Was Palestine just a trend?
The world is moving on. We can’t let that happen!
Yo it’s Yusuf! I’ve got a lot of updates for you.
I was on the Flotilla to Gaza when Israel bombed my boat. That meant I got interviewed by a ton of international media afterwards, where they all denied the attack even happened. Even though we had eyewitnesses AND CCTV footage livestreamed from multiple cameras.
Once again a lesson - we can’t trust traditional media. We need to produce real journalism ourselves! One reporter even told me that the Flotilla didn’t need to exist and Palestinians would be fed if Hamas just released the hostages.
Then, we kept touring our documentaries from Gaza - across the US and around the world. But we saved money by moving from cinemas to free community halls & coffee houses. Because every cent needs to go to the creators in Gaza.
We’re paying salaries for dozens of young journalists there. Our youngest is just 12! For many, it’s the only income in their entire families. Or what’s left of their families. We’ve also bought phones for some of our creators. An iPhone 14 can cost $4K on the black market in Gaza.
But despite all the content being published, the world is moving on. I attend protests and see less than 10 people at most. Like Palestine was just a fashionable trend.
But the occupation & apartheid system continues. Since the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed almost 400 in Gaza. Not to mention the West Bank land grabs & murders in the West Bank. We’re increasing reporting there too.
Somehow the world bought Trump’s ‘Peace Plan’. Even the UN endorsed it, which basically means normalizing Israel’s apartheid system and occupation, then outsourcing Gaza’s to a collection of international forces. This is how it ends? We can’t accept this madness!
Don’t go silent on Palestine. Did all those civilians lose their lives for nothing? We were on the cusp of a global movement! When Wembley Arena in London filled up for Palestine, the images were uncannily similar to the way Wembley Stadium filled in the 80s and 90s to help end apartheid in South Africa. The movement was gaining speed and supporters!
But now it’s flatlining and media creation is the only way to bring it back. We need to force Palestine onto people’s timelines and into the conscious. That means working harder with our young creators to find unique angles, beyond the rubble.
Substack hasn’t been a priority recently - because you guys are already allies. Instead we’re changing hearts and minds on the other side of the internet. See the impact of our work on the Seen Palestine Instagram and other channels.
Plus the documentary films! Our latest ‘Gaza ER’ is dropping on Substack for paid subscribers this Friday! It’s about 6 American medical workers heading into Gaza.
Unfortunately we’re now $350K in the red on Seen Palestine. But we keep going anyway! If you can afford to, please keep supporting this work. Palestinian storytellers cannot afford for you not to.
You can also contribute any additional amount to our LaunchGood campaign. If we can hit $100K, they’ve promised to throw in an additional $25K match!
We want to pay more salaries & train 2,000 creators. And at my own cost, I want to be in Gaza soon, setting up a storytelling university with professors like Bisan & Ahmad. Even if it is just in a tent, for now.
If you are a Founding Member, you’ve probably already received the Seen Palestine T-shirt. By Jan, all paid members will also access monthly calls with our creators in Gaza. To hear directly from their experiences on the ground.
Palestine will be free. But it won’t happen if they are forgotten. Palestine must remain Seen.
Yusuf Omar