tonight we die as a family, mohammed el-kurd

[english on the left as published in the poetry review & translated into urdu on the right by @/smuntahaali on instagram]

so funny hearing americans pronounce "iran" .... like girl you ran where????

[ID: tags that read, "#same thing with iraq...u rack what? 0 bitches? #text." end ID.]

409 bodies have been recovered last I heard and the search is not over yet. You can read the horrific accounts of what Israel did to Al Shifa Hospital in this Mondoweiss article

Yes, I’ve done the work analyzing this relationship’s problematic traits and I’ve come to the educated conclusion that I still want them to fuck

Meet the Gazan band “El Takht El Sharki” who risked their lives to show their talent winning the golden buzzer! Jan 10, 2015

It's not "everything," though.

Only the things everyone needs.

Teslas and yachts and private planes aren't any more expensive. Enormous multi-million dollar mansions haven't gone up anywhere near as much as single-family ramblers on cul de sacs.

The elite don't think prices have gone up because theirs mostly didn't. Only ours did. Our food and rent and gas and insurance have skyrocketed, but even though that's the biggest part of the budget for the biggest part of the population, it's only a tiny little slice of the economy. The market is doing fine.

DONATE!!!

this call was released anonymously (understandably) but my local Palestinian organizers who I literally trust with my life have endorsed it, and it seems to be gaining momentum in multiple cities, so I encourage you all to get involved:

"A proposal to coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on April 15th in solidarity with Palestine recently received overwhelming commitments to participate around the US and internationally.

The proposal states that in each city, we will identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact, as did the port shutdowns in recent months in Oakland, California and Melbourne, Australia, as just a few examples.

There is a sense in the streets in this recent and unprecedented movement for Palestine that escalation has become necessary: there is a need to shift from symbolic actions to those that cause pain to the economy.

As Yemen is bombed to secure global trade, and billions of dollars are sent to the Zionist war machine, we must recognize that the global economy is complicit in genocide and together we will coordinate to disrupt and blockade economic logistical hubs and the flow of capital."

since I posted, organizers in St. Louis, Seoul, Brussels, and the Netherlands have signed onto the agreement, so if you saw this before and your city wasn't listed look again. anyone with the capacity to do some outreach, and a few connections to start with, could take the initiative to bring their city or region on board. read the solidarity agreement and check out the resources, and if you know trustworthy people in your area who might be interested in this sort of thing, talk to them about it.

remember that this isn't a series of protests (although some cities are organizing protests in conjunction), it's a commitment to take mass direct action and to maintain a united front in the face of any state repression. many organizers are (and have already been) using an affinity group model to actually coordinate those direct actions. autonomous groups can take action on April 15th whether or not others in their city/region have committed to this agreement. just do your homework (look up know-your-rights info specific to where you live + general direct action safety tips) and take good care of each other Blockades: a short guide to getting in the way Basic blockading Practical Protest Techniques: using your body Blockading: a guide ACT UP civil disobedience guide

and STRIKE!

also two of the speakers were banned (?) from germany

"We, the Iranian Jews, strongly condemn the heinous crimes of the oppressive Zionist regime against the discriminated and defenseless people of Palestine. We express our solidarity with them and call on the international community to help them." - The Jewish community of Yusef Abad Synagogue demonstration in support of Palestine, Tehran (30 October 2023).

'In a recent interview with the Javan Daily, [Iranian rabbi, physician, and Jewish community leader] Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar stated, "The phenomenon of Zionism in the Jewish religion is akin to Daesh in Islam." Daesh is the Arabic acronym for ISIS in the Middle East.

He continued, "They, like Daesh, present the most radical and extremist narratives of the religion as the only accurate narrative. The narratives that Zionism introduces about Judaism have no basis in this religion."'

Source (of quote and image): The New Arab, see below

April 15th: Global Strike

Bisan has called for a global strike on April 15th

"*April 15 is a day of global strike*.. No schools, no movement, no work, no electronic payment, no gas stations. Make more noise and disturb the peace of terrorist politicians in America and IsraHell."

I feel I should specify when I talk about the vast majority of Israelis supporting this genocide it's not to call for violence of them or even to demonise them. It's to call attention to Israel having a genocidal education system which dehumanises Palestinians from the moment Israelis start school. Ilan Pappé did a study in 1994 of the Israeli education system and raised the alarm that it would raise a generation who are even worse than those who first colonised Palestine in 1948. We're seeing the truth of that now.

I raise this point because we're seeing this attempt by politicians and the media to claim that it's just Netanyahu who is to blame for this genocide and not a systematic problem that requires boycotting, divestments and sanctions to push them to correct. This lie is being pushed because they do not want to change the status quo which allows for Israel to steal Palestinian land and homes and keep Palestinians under military occupation.

For those who don't know, Rafah Crossing is closed. Meaning Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are technically not allowed to go into Egypt through Rafah Crossing (with exceptions, like holding a foreign passport) so in order to evacuate, Palestinians need to bribe Egyptian border security officials. The standard price used to be about $5000 - 7000 per person but some Palestinians have been told to pay $10,000 per person just to cross the border, forget other expenses like food and boarding.

For a group of people who are enduring genocide and the complete destruction of their homes that money is impossible to raise without the help of fundraising. That and the collapse of the UNRWA is the reason you're seeing so many Gofundmes nowadays. The entire aid system is gone with the exception of local aid organisations that have limited reach.

So if you see a credible fundraiser, please at the very least share it so it can reach more people. This list by @el-shab-hussein is a good place to start.

There are a few fundraisers for Sudanese families also! Don't forget to donate to Mohammed Qadas, the first fundraiser in the 'Other fundraisers' section. His case is super urgent!!

When I say there are things that Israel will never ever take away from Palestinians I also mean the way the fight for Palestine is ingrained into every aspect of our lives, down to even the names we give our children who come decades and decades after our initial Nakba.

For example, Bisan is a very popular girls name in Palestine and it is the name of a Palestinian city that was depopulated by Israel in 1948. Girls with names like Bisan, Yafa and Jenin may not have seen these cities yet, but they carry them within them regardless.

Also, many Palestinians can identify with how our aunts and uncles have symbolic names such as A'ed or A'eda which mean returnee. These names were not chosen arbitrarily by our grandparents who were forced to raise their families in refugee camps. Similarly, there are names like Thaer (revolutionary), Bassel (courageous) and Nidhal (revolutionary struggle) that are very common to this day.

We are literally walking around carrying notions of Palestine and our struggle with us and planting the seeds of resistance within our children, we must be so frustrating!

Still can’t get over how an anon complained to me they’re “tired” “no one gives a fuck anymore.” Do you not think we’re tired? Do you not think we are mourning and grieving and feeling so utterly devastated our families have to live under fear every day, holding their breath and waiting the next move by people who don’t give a single fuck for them? Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan have all shut down commercial flights. Jordan is shooting down Iranian drones as we speak. I have family in Jordan too. This isn’t about you.

Literally all we have ever wanted is for the SWANA region to stop being the playground of imperialist countries that are terrified of the resources, the culture, and the potential to have. Like it’s genuinely enough already. And at the end of the day the majority of the deaths are civilians. If there’s one thing to be tired about, it’s the constant and systematic dehumanization of Arabs.

Never forget that this would not be happening had Biden reined in Israel in October '23 instead of giving them a blank check to attack anyone they please. At the very least there should have been consequences for Israel bombing an embassy.

Instead Biden promised iron clad support for Israel. We're now facing the possibility of a huge regional war that will devastate the lives of tens of millions of civilians in West Asia