Kim Kardashian to name her kid Gertrud?? WTF

Great, now I have your attention.

You wouldn’t have clicked this link if I had written “Samer ilIssawi is dying of hunger”, would you?

I am not judging you. I am asking you to not be in denial. You are more attracted to Hollywood, but that’s just the way we were raised. And it’s okay, sometimes I catch myself watching mindless E! reality shows as well…but we should not let that overshadow humanity. 

 

So now that I have your attention: Samer ilIssawi is dying.

.

 

I applaud those who have continued to read. It means you care. It means your mind is not filled with complete nonsense about celebrities that only care from your existence because they make money from you.

Who is Samer ilIssawi? Well, he certainly isn’t Kim Kardashian. But he is someone who’s got injustice’s cruel hands clamped to his neck, killing him slowly and painfully. You see, Samer is an innocent man like you and I except at the same time, he isn’t. He hasn’t eaten for 200 days. Why not? Because he is fighting. He’s fighting for his freedom and the freedom of all those unjustly detained by Israel without trial or charge. So basically, he is sitting in jail without anyone having proof that he committed a crime. Isn’t that a little more astonishing than the name Gertrud? I think it is. 

And now, I bet you’re wondering, “Okay great…now I know who he is but what can I do about it?”. Well, I’m here to tell you that Samer, and countless of other prisoners, is in this position because we don’t know his story. Because the media and humanity in general don’t know what is going on. So now you know what is going on. Spread the word. He is the voice of Palestine and we need to be his microphone.

Join us every day on Twitter and make some noise. Watch the Khader Adnan Twitter that tweets daily hashtags we can use to contact media, or anyone, to talk about his and the Palestinian hunger strikers’ stories. Its the least we can do. And one thing will lead to another, eventually.

The Red Cross has stated that Samer ilIssawi’s heart could stop at any moment. The time to act is now

Why Hezbollah can’t fire a rocket into Israel

With the attacks on Gaza escalating, everyone feels incredibly helpless. No one knows how long it will last or how many more people will be killed by the monstrous Israeli regime. Palestinian resistances are confined by the inhumane seven year siege of Gaza and  are unable to receive decent weaponry to fight this “war”. While they have been successful in many operations, such as sending rockets to Tel Aviv for the first time in 21 years and downing drones, resistance in Gaza is still being pummeled by the technologically advanced Israeli army. What could they possibly do with Egypt restraining movement through Rafah disallowing people to even take refuge from the ongoing bombardment?

One would think it would be a fabulous idea to assume Hezbollah should get involved. Well, it’s not.

Actually, it’s a really illogical idea or claim to make. Now, there are some making this “point” with the motive of trying to discredit Hezbollah’s support for the Palestinian cause. “Oh, does Hezbollah really care about Palestine? THEN WHY AREN’T THEY FIRING ROCKETS INTO ISRAEL, HUH?”. I’m not trying to sound like a mouthpiece, but everyone thinks I am anyway so I may as well just go with it- supporting a cause is different than fighting for a cause. While there have been reports that Hezbollah fighters had attempted to enter Gaza in 2008-09, no one can actually say that they haven’t indirectly aided the resistance. I can only really say this based on assumptions, but I feel like it’s a legitimate thought: the rockets that hit Tel Aviv were Fajr 5 rockets from Iran. One of Hezbollah’s biggest allies is Iran. After the Tel Aviv rocket fire, Sayyed Nasrallah held a speech congratulating the resistance further elaborating what a Fajr 5 rocket is and its velocity and importance. I just thought it was ironic and perhaps people would like to chew on that for a bit. However, these are simply my feelings and theory.

But then, there are those, who just lack common sense. These are the same kind of people who use the excuse that the Syrian regime is not pro-Palestinian ( not that I am claiming it to be, but the following statement is ridiculous) because they’ve never fired a bullet into Golan Heights (which they have, this past week.)

Guys. Please hear me out.

If a couple of rockets from Gaza results in week long violence and nearly 70 people murdered…what do you think Israel will do to Lebanon? Just allow a barrage of rocket fire to hit Israel and not retaliate? And we have seen Israeli retaliation. They have absolutely no remorse for civilians and will purposely target as many as they can. If we want the killing to stop in Gaza, how is it logical to bring south Lebanon into it as well?

Another point is, that if Israel gets into it with Hezbollah, it will be the ugliest war this region has ever seen. Since the 2006 war was seen as a defeat by even Israel themselves, do you think they’re going to just leave Lebanon alone and not come back with the vilest form of revenge? They are waiting at the edge of their seats for Hezbollah attack in attempt to blame them, as they did in 2006.  The cause of Palestine is divided in Lebanon. Not all Lebanese, even supporters of Hezbollah, support bringing down Lebanon because of Palestine, to put it bluntly. It’s not right since we are all technically the same land, but that’s a whole other blog. If in 2006, Hezbollah’s supporters were attacking them, calling them disproportional for plunging Lebanon into a war by kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers for the SAKE of LEBANON their own COUNTRY, just imagine if they did for Palestine. It was only after the war that people acknowledged that the kidnappings were successful in the prisoner swap.

Why did I feel the need to blog about this? Well because first of all- I have been asked so many times why Hezbollah hasn’t interfered as if I can give a confirmed answer (I don’t think it’s necessary to say that everything I’ve written is my 2 cents) and secondly, I just feel like some people are looking at this situation too black and white. South Lebanon is a ticking time bomb. It’s calm now, but it will explode one day. The liberation is temporary as long as Israel exists. Hezbollah still has a war they are fighting here in Lebanon. They must be strategic in their aid for Palestine and not recklessly start shooting rockets from Lebanese land….or else Israel will just use that excuse to occupy South Lebanon again for 22 years.

Accept the truth before it destroys us.

Recently, a controversy has erupted in the activism world regarding the Palestinian cause and the fight against Zionism. Electronic Intifada covered a story claiming a member of the Free Gaza movement left an offensive, anti-Semitic tweet. It resulted in criticism of Electronic Intifada’s professionalism as well as accusations of them spying. Since then, the story has indeed developed and has left us into what is now a huge mess of questioning journalistic and activism credibility . Many see it was defamation and slandering, others see it as someone’s incapability as an activist to claim responsibility and admit they did something they shouldn’t have done. It has caused an even larger disunion in an already shaky atmosphere where many have fallen victim to being discredited based on their beliefs or political views.

However, I believe that the  people who are viewing this as a mindless dig really need to see it for what it is.  It’s not exposing for the worse, it’s for the sake and benefit of a truthful cause. Instead of dragging on the situation and lying about what happened, you can use one of these two choices: say you’re sorry for being offensive or say “well this is my view, suck it up”. If they choose the latter, the controversy will then surround the individual and not intefer with our cause. End of story.

An apology and explanation was issued after the tweet, the apology was deemed suspicious, more evidence was given to prove that  there was more than one tweet and that it was an actual group inciting Antisemitism.

And now people are furious.

The question on my mind is: WHY? Because we admitted that we, as mere mortals, are capable of making a mistake and our cause may have some slight corruption? As souls who are so defiant on letting the truth tell our story and battling lies, why are we sweeping facts under the rug and calling this a “conspiracy” and collaborating with the enemy just because they are having a field day that a mistake was found in our incredibly broad cause? When Israelis lie to whitewash their belief, we condemn them. When we are put in an awkward situation, we do the SAME thing they do and that’s try to whitewash with excuses. Well no, I will not have this. Lying on the premise that we can’t afford to lose anymore credibility to the cause is still lying. We’re trying to break down the apartheid wall with truth, not sweep mistakes under it that further strengthen it.

We must not be like Israelis and not admit to our faults. We mustn’t resort to personal attacks like offensively using the term Ayatollah in the way that Greta Berlin did. Which BY THE WAY, didn’t make me respect her anymore as I am a Shia Muslim and that term is used in our beliefs for respectable figures and she used it to mock someone.

We, as people, who yearn for those to hear the truth must first be able to HANDLE the truth despite who is laughing at us. What are we afraid of? There is corruption in our cause, humanity is not spared of corruption . Let’s destroy it while it’s still small instead of allowing it to grow into something we can no longer defeat.

I will not lie for the sake of anything, even a cause I wholeheartedly believe in. We are human beings, we make mistakes. This is not just a Palestinian cause. As a Lebanese who’s country is often torn apart into shreds by Zionism, I value those who fight against Israel but not at the expense of causing injustice to others. Antisemitism, just as Islamophobia, is never okay and we need to remove this mindset before accusations (with proof) of Antisemitism is used against us. That makes me more fearful than accepting the truth.

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Your dumb assumptions make you look dumb

Never in my short blog life has a post caused so much hoopla. My recent blog post “The Syrian revolution is dead and maybe we should just accept that” resulted in personal attacks and dumb assumptions. So far, it’s my highest viewed blog and I’ve been told that the reasoning behind this is because it is “hilarious”. I honestly am flattered to have been your entertainment. I feel like I should make things clear, not because of me, but because of you.

Let’s go back to the dumb assumptions- because that, to me, is hilarious. I wanted to get offended by what people were saying about my blog but the idiotic methods they are using to belittle my views are simply that…idiotic. I mean, I was condemned for making the conflict “sectarian” by people bringing up my sect. I was scolded for my assumed “idolization” of Hezbollah by people who will not admit to the crimes of the FSA. The ironic hypocrisy of someone trying to argue that Hezbollah cannot be considered a resistance because of past operations is exactly what I was doing with my last blog but with the FSA. Yay for being original and different.

Then there are those annoying skim readers who already think they’ve got me figured out because they selectively read my tweets where I say I admire Nasrallah yet completely ignore how I have questioned him and his party and nearly every single thing regarding politics…even those who suit my views. This is because people generalize. Don’t play open minded if you’re going to shove me under the label of super Hezbollah Shia Bashar Iranian fangirl because I am not and that actually offends me. Just because I give credit where credit is due, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s called the truth and I’m not going to sweep Hezbollah victories under the rug to denigrate them. The same way I wouldn’t if the FSA ever has a victory.

I am incredibly capable of having two different views that contradict themselves…I am not a programmed robot. I supported the Syrian revolution, I see that it has failed, end of story. I hate writing these kinds of these because it feels like I am trying to explain myself to please people. I don’t dwell on what people think of me because that ship has sailed. But I really just want to point out how flawed these tactics are. If you don’t like what I write, argue it (see Maysaloon and Wala’s comments on my blog for examples)! If you mock me, you’re just going to look stupid. Provide me with information instead of calling me names and attempting to patronize me with elementary school insults.  And yes, this is a challenge.

The Syrian ‘revolution’ is dead and maybe we should just accept that

Back in February 2011, I would have told you that I supported a peaceful uprising in Syria- whether it be for reforms or democratic elections. I’m not a fan of the typical perception of “democracy”, but I feel that Syrians should have a right to elect whoever they want to be president, even though many will argue that Bashar Al Assad was a part of free and fair elections. This becomes a basic right, not necessarily “democracy”. However regardless of how democratic any election can be- opposition will always exist. And they have a right to exist. But how far can they go with their fight until it becomes illegitimate and not actually peaceful anymore?

As a southern Lebanese who’s land has been torn apart by a foreign entity, I know all too well about homegrown armies relying on the simplest of weaponry to defeat what they perceive is their monster. It takes decades and numerous amounts of martyrs, but victory is inevitable if you play your cards right. Establish a consensus and choose the right allies. It sounds relatively easy, no?

Probably not. For me, the Free Syrian Army has made all the wrong moves and should just go back and fold.

What started off as a somewhat peaceful revolution in Syria has become an absolute nightmare. And while I can sit here and blame the Assad’s regime and Syrian army for cracking down on protesters, one must look at the whole picture- the FSA is committing crimes and no one is acknowledging them.

(Warning: video is rated 18+ for violent and graphic images)
I, unsurprisingly, blame the media. Events in the past can prove this: see Gilles Jacquier. Initial reports flooded the internet and news networks claiming the Assad regime had killed the French journalist until the FSA took responsibility. And then we never heard about it again. Even today, people will still tell you the Syrian army committed this crime. They are so blinded and brainwashed that they can’t even believe statements that are coming from the Free Syrian Army themselves. This to me has made for pitiful journalism…I don’t even think they themselves are convinced but they report what they want anyway because everyone is already expecting the Assad regime to have done it. So they just go with the flow, because when it comes to Syria facts don’t matter.

Then there is the assumption that people are just too emotional to admit that the FSA cannot contain a peaceful revolution anymore. And while I fully support armed resistances defending themselves, things like Barack Obama signing “secret” deals with the CIA to support Syrian rebels in ways that are “unclear” leave me skeptical. Who are these rebels and what exactly are they doing? Why are they accepting weaponry from the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar who have done nothing but exonerate the crimes Israel has committed on Palestinians? Those who support the revolution and the FSA will tell you that Bashar Al Assad never truly cared for the Palestinian cause, but how is using weaponry from those who practically sold Jerusalem and accept the partitioning of Palestinian land? For me, as one would find hypocrisy in Bashar Al Assad’s support for Palestine, I find that the FSA too are using the cause in vain and this should be offensive to Palestinians.

Also the Syrian revolution has become somewhat of, and dare I say it, a fashion statement. The popularity of the Syrian revolution among the youth is not something unlikely, but how many of these kids are doing their research about the history of the FSA? I think one of the most important details being left out about their whole existence is their ties with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood- a sectarian faction consisting of extremist Salafi and Sunni Muslims who’s funding comes from Qatar, one of the countries where they sought refuge after they failed at an attempt to topple the late Hafeth Al Assad in the 80′s. It seems like a lot hasn’t changed since the so-called Free Syrian Army is again looking to old friends to revamp their dying revolution. See here.

And that’s exactly it- their revolution is dying. Does that mean the FSA has lost? No. Does it mean Bashar Al Assad will not fall? No. But a peaceful revolution, the kind Al Jazeera keeps trying to shove down our throats, is dead and buried. What we are now witnessing in Syria is a full blown civil war and it has been for the 16 months. Syria, the only country that bears any Arab dignity, is now left in fragments holding on to dear life. Its people are bleeding and stability might never be seen again. Syria’s future is slowly becoming present-day Lebanon.

It all comes down to one question- was it worth it?

Ignoring the oppression of Palestinians by the Lebanese army

Recently on Twitter I have witnessed an increase in support for the Lebanese army. It seems as though these days, the Lebanese army is the only group of which majority of our very divided community can agree on. With things getting heated in Tripoli between Salafis and Alawis, it is the duty of the Lebanese army to maintain safety especially with the crisis in our sister country Syria influencing the stability of Lebanon.

While many can argue that the army is incompetent and unequipped to fight a war, and this has been made evident on numerous occasions,  the support for Lebanon’s soldiers is tenacious as they have been able to provide at least internal security between rival factions and sects. With the help of European and Russian training and weaponry donated by several countries, the Lebanese army is able to keep things settled down.

However, in Lebanon I’ve come to find that adoration has made it easier for exoneration. Many Lebanese will deny the crimes in the past, or present, to simply suite their political views. I found this to be the case recently.

As I said earlier, I can understand the dedication to Lebanon’s army. No one can deny those who have fought and died to keep permanence internally. But it seems to me, in these few weeks, the army has been glorified in a way that has made them seem flawless. And this is most definitely not the case.

Yes I am talking about the Palestinian refugees of Lebanon, a very controversial and tense topic in Lebanon due to previous clashes between Palestinians and Lebanese. With the 2007 Nahr ElBared conflict still fresh on the minds of Lebanese everywhere, tensions have only become worse within the two communities. Since then, the camp has been besieged by the army making life there that much more difficult that it already was.

Image of Nahr ElBared after 2007 conflict. Read “Nahr ElBared residents describe life under Lebanese army siege”

From my observations of visiting the Bourj ElShamali Refugee camp in South Lebanon, I witnessed the Lebanese army humiliating young Palestinian refugee scouts simply trying to leave the camp to visit a presentation on psychological and physical illnesses. As perhaps the only one of Lebanese descent t in the bus, I was incredibly ashamed at this action. I knew from previous accounts that this was not the first or last time this had happened and this was not the only camp that had been made victim to this type of humiliation. I could not fathom what the purpose of that was and if it was absolutely necessary that the army had to stop us to search a bus full of kids.

Lest we forget the crimes of the army on June 15th, when Lebanese soldiers shot and killed an innocent 16 year old bystander, Ahmed Qassem, in Nahr ElBared after an argument with others. News of the murder was conflicting and untypically, much unconfirmed news hit the world wide web- some even claiming that the victim was a part of an armed faction.

As someone who is avid in the cause of Palestinians in Lebanon, I was disgusted by these claims. The Lebanese army have been oppressing Palestinian refugees in Lebanon for decades, humiliating them and depriving them of easy access to to obtain basic necessities. While many will argue that it is to maintain stability, and while that may be justified with many cases, the downright lack of respect for refugees by the army is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable. The army shows little patience for Palestinians  and usually results in poor restraint when it comes using violence against them. To me, the army is using similar tactics of the Israeli army by disallowing even the simplest action of patience and understanding. Maybe if we had a little bit of that, young Ahmed Qassem’s life would have been spared.

Read “Ramblings of a tired Arab girl” about my feelings regarding Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

33 Yom: A tale of resistance and love

33 Yom (33 Days) is a Lebanese film based in the Southern town of Ayta Al Shaab which is roughly 1KM from the occupied Palestine border. The film, which is said to be funded by Iran, shows a fictional story from the Battle of Ayta AlShaab in the July 2006 War leaving hundreds of soldiers dead and many wounded.

The film commences with a battle- a fuzzy view of resistance fighters and Israeli soldiers in combat at what looks like the Lebanese and now-Israeli border grabbing the audience from the very beginning, inviting them to the reality of what the 2006 war was about from a resistance fighter’s point of view.

As the film officially initiates, it shows the civilian lifestyle of these fighters: taking the audience into their homes and humanizing those who are often perceived as terrorists. It begins with a wedding, a time of happiness, with people dancing and having a joyous party- only for it to be wrecked by a walkie-talkie call to Mohammed, who appears from the very start to be one of the main operators of the defense battles throughout the movie. Through that walkie-talkie, the news of an attack on Lebanon by Israel is clear and war quickly starts. Having lived through the 33 day war in South Lebanon, the echoes of denial that attacks would last long from nearly all the main characters were all too similar to those of conversations in my home in 2006. Many did not believe Israel would have the audacity to try to annihilate and reoccupy South Lebanon once again, even despite having seen their capabilities in the occupation. This shows how surprising, even to those who had suffered for so many years at the hands of Israel, the war was and how quickly it claimed the lives of thousands of Lebanese civilians.

Without giving to much of it away I want to say how much this movie, although fictional, really sits next to reality. The characters may be made up but throughout the history of Israeli invasions, similar things have happened and are capable of happening again. The women of resistance fighters, for the past 30 years, have had to deal with their husbands disappearing for large amounts of time to protect their country from Israeli attack, many of whom probably never made it back home. Many families have a martyr in their family, not necessarily a resistance fighter who was martyred but children, parents, grandparents, cousins etc. just as I do in my family.

33 Yom also played fair when it depicted it’s Hebrew-speaking Israeli soldiers, particularly one woman soldier who stood up to a top Israeli commander, whom she adored, telling him he had no right to do what he was doing to the Lebanese people. This to me, was unique as it showed the side of Israeli soldiers that choose to rebel against their government’s disgusting war policies.

The film was not a propagandist one at all and really focused on Ayta AlShaab and the resistance fighters. It does not even mention Hezbollah once, however many reviews often link the two together as it was Hezbollah’s war and pictures of Chief Sayyed Nasrallah painted the set. But it really showed how the 2006 was a war of man vs machine- where on one side Lebanese fighters had an emotional motive for fighting, having been tortured by Israelis previously and on the other, Israeli soldiers scattered around unknowing of the situation boastfully carrying their enormous weaponry that in real life played no match to Hezbollah’s strategies.

Many critics argued that the movie was too simple, but one needs to consider that it was based only in one of the hundreds of affected villages and it was still very intense. The battle of Ayta was only one battle, one area, one small village in South Lebanon that was pulverized into rubble. But the passion from the villagers, the civilians…this existed throughout all of south Lebanon. Many stayed and refused to leave their homes, giving the enemy any benefit whatsoever. I remember watching an elderly man on the news holding a half eaten packet of biscuits saying “I have nothing left to eat but these biscuits, but I will never leave my home even when I run out”.

All in all, as someone who viewed this war “live” I VERY much enjoyed it and thought it was executed well. I advise anyone who comes across it to watch and share.

War on media: the time is now

Please read this first: Truth does not bother Israel. Pushing buttons do.

My social media sister @occpal and I have decided that we are going to wage a war. No not a violent one, mind you…but a figurative war against the media. We, and I am sure many others as well, are fed up with the silence regarding Palestine in mainstream media (MSM for the cool kids). We can join social media websites like Twitter and Facebook and complain about it all we want, but where will that take us? Perhaps, we should target the media instead of just ranting about it. Hopefully, this will eventually encourage people to do offline protests in front of BBC, CNN or what have you…there are no rules here!

We are compiling a list of media online (mostly on Twitter for now), for you to contact when tweeting angrily about Palestinian suffering. The media plays a great role, because the more people know about the truth of Israel, the less they will support it. The more people hear the word “Palestine”, the more they will want to learn about it.

What I’d like for everyone to is give me a list of reporters/journalists/news from your country. That way, I can put them on this blog and everyone can just pick and choose who they want to direct their Palestinian related tweets to. I will be accepting politicians’ twitters as well.

I’ll start with US media and Lebanese politicians on Twitter, as well as a few from a couple of European countries. Feel free to add to this list in the comment box below and it will be updated into this blog.

US MEDIA:

@NYTimes

@CBSNews

@ABC

@FOXNews

@FOXHeadlines

@NBCNews

@NBCNightlyNews

@HuffintonPost

US REPORTERS:

Rick Sanchez @RickSanchezTV

Octavia Nasr @OctaviaNasr

Christiane Amanpour @CAmanpour

Katie Couric @KatieCouric

Wolf Blizter @wolfblizterCNN

Nicola Kristof @NickKristof

Anderson Cooper @andersoncooper

Ayman Mohyeldin @AymanM

Arianna Huffington @AriannaHuff

Rachel Maddow @Maddow

Brian Williams @Bwilliams

Chuck Todd @chucktodd

George Stephanopoulous @GStephanopoulous

LEBANESE MEDIA:

@AlAkhbarNews

@AlAkhbarEnglish

@LBCI_group (LBC)

LEBANESE POLITICIANS:

Najib Mikati, Prime Minister @Najib_Mikati

Saad Hariri, former PM @HaririSaad

Michel Sleiman, President @SleimanMichel

RUSSIAN MEDIA:

@RT_Com

GERMAN MEDIA:

@SPIEGEL_English

@BILD_English

@SPIEGEL_Top

HOLLAND MEDIA:

@NRC_Next

@Telegraaf

@Volkskrant

@krapuul

FRENCH MEDIA:

@Liberation_info

@lemondefr

@JournalExpress

@f_inter

@Franceinfo

@LeNouvelObs

@BFMTV

@itele

@france24

@France3TV

@rue89

BELGIUM MEDIA:

@destandaard

@BelgieNieuws

@vandaag_be

@hbvl_be

@lesoir

Also, I want to stress: Do not pester these people. Be relevant and logical at all times. You don’t want to end up like this.

Trending for Palestine: Hashtags for hunger strikers

Trending for freedom- social media activists have taken action by using twitter hashtags to trend for untold stories of injustice and suffering. It was done for Khader Adnan and Hana AlShalabi, both who starved for freedom…protesting Israel’s administrative detention where they were held without being charged for a crime. There is no denying the passion, strength and determination these two had…but it was not loud enough for some. Without the help of persistent activists all across the globe, the media would’ve let their stories go untold. Activists mobilized with what they had to bring themselves together, to unite for the sake of two people who desperately wanted to live. They used the internet, they used the power of a keyboard, a mouse, a monitor. And thanks to the willpower of Khader and Hana, for surviving for so long, people got their stories heard and they were freed. They were no longer dying to live, because they were alive to hold their mothers, their daughters, their wives, their brothers once again. The internet truly saved their lives.

Bilal Thaeb and Thaer Halahleh are both on their 76th day of hunger strike and their state of health is not looking good. Thaer is losing his hearing while Bilal is losing sensation in his feet. They are slowly dying and the world is still silent. Despite the victories for Khader and Hana, people have turned a blind eye yet again.

That is not the only issue at stake.

While Bilal and Thaer are barely living, over 1000 Palestinian prisoners have joined them in protest and solidarity hunger strikes for 27 days. Yet the media is still silent. There is a revolution going on in Palestine- the most peaceful, selfless revolution…and it is not enough for the world to get angry and do something about it.

We, the world, have to say enough is enough and help these people. We, the world, who are fortunate enough to eat, to walk down the street, to live, to love freely…we need to share that with our Palestinian brothers and sisters who DESERVE, perhaps more than I do, to be able to do those things as well.

So I beg of you, great activists and regular humans, please join us in our trends for Palestine: our hashtags for hunger strikers EVERY NIGHT AT 9PM PALESTINE TIME (Use this website to convert the time, you will have to use IST unfortunately to get Jerusalem) and send an email to palestinehungerstrikes@gmail.com in order to get more updates about hashtags to trend on Twitter. We have done #75DaysVSApartheid which trended for approximately 20 minutes on Saturday (May 12th) and #Yom76 today (May 13th) which unfortunately did not trend at all.

The main focus is to tweet the media, journalists and politicians with twitters in attempt to pressure them into reporting or condemning Israel’s illegal detainment of innocent prisoners. Please, tweet with restraint and I ask that you TWEET POLITELY TO THEM AND DO NOT BE RUDE. I understand that there is frustration but no one will listen to us if we are mean. Here I have conducted a list on who to focus on, mostly western outlets/politicians.

US POLITICIANS:

MEDIA:

@NYTimes

@CBSNews

@ABC

@AJEnglish (Al Jazeera English)

@AJELive

@SkyNewsBreak

@SkyNews

@BBCBreaking

@BBCWorld

@FOXNews

@FOXHeadlines

@NBCNews

@NBCNightlyNews

@HuffingtonPost

REPORTERS/JOURNALISTS:

Rick Sanchez @RickSanchezTV

Octavia Nasr @OctaviaNasr

Christiane Amanpour @camanpour

Katie Couric @KatieCouric

Wolf Blizter @WolfBlitzerCNN

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Anderson Cooper @AndersonCooper

Sherine Tadros @SherineT

Ayman Mohyeldin @AymanM

Rawya Rageh @RawyaRageh

Arianna Huffington @AriannaHuff

Rachel Maddow @Maddow

Brian Williams @bwilliams

Chuck Todd @ChuckTodd

George Stephanopoulos @gstephanopoulos

(If you need to contact me on Twitter in any case, I am @Lsal92 and my name is Leila!)

AGAIN: Do NOT harass the journalists/reporters. We don’t want to flood them with tweets and annoy them until they block you (trust me, half of them have me blocked…) so please just keep it at two tweets from each twitter user if we have a lot tweeting. Let’s be respectful, please.

And if you have anymore to share, please drop a comment. Thank you so much, everyone. Don’t let Palestine down, she needs us. FREE FALASTEEN.