Homeland Security agents raid Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home. Do you believe us now? 1984 has arrived. Surveillance. Intimidation. Political persecution. The erosion of our freedoms. Orwell warned us.

Nothing changes. We’ll keep telling our stories, and the focus remains on a free Palestine. And one day, we’ll livestream our freedom.

How many times have you seen a Palestinian arrested by the IDF, head held high and smiling? That smile says, “You can’t break us.” Noura Erakat carried that same defiance through her arrest in Florida, joining generations of Palestinian women who refuse to be broken.

Ed Sheeran is a coward. I appreciate the class Macklemore showed in addressing his removal from the tour for speaking up for Palestine. But no grace should be given to someone who chose profit over humanity. So what if stadiums threatened to pull Sheeran’s shows? So what if he lost money? Standing up might have cost him a few stadiums, but Palestinians are being killed in numbers that could fill stadiums. No love song can fix this.

Dropping knowledge

Imagine the only anesthesia this little girl had was a doctor singing to her as her leg was amputated. There are no excuses for this.

I just want to reflect for a moment on the moral inversion of our time. Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi, two of the Holy Land Foundation Five, are sitting in federal prison for feeding Palestinian children. Benjamin Netanyahu is being celebrated in Washington, D.C., for slaughtering Palestinian children. Think about that.

A scary phenomenon that needs to be discussed more is that supposed pro-Palestinian allies are policing, judging, speaking over, or even stealing from us. It’s almost like a tier system of oppression, where we’re expected to seek permission, approval, or legitimacy from those who claim to stand with us. Gatekeeping is another form of oppression, often rooted in a savior mentality. Solidarity should amplify Palestinian voices, not supervise them.

Palestinians should platform more Palestinians. More Palestinians should appear on Palestinian platforms. When a Palestinian becomes the story, Palestinian media should be among the first calls they take, not the last. There are already many Palestinian outlets and journalists doing this work. They need to be centered, not treated as an afterthought. This extends to those in solidarity as well. If you are speaking about Palestine, start with Palestinian media. People will say these platforms are not big enough. No platform becomes "big enough" unless people choose it first and keep choosing it. That is how every powerful media ecosystem in the world has been built. Major outlets can bring attention, but that attention is often temporary and transactional. They move on when the news cycle moves on. How do you think powerful media ecosystems are built? People show up for their own. Strong Palestinian media will not be built from leftovers. It will be built from what we choose to prioritize.

.@InovaHealth Is it normal for an ER doctor to ask a patient whether their pain was severe enough to justify a $300 ambulance ride? What happened to bedside manner, Dr. Hannah?

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is reportedly firing staff the day before Eid, while the board responsible for this crisis stays in power, despite community calls to resign. The community deserves answers. Did anyone at the top get raises while staff were cut? How much donor money is going to lawyers and PR to protect leadership instead of the mission?