when i originally drafted this a month ago, i was supposed to open this announcement by wishing all of my Muslim followers Eid Mubarak, like i had promised at the beginning of Ramadan.
somehow, saying those words doesn't feel exactly how i thought it would, mostly because i know of many right now whose Eid experience is going nowhere near how they had planned.
i am angry. i am disgusted, i am saddened, sickened, but most importantly i am disappointed. no one, especially not Palestinians, deserve the ethnic cleansing that is happening in Palestinian, Israeli-occupied land. no one deserves to have their house taken away from them, their belongings destroyed, their families torn apart. and despite this, many celebrities and influencers choose to stay quiet and ignore the suffering. ignore the hurt. ignore, ignore, ignore, while Israel is slowly reducing everything that the people of Palestine have known to ashes. reducing them to no more than "neighbors" in this supposed "clash" over "religion."
Israel, no matter what it claims otherwise, is treating Palestinians the same way that Nazi Germany treated their Jewish citizens. alienate them, restrict them, discriminate against them, and then snatch the ground out from beneath them and watch as they wither away.
the fact that, despite this, Jews and Judaism survived, is a point of pride for Jewish people everywhere. as it should be. but we promised, long ago, when the dust settled and the Jewish people limped into exile, that we wouldn't let it happen again.
we have let it happen again.
so during this Eid, as you remember the prayers that have been answered and the blessings received, remember that in Palestine, the prayer is half-answered. it is our responsibility to ensure that the other half is answered, not because it will garner praise or we will be applauded, but because it is the right thing to do. and we know it.
#freepalestine #savesheikhjarrah
