Staying human

This week the official death toll in Gaza from Israel’s brutal war reached 40,000. The true number is likely much higher because there are many bodies underneath the mountains of rubble Israel’s bombardment has left behind. In just the last day or so, United Nations officials were able to access northern Gaza for the first time in months. A short video shared online shows the devastation there. There is virtually nothing left.

It is hard to avoid becoming numb to these stories in the face of such overwhelming horror. I’ve been returning often to the words of Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian peace activist who spent a great deal of time in Gaza, and tragically lost his life there. Vik, as he was known to friends and colleagues, would remind people to “stay human” no matter what happened around them.

With only a few exceptions, the actual human stories of the Palestinians surviving this genocide are left out of mainstream media outlets. I’m proud that Mondoweiss has worked hard to center Palestinian humanity throughout the last 10 months. One such story this week is from Reem Hamadaqa, a translator and writer in Gaza. Reem described what it’s like living in a tent in Gaza, what it takes to acquire or build one, and how little respite they actually offer to the people living in them.

Tareq Hajjaj filed an incredible testimony from a young man in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in Gaza. Yousef (not his real name) describes growing up attending summer camps organized by Hamas where he learned basic fighting skills. Yousef’s best friend, Maisara, was a fighter, killed by an Israeli drone in July. After his death, Yousef is now waiting for the day the resistance groups ask him to join the fight.

It’s worth reading these stories to understand the humanity of the Palestinians living under relentless Israeli attacks, while those in a position to stop the violence either stall or provide the military aid necessary for it to continue. Palestinians are not mere numbers on a tally sheet. They are full human beings and deserve the dignity of being treated that way by the media that covers this brutal war, the occupation, and the apartheid regime Israel maintains.

In-depth

Words like Slaughter:’ A comparative study of The New York Times reporting in Ukraine and Gaza

An in-depth comparison of The New York Times coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine vs. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza shows how the Times dutifully launders the news to fit the U.S. government’s agenda.

Writers Against War on Gaza is a coalition of media, cultural, and academic workers who are committed to the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people.

Must-reads this week

Mitchell Plitnick writes that Democrats are looking to unite the party during their National Convention in Chicago and polls show one way for Kamala Harris to do this is to pledge to stop arming Israel.

Miles Howe says there may be a “sea change underway” in how Canada views the Israeli occupation. Two “proposal to revoke” notices published in August would remove the charitable status for both the Jewish National Fund of Canada and the Ne’eman Canada Foundation. The groups raise funds for illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Israeli Defense Forces.

Qassam Muaddi surveys how Palestinians in Jerusalem, The West Bank, and ’48 Palestine are feeling about the possibility of a wider regional war: “Leave where?” Habes Ka’abneh says ironically. “We’ve already been displaced multiple times inside our country.”