i am an artist against apartheid!
I am a queer artist for palestine!
As an artist who feels it is important to stand up for the rights of all people it is absolutely crucial for me to use my voice to aid Palestine in the face of horrendous ethnic cleansing and genocide (as concluded by Amnesty International on Dec 5th, 2024) enacted by the Zionist and fascist apartheid state of Israel. We of course mourn those lost on Oct. 7th's horrendous attacks, but there is no "justification" for enacting a genocide in retaliation for these events.
"Israel's war on Gaza has so far resulted in the killing of at least 45,553 and the wounding of 108,379." (January 1st, 2025) This does not reflect the indirect deaths that will happen due to the conditions caused by war.
Leveling every hospital.
Destroying many schools.
Starving people by blocking aid. It doesn't end there.
This is NOT "self-defense" - THIS IS GENOCIDE
We join the call for an
IMMEDIATE PERMANENT
CEASEFIRE NOW
We must speak up as part of the visual creators and storytellers of the world. We cannot stand by while fascist propaganda paints an incorrect picture of what is actually happening. Palestine has been under Israeli occupation for 75+ years. We stand for peace and an end to the apartheid occupation of Palestine.
Out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, none remain, all have been completely leveled. What Gaza citizens remain, are now dying of starvation which the UNRWA is seeking to aid with.
We cannot accept continued USA funding of Isreal's genocide. Our government is responsible for providing the death weapons to Israel and supporting their lies. Those not working for a permanent enforced ceasefire must be held accountable for their complicity in genocide. Find out if your local politicians have called for a ceasefire with the Ceasefire Tracker tool.
Find out how much of your tax dollars go to Isreal directly with the USPCR's map, and consider donating that amount to Palestinian Children's Relief Fund or to a fundraiser of a Palestinian family through the Funds For Gaza LinkTree. Many people are attempting to escape across the border to Egypt and need our help. We must do all we can to support the fight for a free and liberated Palestine that we will see in OUR lifetime.
And today I want to ask you to be brave enough to stand up for Palestine and do something with your voice. Be brave and speak truth. Please read the following letters from Artists Against Apartheid, and Queer Artists for Palestine below, and consider signing them yourself. Speak up against these horrors. Do what is right. Do not turn away from genocide, even if your privilege can afford you the opportunity to turn away and ignore it all.
If you ever thought "I would be on the right side of history if the Holocaust happened during my lifetime" now is that time. How will you respond? How many more lives will end before our government takes action?
"Never Again" means NEVER AGAIN for EVERYONE!
Artist / Owner of Ovaettr Art & Zine Distro
Resources...
EDUCATION - What is happening? Why is war happening?
- Gain an understanding of the crisis going on in Gaza and all of Palestine with the All The Walls Will Fall: 2023 Palestine Liberation Resource List, created by the Popular University of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
- Read non-biased journalism on the conflict through Al Jazeera media's page on the topic. This is on-the-ground reporting from Gaza direct, no lies or Westernized lens to be seen through.
- Is supporting Palestine anti-Semitic? Find out why it isn't from Jewish voices who proclaim "NOT IN OUR NAME" via Al Jazeera reporting.
- Symbols of Palestine introductory lesson including the keffiyeh, watermelon, and olive branch / trees. Why do we use them, what do they mean?
PERSPECTIVE - Learn from voices within the movement
- Watch the Black Feminist Writers & Palestine free access panel
- Listen to Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel from The Final Straw, an anarchist podcast.
- Listen to Reflections of a Jewish Anti-Zionist in Palestine + Antifascists Repressed in Budapest from The Final Straw
- Listen to Joey Ayoub on the War in Palestine from The Final Straw
TAKE ACTION - What can I do today to help?
- Take action immediately to urge congress to enact a PERMANENT #CeaseFireNOW via the Stop Gaza Genocide Action Toolkit.
- Wear a traditionally handmade keffiyeh from the last Palestinian factory making them as of current, Hirbawi USA to show your support of Palestinian resistance and the fight for liberation.
- Create and submit your comic to Cartoonists For Palestine.
- Make your own 'What Can YOU Do for Palestine & Gaza' zine for your locality using the template by the Black Zine Archive.
DONATE - Where are funds most needed right now?
- Find where you are needed via the Operation Olive Branch spreadsheet, connecting donors and volunteers to opportunities and families in need! Verified and frequently updated.
- Find a family to directly help via the Funds For Gaza LinkTree page that rotates families in the spotlight based on need. Do you know a family in need? Submit info for them through the form attached on the page. Verified and frequently updated.
- Find a family's fund being spotlighted currently on Gaza Funds.com which are verified and frequently updated.
- Donate to World Central Kitchen's operations in the Middle East, feeding countless Gazan lives that are forced to starve due to Israeli blockades on food shipments.
- Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians to aid in crisis recovery.
- Donate to Palestinian Children's Relief Fund to help children survive.
- Donate to the UNRWA to help feed millions of starving Palestinians.
SIGNING IN SUPPORT - Petitions and Letters...
- Sign this petition to Demand NYU Protect Palestinian Speech and Divest from Israeli violence.
- Sign the Artists Against Apartheid Letter
- Sign the Writers In Solidarity with Palestine Letter
- Sign the Queer Artists for Palestine Letter
READING RECS - Books and zines to read and share!
- Check out this Solidarity with Palestine; Radical Black Feminist Reading List
- Download and read FREE zines from Publishers For Palestine.
- Verso Books is offering FREE books on Palestine FOREVER!
Sign the Artists Against Apartheid letter and demand better for Palestinians facing genocide:
"Our community has a role to play.
Our queer Palestinian siblings have asked us to stand firmly with them in their call for dignity and self-determination. This includes challenging Israel's whitewashing, or “pinkwashing,” of its brutal military occupation, by exploiting queer performers and voices to cover up decades of right-wing, violent, and racist policies against Palestinians. Now more than ever, we must be clear: queer people are no friends to Israeli apartheid. We use our voices and our platforms to oppose systemic violence and inequality – against Palestinians, and against all people everywhere.
Today, we demonstrate our solidarity with Palestinians by pledging not to perform or participate in public events in Israel until Palestinians are free. We believe that showing our work in Israel would dishonor the radical histories of queer activism and self-expression, which stand opposed to violent systems like apartheid and military occupation. Palestinians remind us that none of us are free until we are all free. That “queer liberation is fundamentally tied to the dreams of Palestinian liberation: self-determination, dignity, and the end of all systems of oppression”. We will continue to speak out for Palestine, to educate ourselves, and to uplift Palestinian voices.
Our queerness, and our humanity, demand that we do so."