I didn’t think I would write a newsletter on Palestine because I am not an “expert” on the topic. Over the past week, I’ve been using my platform on Instagram to focus attention on those who are: Palestinians on the ground in Gaza and in the diaspora, Jewish voices, journalists, historians, and academics.
We are witnessing a textbook case of genocide, and it’s becoming more dire by the day.
I’m using my platform to speak out on and support the Palestinian cause, not only because I have every right to, but because I feel as though I have to. As an American, as someone whose tax dollars fund the Israeli military and the occupation of Palestine, I am angry and devastated watching this unfold with my country’s backing. If you feel it in your heart, I encourage you to speak out too, either on social media or within your own private circles. You have every right to.
Some background information on me: I spent my four years at NYU focusing my academic concentration on post colonialism and globalization. And while I don’t think my diploma bears legitimacy in speaking out about Palestinian liberation, my education, stemmed from a deep passion and interest in systems of oppression and their legacy, has largely shaped the intensity to which I approach this topic. Like many people of color, my home country Korea has a recent history of colonization and military occupation, too. The imperial Japanese government tried to wipe out my people’s culture, history, language, and even personal identities for decades until the end of World War II. Then came American military occupation, which brought its own kind of oppression, brutality, and pain for so many, the effects of which continue to this day. I say this because apartheid, occupation, and colonization are burned in the recent memories of so many people across the globe, including mine; I stand in solidarity with Palestinians in the name of decolonization. People are learning about and imagining what “Free Palestine” actually means, and for the first time ever, I feel the movement is making huge strides in the Western collective consciousness, thanks in part to information disseminating on social media.
Yet social media has also brought upon an equal amount of vitriol. As was completely expected, I’ve received so much hate in the past few days, such as being doxxed on an Israeli Zionist’s Instagram stories and then doxxed again on a meme account with over 17 million followers. I am enraged that any criticism towards Israel, a state that enacts (and has consistently enacted over decades) violence on a colonized group, can be conflated with anti-Semitism. I have so much love for Jewish people and can empathize with their longing for a homeland that brings them safety and sovereignty. But it cannot be done at the expense of 2 million people’s lives, in the way that it is currently being done.
To my community and to my many new followers: I am not an activist. I am a fashion content creator who posts her outfits and talks about her skincare routine. Sometimes, I’ll talk about political and social topics that strike my heart by nature of my education, my passion in the subject and my political identity. That is how you may have found me. My goal, above anything else, is to amplify the voices that can talk about this best and hold space for those directly affected by the bloodshed.
Below, I have gathered helpful resources for you to start looking into, if you are so inclined to dig deep. Consume at your will, however you see fit. I can only hope that the plethora of ongoing evidence is enough for you to see this occupation for what it is: a violent, forceful and oppressive campaign to displace Palestinians. It is necessary to question institutions all around us and to also constantly challenge ourselves to unlearn our own biases and dedications to the systems we try to defend. If you are a friend, acquaintance, follower or mere onlooker who has been offended by anything I’ve put out, please reach out to me. I am learning a lot too, and I believe it is our duty to pay attention to, listen to and engage with all perspectives, respectfully.
RESOURCES
In here you will find a Google drive of PDFs of books on the history of the land as well as articles, academic journals, critical thinkpieces…
Haymarket Books has gathered readings on Palestine, most of them being discounted at the moment. There are three free e-books: Light in Gaza, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights and Palestine: A Socialist Introduction.
READINGS
Explanations are Not Excuses. Sarah Schulman writes on about the Israel-Palestine conflict from her perspective as an American Jew whose own family has faced anti-Semetic brutality. "I have had to change my self-concept," she writes. "I have had to deprogram myself from the idea that Jews continued to be victims when, in some cases, we had become perpetrators.”
Journalist Farina Róisín has written the first dispatch of her several essays to come on Palestine, including vital historical information and resources.
The language being used to describe Palestinians is genocidal
A real friend of Israel would be making it face up to some uncomfortable truths
WATCH
Free virtual screening of Israelism on October 22, 2023 at 7pm ET
Killing Gaza, a documentary film about Israel's 2014 mega-assault and life under siege in the aftermath, filmed during journalist Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal’s 7 months in Gaza from 2014 to 2017, is free to watch in 5 languages here. The filmmakers ask that you watch with subtitles.
FOLLOW
Some Palestinian activists to follow on social media: Mohammed El Kurd, Gazan Girl, Subhi, Craving Palestine, Annan Barq
Journalists on the ground to follow: Motaz Azaiza, Plestia Alaqad, Ahmed Hijazi, Yousef Mema
Vetted organizations to donate to: Doctors Without Borders, Medical Aid for Palestinians, United Nations Relief, Alliance for Middle East Peace
Groups to follow and mobilize with: Jewish Voice for Peace, If Not Now, DSA
Beautiful!! Free Palestine ayer, mañana y hoy 🤍
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