The match has been increased! Support Gaza writers by unlocking these funds before time runs out.

I’ve been a reader and supporter of Mondoweiss for years, and because I think it fills such an important role, I’m writing to urge you to act now in support. If you commit now to be a recurring donor at any level, you will trigger a $100 match. But only if you sign up by Wednesday!

You have seen how Gaza is typically represented—as a set of numbers: 1.8 million people, hundreds killed, thousands wounded, an ever-changing stream of homeless. But numbers obscure the humanity of the individuals—their stories, their talents, their dreams. Mondoweiss has made an immense difference in my effort to share those stories, talents and dreams with the world.

In 2015, I began the project We Are Not Numbers. We pair emerging Palestinian writers with professional authors and journalists from around the world to help them tell the human stories behind the numbers. Since our founding, more than 600 stories and poems written by these talented young writers have been published. And thanks to Mondoweiss, they’ve been read by tens of thousands of people around the world—readers like you, who want to know the truth about Palestine, who demand to read the words others have tried to bury.

Through Mondoweiss’s partnership with We Are Not Numbers, we empower young Palestinian writers like Fadi Al-Naji 23, who recently graduated from university studying English language and literature. Fadi lives in Gaza and described his often bleak feelings: “Writing is my only way to escape from a life full of misery, boredom and depression.” 

This summer, Mondoweiss published this report from Fadi on Qatar’s financial support for Gaza.

Fadi feels it’s time to give back to his homeland, Palestine; it’s time to share his voice with the entire world, from angles that no one else is covering—and that’s exactly what you’ve always trusted Mondoweiss to deliver.

Mondoweiss has been a supportive media partner since the founding of We Are Not Numbers, and we couldn’t have asked for a more responsive audience than this community of loyal readers. Together, we work daily to channel the writers’ grief and outrage into meaningful information and action. We hope you will help continue and expand this work by committing to a monthly gift to Mondoweiss today.

“What I’m mostly concerned with when I write is to show reality as it is, portraying what precisely happens in Palestine from within, without exaggeration,” Fadi says. “We confront a life full of ups and downs; it’s about how to keep yourself standing despite the varied, vast waves of suffering.”

You can make sure Fadi’s writing is spread far and wide by participating in this special opportunity. Our challenge has been extended and increased: another generous Mondoweiss donor has stepped up and as of now, we will receive $100 for every new donor who signs up for a monthly gift at any level by October 16 — up to 50 new donors. Sign up today to help us unlock these funds! Your gifts will support both Mondoweiss and the young writers of We Are Not Numbers.

To some, Palestine is an intractable, messy quagmire that can never be resolved and thus is an issue to be avoided. To others, it is a divisive issue—no topic for polite conversation. To me, though, it is a matter of basic human rights. And to these young writers, it is their freedom, their entire lives. Isn’t that worth fighting for? Please join me in the fight by contributing today.

P.S. If hearing about the work of our writers has moved you, please subscribe here to get updates and new stories from We Are Not Numbers directly to your inbox. And please, donate to keep our partnership with Mondoweiss alive.