Message from the Editor (original) (raw)

Close to 88 percent of Gaza is under evacuation orders and labelled a “death zone” (United Nations), as Israel has blocked food, fuel, water, and humanitarian supplies from entering the strip for close to five months, a third of Gaza’s population is currently going several days without food, and 15 have died of hunger on a single day on 22 July, with the overall death toll from Israeli-induced starvation reaching 101 (Aljazeera). Moreover, more than 1,000 people seeking food or water have been killed, three-quarters of them near the euphemistically misnamed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, run by the United States and Israel in a manner that has been accused of being “death traps” and designed to harm people seeking aid (Guardian). Finally, 28 countries have signed a statement calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza (Aljazeera). However, the fact that these states are not ready to move beyond way-too-late words only underlines the hypocrisy and racism of most Western, many Arab, and even Global South governments that have failed to end their military and/or financial support, impose sanctions, or take any meaningful diplomatic measures to support their call – raising the suspicion that what has been presented as a demand is more a face-saving measure than true opposition to the ongoing genocide. The colonial mindset is difficult to overcome, and Palestinians, along with other Arabs and Muslims, have been dehumanized for too long.

Given this background, This Week in Palestine is showing you, yet again, a different side of Palestinian society from what predominates Western media. This July-August summer issue highlights successes of noteworthy institutions in Palestine. Other than their occupiers, who have built their identity around the image of being eternal victims – deriving from it the justification to do whatever serves their colonial interests, irrespective of international law or moral norms – Palestinians have built theirs around steadfastness, and some of the results of this mindset you will find in these issues.

TWiP sincerely thanks Bank of Palestine for shouldering a Silver Sponsorship and Palestine Investment Fund for taking on a Bronze Sponsorship for this issue, helping us secure our sustainability after months of not finding a sponsor. We are grateful as well to all others for their confidence in TWiP and for using these pages to advertise their services and share their achievements. They include Arab Palestinian Investment Company, APIC; Ooredoo Palestine; United Palestinian Appeal, UPA; Palestine Monetary Authority, PMA; NGO Development Center, NDC; Subhi Basem Khoury for Pharmacare; Rift Valley Farms; Ziad Subhi Anabtawi for Al’Ard Group; Basel Alqadi for Izdehar, Palestine Prosperity Investment and Development; Quds Bank and BCI Communication and Advanced Technology; Jet Fiber internet provider in East Jerusalem; UNFPA; Muntaser Edkaidek for Burj al Luqluq Social Center Society; Nabil Hani Qaddumi for Taawon Welfare Association; Riyam Kafri Abulaban for Al Anyzak, an educational and scientific organization; Iman Hammouri for Popular Art Centre, PAC; Reem Masrouji for Inash al Usra Association, an educational and women’s empowerment organization; Dalia Aburamadan for The Gaza Soup Kitchen; and Michele Cantoni for Amwaj Choir School. Our Book of the Month is Find Me at the Jaffa Gate by Micaela Sahara, and our virtual Exhibition of the Month is Gaza: Between Rubble and Memory by Mohammed Joha.

The entire team at TWiP thanks you for your loyalty and engagement, as we all wish for the carnage to end!

Sincerely,