Eighty young girls and women attended Palestine Speaks, hosted by the Muslim American Society of Staten Island in its Dongan Hills Center, to pray and receive guidance on advocating for change from Nerdeen Kiswani, a 29-year-old Palestinian American lawyer and activist.
“As a Palestinian woman, I have a responsibility to help bring about liberation for my people and all oppressed people everywhere. I advocated for us as women to feel empowered to speak out against the genocide we are witnessing in Gaza,” Kiswani, co-founder of Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine (WOL), said.
It has been two weeks since Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel resulting in the killing of more than 1,400 people — prompting the nation to respond with military force.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing over 4,000 civilians, including more than 1,400 children and more than 800 women, according to Euro-Med Monitor. Israeli authorities also cut off the supply of food, water, fuel and electricity into Gaza, according to Human Rights Watch. Additionally, Amnesty International found compelling evidence, supported by video footage and witness testimonies, that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) used white phosphorus munitions in Gaza and Lebanon on Oct. 10 and 11, an action considered a breach of international humanitarian law.
“It’s not a political battle, it’s about standing for humanity. Take a minute and read about what is happening in Palestine. People are displaced and they can’t even count those that are under the rubble. Hospitals are being bombed,” Sandra Abdellal, currently a law student at New York Law School and one of the co-organizers of the Palestine Speaks event, said.
Sandra Abdellal, currently a law student at New York Law School and one of the co-organizers of the Palestine Speaks event, says there is trauma, grief, hopelessness, and helplessness among the community because of the on-going war in Palestine. (Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi)Priya Shahi
At least 500 were killed in the deadly explosion at the densely populated Al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Associated Press reported. Shortly after the bombing, Hananya Naftali, a social media adviser for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that an Israeli airstrike struck a terrorist base inside a Gaza hospital.
Naftali deleted his post on X, and in a follow up post apologized for “mistakenly” sharing false information. Israel, through its X account, denied responsibility for the explosion, attributing it to a misfired rocket from the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza. Hamas blamed the attack on an Israeli airstrike, the Associated Press reported. President Biden said United States intelligence backs Israel’s claim it was not responsible.
Abdellal voiced frustrations in seeing elected officials stand in support with Israel instead of standing for humanity.
“To stand on the right side of humanity, you just have to open your eyes,” Abdellal said. “There’s a lot of trauma, grief, hopelessness, and helplessness because as an American living in America, you can’t physically go help out. Even sending money to your families back home is extremely hard because you get questioned for it. If I am sending two, three hundred dollars to my families back in Gaza, I get questioned for it… like ‘why are you aiding terrorism’ and I’m not. I’m just trying to help my families that are displaced. Even speaking out can get you black-listed.”
Abdellal said talking about what is going on in Gaza right now in groups and community settings is valuable because it helps everyone understand that they are not alone and that others are also experiencing grief. Coming together in prayer, making supplications, and hoping for the well-being of those affected by the violence is what Abdellal is doing with her community, she said.
“I think events like these are extremely important because we’re learning how to navigate these waters and speak out against injustice,” she said. “First of all, as a Muslim, it’s super important to speak out against injustice when you’re able to do so. One of our prophets says if you see injustice, you have to change it with your hand — meaning do some thing about it — and if you’re unable to, you use your tongue to speak out against injustice. And the event today describes how to protest safely and speak out on social media safely.”
‘FELT COMPLETELY UNSEEN’
Abdullah Akl, the advocacy director of the Muslim American Society of Staten Island and co-organizer of the Palestine Speaks event, said that seeing elected officials — ranging from City Council members to Assembly members and even the borough president — taking positions on an international issue that overlook and neglect an entire community will result in consequences.
Abdullah Akl, the advocacy director of the Muslim American Society and co-organizer of the Palestine Speaks event, said he urges elected officials to speak to their communities. (Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi)Priya Shahi
“The role of these elected officials is to represent their constituents. In our Eid prayers and multiple other prayers where these elected officials are present, we have upward of 5,000 people here on Staten Island alone. They completely felt unseen from their (local officials) statements,” Akl said. “Some of the consequences we’ve seen are hate calls against mosques and Muslim sisters are having their hijabs pulled off simply because they represent a view on what people think is Palestine.”
Akl said that many people look up to elected officials and use them as sources of information, so when they go out and issue a one-sided statement, the opposite side automatically becomes the enemy.
“I know what it means for elected officials to just stay quiet when they don’t have to say something. But because they did speak, at the very least, they should speak the truth,” Akl said. “And the truth, and we’ve seen this not only from the United Nations, but Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Harvard Law, is that recognized institutions are calling Israel and what they are doing illegal and they’re calling it apartheid. It is recognized as illegal occupation, they should at least recognize that when putting out stances.”
Eighty young girls and women attended Palestine Speaks. (Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi)Priya Shahi
Kiswani, who taught girls and women how to advocate safely at the Palestine Speaks event, says she hopes to empower people to advocate for liberation.
“As visibly Muslim women, we carry the brunt of stereotypes and hate crimes carried out against our community in this latest wave of anti-Palestinian racism,” she said.
