FREEOmar

Rainwater is the property of 'Israel'. Palestinians are forbidden from gathering rainwater. Source: a UN report: 'according to Israeli military orders in effect in the area, rain is the property of the Israeli authorities and thus Palestinians are forbidden from gathering rain water for domestic or agricultural needs.' And: 'As well as prohibiting nearly all construction of wells necessary for Palestinians to secure additional quantities of water to support population growth and socio-economic development, such policies have denied communities access to water and sanitation facilities, including water, toilets, sewage networks and cisterns for rainwater harvesting.' This is Zionism. #DismantleZionism #Gaza_Genocide #FromTheRiverToTheSea un.org/unispal/document/auto…

I am a human before being a journalist. I cannot separate myself from what’s happening back home. It’s my home where I was born and I grew up for most of my life. It’s where I took my first breath, learnt my first word, ate my first meal, loved for the first time. It’s where all my memories are. It’s the place that I love the most in this world. The people who are being killed are my family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, classmates, and loved ones. The places that are being wiped out are the places I grew up with and in. My house, my schools, my special cafes, my favourite restaurants, my unique spots around the city, my beach, and above all - my homeland. They are not only massacring us, but wiping our history, our churches, mosques and landmarks. They are erasing a whole people who fought for their lives since they were born. Everything about my life revolves about Palestine. My friends at uni used to call me Yara Palestine because “I speak too much about Palestine all the time” and it’s because I have been fighting for my existence since the day I was born. I am proud of being called Yara Palestine. I never really took pictures of myself while having a break down but today I decided to take one to share with the world that we are humans, we have emotions and feelings, dreams and ambitions, just like you. I am not always as strong as I portray myself. I breakdown. I cry. I panic. I’ve been mainly showing you strong Yara that keeps on reporting, educating western journalists but I’m not sharing with you what Yara the human is feeling. All the battles in my head, all the worst case scenarios (some which already happened), all the fear and the trauma, all the anger and pain. I have never been in this much pain in my whole life. Despite living through 6 aggressions on Gaza (only 2 of which I was abroad), I’ve never gotten used to this suffering, this pain, this shock. I want you to know that you’re only seeing 1% of what’s actually happening in Gaza. Despite all of our efforts to show you our genocide, we are unable to completely convey the reality of what’s happening. Don’t get used to our genocide. Please don’t!

Here's Prof. John Mearsheimer - one of the most prescient scholars on the war in Ukraine -- on how Israel supporters in the US scream "anti-Semite" at anyone criticizing Israel (the mirror image of how liberals scream racist or transphobe at their enemies) (via @zei_squirrel):