6 Palestinian Voices to Support and Amplify the #FreePalestine Movement

As the fighting between Israel and Hamas comes to an end, Palestinians can already feel the voices that supported their cause over the past few weeks dying down. It is the cyclical pattern that defines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It begins with years of unjust, fragile peace interspersed with Palestinian dispossession, followed by dissent that is then met with disproportionate Israeli violence.

This latest round of violence is no different, but as Hamas and Israel exchanged rockets and missiles, the global advocacy movement for Palestinian rights reached new heights, with allies from across the world taking to the streets to protest Israeli policies against Palestinians and the killing of civilians in Gaza.

Leading this chorus were Palestinian activists who had spent decades working to dismantle anti-Palestinian racism and erasure.

Ahmed Shihab Eldin

For over a decade, Palestinian-American journalist Ahmed Shihab Eldin has worked to shift the narrative about Palestine in mainstream media. Throughout his career as a journalist, he has reported for some of the world’s biggest news and media organizations, including VICE, Al Jazeera, PBS, the New York Times and Huffington Post.

His reporting has focused on human rights and social justice issues, which further propelled him to national acclaim as a commentator for networks like CNN, NBC, BBC, and MSNBC.

Shihab Eldin has used his platform to center Palestinian voices and stories. In recent weeks, with the ongoing unrest across Israel and occupied Palestine, he has emerged as one of the leading voices in the #FreePalestine movement.

His tireless efforts and body of work are testament to the inherent activism and advocacy components of journalism as a means of reclaiming narratives and spaces and speaking truth to power.

Noura Erakat

One of the most powerful Palestinian voices in American academia, Noura Erakat is a published author and human rights attorney who has taught at Georgetown University, Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, and Rutgers University.

She has also served as legal counsel for the US House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee and is one of the co-founders of Jadaliyya, a digital magazine focused on human rights, identity and political advocacy issues in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Palestinian-American legal scholar and activist is one of the most powerful voices in the global advocacy movement for Palestinian rights. In addition to being a vocal critic of Israeli policies and human rights violations against Palestinians, Erakat has also been a powerful advocate for social justice, gender and racial equality, as well as LGBTQ+ rights in Palestinian and American societies.

Rami Younis

Journalist, filmmaker, activist and entrepreneur Rami Younis has emerged in recent weeks as a powerful and much needed Palestinian voice in Israel. In addition to advocating for Palestinian liberation and human rights, Younis has been instrumental in shining a light on anti-Palestinian racism in Israel.

He has called out Israeli media for inciting violence against Palestinian citizens of Israel and other Arab Israeli communities. His reporting and commentary also helped shed light on racist policies against Palestinian-Israelis, as well as the attacks against them—which took place during a wave of inter-communal violence that swept Israel over the past week, prompting some to warn of a potential civil war.

Mariam Barghouti

Mariam Barghouti is a Palestinian journalist, writer and researcher based in Ramallah. Her work has been published in the New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Intercept, +972, and Middle East Eye, among other news media outlets.

Her activism is focused on storytelling, reporting and centering Palestinian narratives and voices. Her writing has helped raise global awareness about the everyday realities of the Palestinian experience under Israeli occupation.

Barghouti’s writing has also been instrumental in providing insight into internal Palestinian affairs, such as the power struggle between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas and the human rights violations committed against the Palestinian people.

In recent weeks, she has emerged as one of the leading voices of Palestinian dissent against Israeli occupation, providing valuable commentary on the developments in the Holy Land to media organizations like CNN and others.

Yousef Munayyer

Yousef Munayyer is a Palestinian-American political analyst, commentator, scholar and activist who has led the Palestinian advocacy movement in the United States for over a decade. He has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation and has helped promote the Palestinian liberation narrative in mainstream cultural and political spaces across the US.

He has worked with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, the Jerusalem Fund, as well as the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

His writing and commentary has focused on dismantling widespread and institutional anti-Palestinian racism beyond just the cultural narrative, taking an active role in advocating for and promoting a shift in the US’s policy of unwavering support towards Israel.

Mohammed El Kurd

A Palestinian writer, poet and activist from Jerusalem, 22-year-old Moahmmed El Kurd is the new face of Palestinian liberation. Over the past few weeks, he has helped galvanize support for Palestinian families being forcibly expelled from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem through the #SaveSheikhJarrah campaign.

His writings, which have been published in publications like The Nation, The Guardian, Al-Jazeera and Mada Masr, have helped raise awareness about Israeli apartheid and settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian Territories across East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

In recent weeks, he has also provided valuable commentary, reporting and insight about the developments in Jerusalem, which helped many around the world understand the context and backdrop against which Palestinian dispossession was taking place.