Members of a private WhatsApp group, including billionaires like the CEO of Dell and the former CEO of Starbucks, allegedly used the chat to discuss ways to pressure New York City Mayor Eric Adams to use police to crack down on Gaza solidarity protests at the city’s universities, according to The Washington Post. AJ+ has not seen the chat messages referenced in The Washington Post’s report directly.
NYPD officers raided encampments at schools like Columbia University and the City College of New York, arresting close to 200 protesters in just one day. The police raid at Columbia in late April was the first on-campus mass arrest in 50 years, with police using riot gear and military-grade weapons against mostly peaceful protesters.
While Gaza solidarity encampments have been frequently targeted with violence by police and pro-Israel agitators – and over 2,200 people have been arrested – a study found that out of over 550 Gaza protests at U.S. universities, 97% have been peaceful.
Throughout the first five months of the war, both my big sister and my sister in law had been pregnant. They had to endure constant displacement and unspeakable horrors on top of pregnancy discomforts. The few times I was able to reach my sister, she would keep praying not to go into labor before that nightmarish reality ended.
Sadly, things did not go her way. The war was raging when she gave birth to beautiful baby Ossama, and it still is ongoing. Almost at the same time my brother and his wife had sweet baby twin girls, Ritaj and Rital. The three little angels are rocked to sleep by the sound of bombs and buzzing drones instead of lullabies. Due to the unsanitary conditions in their tent and formula scarcity, the newborns have been constantly suffering from acute respiratory infections as well as slow weight gain. The only medical care they were getting was that of an overcrowded field hospital with limited resources, and even that is now denied to them as my family has been forcibly evacuated again from Rafah to Khan Yunis where nothing is left but rubble.
As you may well know, many babies in Gaza are lost while waiting for consideration. The doctors previously insisted that the little ones would fail to thrive and fully recover if they stayed in the same unhealthy environment.
Despite everything, these babies are a source of hope and strength for us. Please don't let them fade away. My family is barely holding on for their sake and that of their older brothers and sisters.
We would be forever grateful for any kind of support.
Please donate if possible and reblog as often as you can 🙏
Lolo the only survivor after the bombing of her house. All we are left with is my niece. I cannot bear losing her after I lost my brother. Please, we suffered from bombing, hunger, and displacement. Help me get out of the war zone to safety. You are our only hope for survival. Please donate or share the link.
imagine you are texting with a friend and suddenly they tell you that a house near them was just hit with a bomb. in the middle of your conversation. to be more specific, think of the last friend you texted, open up your messages even and look, and think about how you would feel if that happened. how would they feel?
this just happened while i was talking with @nesmaah. she and her family are in constant danger and their only chance of escaping it right now is to get enough money to leave gaza. i'm leaving their fundraiser below. please share and donate if you can. these are real people who are in danger right now, who are suffering, who are trying to live despite the circumstances. do not forget that every single person asking for help is a person just like you and your loved ones.
ARTISTS FOR PALESTINE 🇵🇸 - ROUND 4! On the 25th May, I'll be once again hosting a bunch of artists to do art requests on stream to raise money for Palestinian escape funds.
This round's roster is very lucky to include returning artists Lilypichu from OfflineTV, cuptoast, @oooocleo, @karvviie, @bonesbunns and Elfilibust!
If you won't be able to make it to the streams but would still like to donate money, you can find a spreadsheet with hundreds of escape funds listed here. Alternatively, you could donate to one of three funds that I am focusing a lot of my efforts on.
Donate to Mohammed's family (€6,626 / 30,000)
Donate to Salwa Al-Shandagha (€7,018 / 20,000)
Donate to Leena's fund (€7,763 / 15,000)
As always, these fundraiser streams will always be available to watch over on my twitch channel here. Hope to see some of you there!
In Yemen the death count stagnated at 15,000 until the war ended and the people were able to count their dead. Today, it's commonly accepted that over 300,000 Yemenis have been killed by war and famine. We will see a similar situation in Gaza after a ceasefire.
Fadi Al-Sharif @fadisharif11, his wife Shahed @shahedsharif11, their baby, and Fadi's parents and 6 siblings are trying to evacuate from Gaza to Egypt. Their home was destroyed after it was bombed by the occupation, and they are now all displaced. They are a large family, and as such, the fees required for their evacuation are high. Fadi breaks down the costs thus:
The funds received will be used as follows:
Fadi $5000
His wife and child: $7,500
Father $5,000
Mother $5,000
Brothers, $15,000
Sisters: $15,000
In addition, we need $10,000 in expenses during our stay in Egypt.
Their campaign has made some progress, but it is still about 70% incomplete. We are hoping for Fadi, Shahed, and their family to be able to evacuate by the time Rafah crossing reopens. You can help make this share this fund by reblogging this post and reposting the link to your blogs and your other social media accounts.