurped rights. Their situation is totally not different from ours; Filipino activists and journalists often get censored, humiliated, and, worst of all, killed. Digital activism is also rising and being used in the Philippines. However, if the Palestine advocates’ contents are deleted, Filipinos, on the other hand, are attacked by trolls, wherein Facebook plays a pivotal role.

Nonetheless, despite the threats towards the voices of the oppressed and supporters, both countries continue to hold their ground and withstand the ferocity of the state towards them. Let’s continue condemning tyranny for collective punishment and police brutality dressed in the face of “justice.” In addition, let’s not forget how activism, may it be in the form of demonstrations or digital, was perceived as a threat that led to killings and several arrests. Let us fight against the censorship and continuous erasure of Palestinian voices, which only strengthens the oppression of Israel over them.

Here are the stories of some Palestine’s unsung heroes who constantly fight for their rights, even at the stake of their lives. These are Palestine activists who have been continuously silenced but still strive to make their stories known.

Rami Younis

He was invited to an interview with Israel’s national broadcast service. But he’s a Palestine journalist and activist, so why him?

Aside from being a journalist and an activist, Rami is also a filmmaker. He was born in Lyd, a mixed and protested city where police brutality occurs and evicting Arabs from their own homes becomes a daily life event. On the internet, he has several articles regarding the situation in Lyd and the violence they are receiving. He also updates his social media, which reaches many people and helps them be informed.

On May 13, he was asked by the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation to speak about the situation in Lyd as it was placed under a state of emergency for two days. However, during the interview, he was instead humiliated and confronted. On national television, Dov Gil-Har, an Israeli television anchor, was against Palestinian citizens. The anchor was trying to force the guest to condemn the actions of his fellowmen, but Rami knew it was going to happen, so he rebutted. Also, Rami was told by the host to not talk about any dire situation happening in the Palestine community in his hometown. He wasn’t allowed to tell the whole story, only what Israeli people wanted to hear.

Clearly, the Israel broadcast program hosted Rami into their program just for them to seem ‘liberal’ or to appear like they are being fair, giving platforms to both sides. Also, they invited Palestinian guests and pressured them to call out the violence of their fellow Palestinians. This kind of media is dangerous as it allows misinformation and manipulation by not telling the whole story or the actual happenings of the mentioned event.

Mariam Afifi

Smiling through the pain, fighting though struggling.

Mariam Afifi is a 26-year-old musician and an activist who joined the peaceful protest against the Sheikh Jarrah expulsion. During the said demonstration, she was arrested and dragged through her hair by an Israeli officer. This event was caught by a camera which went viral as she managed to stay calm and smile even though being harassed by the police. She was said to have been arrested for helping a Palestinian young girl who had been beaten and was lying on the floor.

“It is important to use social media and music to tell the world about the Palestinian cause and defend our rights in this land,” said Mariam.

Because of her courage and kindness, she was praised by Muslim countries and became the new face of Palestinian youth activism.

Muna al-Kurd

Through the oppression, she stood tall.

Muna al-Kurd is a 23 year-old prominent Palestinian activist who has a degree in communication and journalism. She experienced repression and expected expulsion firsthand as her family was one of the 27 Palestinian families who received threats of eviction in Sheikh Jarrah. All the violence, injustices, and forced migrations forced her to become an activist and resist the Israeli occupation of their homes.

Muna and her twin brother, Mohammed al-Kurd, were arrested after the raid of seven Israeli police on their home. She was taken to an Israeli police station on Salahaddin Street in East Jerusalem, with her hands and feet handcuffed. Fortunately, they were released after hours of countless interrogations.

They launched a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #SaveSheikhJarrah to garner attention and share information about Israel’s atrocities against them. With this action, sympathy and support coming from different countries flooded in. Because of their bravery, they are included in the Top 100 Most Influential People of 2021.

Issa Amro

firm as he continues to protect human rights violated by the illegal occupation of Israel in the West Bank.

Issa Amro is a Palestinian activist, human rights defender, and the founder and coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements based in Hebron, which is an active group that urges young Palestinians to end illegal Israeli settlements through non-violent demonstrations. He also fought for Ahed Tamimi’s release and actively updated Palestinians about the issues happening in their country, including the Israeli occupation.

In 2017, Issa was charged with “inciting strife” and publishing material that endangers the integrity of public order” due to his Facebook post about the arrest of a journalist. Earlier this year, he was convicted of 6 charges, a three-month suspended sentence with a two-year probation period, and a fine of 3500 NIS (approximately 1100 USD) because of his resistance.

Through facing several arrests and alarming judicial harassment for his human rights work, he continues to serve the Palestinian people by giving updates on his social media accounts and upholding their rights.

Amani Al Khatahtbeh

She declined a prestigious award from a cosmetics brand because its ambassador is Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot, who supports the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which goes against her advocacy.

Amani Al Khatahtbeh is a Jordanian-Palestinian journalist, blogger, and women’s rights activist who founded MuslimGirl, an online magazine with content about the life of a Muslim girl. She uses her site to raise awareness, empower women, and speak up against injustices.

In 2018, Amani was given the Revlon Changemaker Award, which she firmly rejected as the ambassador of the said brand was Gal Gadot, an Israeli active supporter of the IDF, which in that year imprisoned a 16-year-old activist named Ahed Tamimi. In addition, she also said that it goes against MuslimGirl’s morals and values.

Her courage and integrity are continuously praised and admired by many, especially by Palestinian women.

Mariam Barghouti

She was reporting live from the West Bank when suddenly, Twitter asked her to remove some tweets and, afterwards, got her account restricted.

Mariam Barghouti is a Palestinian-American journalist who uses her social media platforms, like Twitter, to document Israeli aggressions on Palestine.

Recently, while she was on the ground reporting in the West Bank covering the protests against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, her tweets were asked for deletion and her account was restricted. Mariam said that “she was at a demonstration being chased by Israeli military jeeps along with hundreds of Palestinians near Ramallah” when her Twitter account got restricted. In addition, she had no idea which tweets were requested to be deleted. Twitter, on the other hand, said that she violated the company’s media policy but later said that it was restricted by accident.

Mariam said that the issue is not about suspension but rather the censorship of Palestinian accounts trying to uncover the violence and injustices of Israeli forces against the Palestinian people. Clearly, this is a proof that social media platforms are used in the suppression of Palestinians’ freedom of expression to cover Israel’s brutality towards the Palestinian people.

Dareen Tatour

She was sentenced to five months because of a poem she posted on social media.

Dareen Tatour is a Palestinian poet, photographer, and social media activist from Reineh, an Arab town in Israel, who received the Norwegian Writers Union Freedom of Expression Award in 2019. Through her photography and writing, which are posted on her social media, she speaks about the conditions of her fellow Palestinians and the injustices happening in their country. Also, she’s breaking the silence to encourage Palestinian women to speak up against repression and human rights violations.

In October 2015, she was arrested during an Israeli police raid, days after Dareen posted a video of herself reading a poem titled “Resist, my people resist them” on Facebook and Youtube. She was under house arrest for 5 months due to “incitement to violence and terror” and “supporting a terrorist organization”. Even though it is forbidden, she continues to write and publish her work, which she hopes will persuade other people, especially Palestinians, to practice their free speech and take resistance against the abuses of Israel.

Dareen, in her poem, said that Palestinians should “never agree to a peace solution” and resist until the oppressors leave their land. Her capture was indeed a move to silence anyone who dared to speak up, restricting their freedom of speech and expression.

Until now, Palestinians, particularly their activists, are still struggling in fighting for their own recognition. There are several ongoing demolitions of homes, killings, and arrests that just further enrage and motivate Palestinian activists to keep their fire burning. These injustices and oppression strengthen their desire to fight for their nation. Regardless of all the maltreatment and threats, these unsung heroes still stand tall in fighting against Israeli violence and striving for their freedom. On the other hand, let’s support them in their endeavors and amplify their voices. We should not just sit lazily; we should collectively resist and reveal this silencing as part of fighting with Palestine in achieving their independence.

As to what Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president, during his address on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People dated 1997, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” We should not view this Palestine-Israel conflict from a narrow point of view but rather with a bigger lens. Let’s extend our hands to the oppressed and demand accountability from the oppressors. Furthermore, the former president said that we should “do more in supporting the struggle of the people of Palestine’’ and “strengthen the voice of peace.”

#FreePalestine #PalestinianLivesMatter