AMMAN — On Saturday, Israeli forces
began the demolition of Palestinian homes and shops in the Silwan neighbourhood
of occupied East Jerusalem. Around 225 kilometres away, Jordanians across the
border are using social media and other means to protest the demolitions and
promote solidarity with their Palestinian allies.
اضافة اعلان
For some activists, words and social
media posts have become a powerful tool to combat the physical violence taking
place in Silwan.
"Words are like weapons,” Duaa
Al Khateeb, an activist passionate about the Palestinian cause, told
Jordan
News. “We must express ourselves through words and show the world what happens
to our families in Palestine. Some media platforms do not show the absolute
truth, and therefore some people stand against Palestine, just because they do
not know the amount of injustice Palestinians face every second."
Al Khateeb highlighted Muna El Kurd,
the well-known Palestinian activist and journalist who was taken into custody
in June from her home in the Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem district of Sheikh
Jarrah. Kurd has used social media and hashtags like
#SaveSheikhJarrah and
#SaveSilwan to highlight the everyday violations committed against her and call
for interventions from the international community. A legal battle between
Israeli settlers and several Palestinian families facing forced expulsion,
including Kurd’s, has crystallised anger over Israel’s illegal settlements.
"Muna is a well-known activist
whose story is known to everyone,” said Kurd. “She is a hero. I believe that if
each and every one of us is just as brave as Muna, Palestine will be
free."
Other activists are finding new ways
to keep up the momentum after protests over the Sheikh Jarrah evictions sparked
hundreds-strong protests in Amman.
"I used to go every day to the protests
taking place in Rabieh,” recalled Rami Marwan, a 26 year-old activist, in an
interview with
Jordan News. “I used to bring my friends and family there too,
because I believe that I should be taking part in every action that shall
contribute to freeing Palestine."
"People may say that such
protests would not make a difference,” added Marwan, “but I say that one must
fight in each and every way for the thing he loves. I do love Palestine and I
am ready to do anything to support it."
The protests in Rabieh reached their
height in May. As twenty-eight families in Sheikh Jarrah, themselves refugees
who fled to the neighbourhood during an earlier conflict, faced forced
expulsion from their homes, peaceful protests led to violent attacks against
Palestinians and eventually the Israeli war on the
Gaza Strip.
Across the border, Jordanians raised
their voices. At large protests near the Israeli Embassy in Rabieh, they called
for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Jordan and the cancellation of
the water and gas deals between Jordan and Israel.
But beyond protests, other
Jordanians have found their own unique ways to show support for the Palestinian
cause.
Thousands of Jordanians took part in the "cut the lights"
campaign that took place in June in protest of the Israeli gas deal.
The
hashtag, "cut the lights for your dignity" topped Twitter’s trending
in Jordan with over 14,000 tweets. Users shared footage of them turning off
their electricity and lighting candles in their homes, a proclamation that
Jordan should not rely on Israel for gas and other basic utilities. Jordan’s
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS Jordan) led the campaign.
Tamara Mohammad, a 27 year-old who
is passionate about crafting poems and other forms of creative writing, told
Jordan News that "I have written poems since childhood, but I like writing
poems for Palestine to express my love and support towards Palestine through
words. I believe that supporting a cause could be done in different ways."
"I publish my poems on my
social media platforms with some hashtags for Palestine to help in spreading
these poems all over the world,” she explained. “I thank God that some
Palestinians read my poems and like them. I really appreciate it when they tell
me that my poems give them positive energy as that is my goal from writing
those poems."
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