The latest numbers coming from Gaza state that there are about 77,575 injured Palestinians as of April 28, 2024.

I honestly see this number as a very humble one, but regardless, I said this in 2014 and it bears repeating: considering the types of weapons Israel is using in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of these injuries are severe and critical. So when we say that well over 77,000 people are injured in Gaza, we're talking about tens of thousands of people who have ended up with a lifelong disability. Thousands of amputees with no proper care. Thousands who will not be able to walk or see again. Many won't be able to go back to school or work again. Burn victims without the means to reduce or take the pain away. Many on life support and many more who will not even make it.

So many open wounds, both literally and figuratively, that we need to keep present in our conversation about Gaza.

Pray for everyone in rafah there's heavy bombing right now there. I can't sleep thinking of my family 😭

irregular reminder that I have a personal blog on here, no pressure but feel free to DM if you want it

hate jews who go “zionism is so Complicated goyim don’t Understand the Nuances and actually zionism doesn’t mean [Literally What Zionism Is] it means [fantasy they made up in their head so they don’t feel bad about abetting genocide]”. your input is not necessary in the world & you have never said anything of value

Dear friends,

Thank you so much to those of you who have supported and/or shared the story of my friend Loai, his family, and Gaza Plays Peace, the children's soccer program that he and his family run. The funds raised have helped the family and players with food, water, and shelter.

Above: Loai's family in Gaza: Mother, father, two brothers, two sisters, and three young nieces.

Until recently, Gaza Plays Peace operated out of Gaza City, but the Ahmed Family (including much of the GPP crew) has been displaced to Rafah. Their house in Gaza City has been destroyed. Some relatives and GPP players are still trapped in Gaza City and are unable to evacuate. I will update this post if that changes.

Above: the ruins of the Ahmed family home in Gaza City.

The Ahmed family's situation has become more dire, with children desperately needing medical care and nutrition that they cannot access in Rafah.

Every day these people live in fear that they might die at any moment because of the attacks being carried out on Rafah. Loai has set up this fundraiser to help his family evacuate.

Please donate if you are able. If you or your employer want to donate but require the donation to be tax-deductible, please reach out to me directly and I can help coordinate this. The GoFundMe is not tax-deductible at this time.

Loai has 9 family members he is trying to evacuate: 6 adults and 3 children. Travel agencies are willing to help families across the border for a price. Rates for evacuating adults are between $5000 and $7000 per adult, and rates for children under 12 are around $2500 per child. Including living and travel expenses immediately after evacuation and allowance for slight price increases, evacuating them will be around $60,000.

Loai gives more details (and photos, please look!) on his family members in the fundraiser itself, but here is a summary of the people we are trying to evacuate:

Loai's mother and father, Wesam and Eman

Loai's adult brother, Mohammed (coach of Gaza Plays Peace, pictured with players here in Summer 2023)

Loai's adult sisters, Reham and Elman

Loai's teenage brother, Omar (striker on GPP's first generation team--he is not a young child and would be charged the adult price for crossing)

Loai's 3 young nieces, Rafeef, Ayla, and Aylool (these three young girls, aged 5, 3, and 3, all need nutrition and medical care.) Rafeef played on the GPP junior team in 2023.

Please donate if you are able, and please share.

Thank you <3

Editing to add: please be mindful of the tags you use, as tags can get the post and/or fundraiser taken down

General PSA that it's wise to go to a Know Your Rights training before doing a high-risk action. Laws and practices vary state to state and even city to city.

Hiya! Here's your Daily Reminder to Click for Palestine!

Donald Trump called immigrants in the United States illegally "animals" and "not human" in a speech in Michigan on Tuesday, resorting to the degrading rhetoric he has employed time and again on the campaign trail. The Republican presidential candidate, flanked by several law enforcement officers, listed several criminal cases involving suspects in the country illegally in often graphic terms and warned that violence and chaos would consume America if he did not win the Nov. 5 election.

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The numbness that comes with exhaustion is so sad. I feel like a terrible friend and ally that I don't have any tears left

Can you elaborate more on how hindutva is tied to zionism and white supremacy? I'm not trying to hate I'm genuinely curious.

tbh i don’t have the energy rn to write up an explanation myself, but here are some sources to get you started:

hindutva’s ties to fascism, nazism, & white supremacy broadly

hindu fascism 101: what is hindutva?, by the alliance for justice & accountability

why white nationalists are working with hindu supremacists, by safa ahmed at progressive

why white supremacists and hindu nationalists are so alike, by audita chaudhery at al jazeera

white and hindu supremacists are a match made in heaven, by amardeep singh dhillion at novara media

when hindu nationalism and white nationalism meet, by thomas crowley at jacobin

hindutva & zionism specifically

united in hate: the similarities and solidarities between hindutva and zionism, by ananya ray at feminism in india

the hindu nationalists using the pro-israel playbook, by aparna gopalan at jewish currents

why zionism rules the hearts of hindutva acolytes, by shreevatsa navatia at frontline (a magazine of the hindu)

in state repression and its justification, india and israel have much in common, by achin vanaik at the wire

violent majorities: indian and israeli ethnonationalism, a discussion between balmurli natrajan, lori allen, and ajantha subramanian at recall this book podcast

how hindu nationalists became best friends with israel, by goldie osuri at jacobin

india's hindutva proponents and zionist israel: strange bedfellows, by kavita chowdhury at the diplomat

Soviet poster celebrating the construction of the Aswan High Dam, 1964, which the USSR greatly assisted in building

Mumia Abu-Jamal addressing the CUNY Gaza solidarity encampment.

From the Freedom Flotilla, April 27 2024:

On Thursday afternoon, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), requesting an inspection of our lead ship – Akdenez. This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed. The inspector arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, the GBISR, in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5000 tons of life-saving aid for the Palestinians of Gaza. In its communication informing us of this cancelation, the GBISR made specific reference to our planned mission to Gaza. It also made several extraordinary requests for information, including confirmation of the ships’ destination, any potential additional port calls, and the discharge port for humanitarian aid and estimated arrival dates and times. It further demanded a formal letter explicitly approving the transportation of humanitarian aid and a complete manifest of the cargo. Again, this is a highly unusual move from a flagging authority. Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag, and are not concerned with the destination, route, cargo manifests or the nature of a specific voyage. Just like when you register your car, the authorities don’t require you to detail to them every place you are going to go with the car. Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is showing the world the extent to which it will go to deny Palestinians the aid they need to stay alive, in direct contravention of International Humanitarian Law, UN Security Council resolutions, and two orders of the International Court of Justice. [...] without a flag, we cannot sail. But, this is not the end. Israel cannot and will not crush our resolve to break its illegal siege and reach the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza and all of Palestine remain steadfast under the most horrific, unimaginable conditions. We take strength from their incredible, inexplicable ability to maintain their humanity, dignity and hope when the world has given them no reason to do so. It is our responsibility to keep that hope alive. WE WILL SAIL.

The Freedom Flotilla, which was set to depart from Turkey on the 27th of April with 5000 tons of life-saving aid, has now been delayed because Israel and the United States has pressured Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from the Flotilla's lead ship.

Seeing as how their tactics worked on Guinea Bissau, organizers now fear that Israel and the US will exert the same pressure on whichever country the Freedom Flotilla attempt to register their ship under next.

To help the Freedom Flotilla reach Gaza, please keep an eye out for further updates from the organizers. Right now, as of April 27th, they're asking people to help boost their visibility, and to donate to their member campaigns.

For more info, see their webpage.