Holding Hope for Gaza

Correction: In the print edition of these letters, each letter was attributed to the incorrect author. “Love IS the Practice of Freedom” was written by Suha Qashou, and “A Success Story” was written by Sandhya Theresa Krishnaswamy. This is reflected correctly below.

Editor’s Note: The ongoing human rights crisis in Gaza. It is acknowledged as genocide by a growing number of groups, such as a U.N. commission, Amnesty International, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and has captured the attention of the world. The momentum suggests that an end could eventually be in sight. Yet for many, the act of directing rage and condemnation against the Israeli government is leading to compassion fatigue as no clear way forward is in view, even after nearly two years and the loss of tens of thousands of lives.

At F Newsmagazine, we know that governments are only held accountable through a free press and an active citizenry. We are committed to encouraging people all over the campus, the city, the country, and the world to never give in, never relent in the cause of justice for ordinary people everywhere. In this article, we are combining the power of engaged citizenry and the press to share with you some words of encouragement and a success story in the protests against the Gaza genocide. Read on, take heart, and never give in — never, never, never.

Love IS the Practice of Freedom by Suha Qashou

“Keep going, Anas, you are our voice.”

These words were delivered to Al Jazeera journalist and videographer Anas Al-Sharif from a man who watched him report on the genocide in Gaza. While Al-Shrif was reporting, he broke down in tears at the pain of seeing Gaza in ruins. Not long after, on Aug. 10, 2025, Anas was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as reported by NPR, Al Jazeera, and many other news outlets across the globe.

As we see more journalists being murdered and students imprisoned, how do we feel empowered to keep going? Genocide has prevailed for two continuous years — with thousands starved, displaced, and murdered — so where do we go from here?

The injustices that plague Palestine are not an ocean away; they’re right next to you. A rise in the use of surveillance, a large data company having access to most, if not all, of our information, and being threatened for speaking out against injustices, a larger structure is at play here, one that aims to silence and deliberately divide us. All that separation and fear in tandem allows for oppression to continue.

You must not fall for these narratives based on fear. Taking action is the only way through, and it surely is something that is done collectively. The opposite of fear is love. Because of my love for art, I joined a Palestinian artist collective here in Chicago (Jerusalem Academy of the Arts), and I have found more than just a way to liberate myself in my heart, but to be with others who see liberation as inevitable.

Organizations consistently look for artists and those who care to put their talents to use. Youth Climate Finance Alliance’s Ignition Front completed an action in May that had a tangible effect on stopping the normalization of genocide. (Editor’s note: A first-hand account of this event directly follows this commentary.).

As people who are free to create, to speak, to act, and to be in solidarity with one another, we must heed one request. It is a simple request: When a child in Gaza asks you to help them eat, help them by donating to their aid campaign and sharing their voice. When they ask you to remember them, remember and respect the lives we have lost. When they ask you to speak out against injustice, speak.

In his book, “Soledad Brother,” George L. Jackson writes, “Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will live poor, butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution.”

Your love is indeed found in revolution. Because love is not just a feeling, it is an action. We act upon our love and we act upon it to feel alive; to feel free. That freedom that was bought and packaged and sold to me is false.

In his poem “Comment #1,” Gil Scott-Heron writes,  “And a rapist, known as Freedom – ‘Free Doom.’”

I seek the freedom to be able to live. That looks like having food on my table that someone did not have to die for me to have, working a job that pays me well enough to survive without worrying if I can afford to feed my family, and living in a community that loves freedom too, and, therefore, loves one another. It is up to us to create that community.

THREE ACTION ITEMS that YOU CAN DO to help Gaza:

1. Boycott Israel: Visit the Boycott Divest Sanctions website (BDSmovement.net) for valuable information beyond this article. The BDS movement calls for targeted boycotts to put pressure on companies that contribute to the violence enacted by Israel and to divest. The BDS movement has been active for 20 years and is considered an effective way to apply pressure to Israel. Some current targets supported by the BDS movement are McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Burger King, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, WIX, Disney, HP, Reebok, and XBox.
2. Donate and share mutual aid campaigns: Food in Gaza is scarce, and when people are able to obtain it, it is costly. The people in Gaza heavily rely on donations. My friends in Gaza tell me about the high prices and costs of displacement. These numbers are unimaginable. Do not hesitate to donate. Even $1 a week counts; every donation makes a difference. If you are not sure where to start because there are so many campaigns, several Instagram accounts suggest ways to give. The Instagram account  @bazaar.oddities, a curated shop based in Florida that makes clothes, jewelry, and prints donates all funds to Gaza mutual aid; @gazamutualaid is a direct aid line to distributors based in Gaza who have supplied food for people in Gaza for over two years, and also posts aid requests for many individuals in Gaza;  @reachyusuf is a 16-year-old content creator based in Gaza who makes videos and organizes fundraising for orphans through Human Concern International; and @abdulrhman_.alk is a graphic designer based in Gaza who is also a good friend of mine. He is part of a family of 10 that he is helping raise funds for through his content creation.
3. STRIKE EVERY THURSDAY: Bisan Owda, whose social media handle is @wizard_bisan1, is a journalist and filmmaker in Gaza who has called on us to withdraw spending and limit public transport every Thursday. This strike does not include work. Please see @globalstrikegaza on Instagram for more details.

I’ll leave you with Al-Sharif’s words: “I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland.”

A Success Story by Sandhya Theresa Krishnaswamy

Early last summer, a friend reached out to me asking if I wanted to participate in a protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Watching the death toll continue to rise while I felt I had no power to enact change had left me disillusioned; when the opportunity to work with an organized group presented itself, I jumped at the chance.

On May 28, 2025, the Youth Climate Finance Alliance’s Ignition Front successfully shut down a corporate greenwashing event, Sustainability Live, hosted at Willis Tower. Despite its claims of focusing on sustainability, the conference hosted multiple corporations aiding in the genocide – notably Microsoft, which has provided its Azure AI service to the Israeli Ministry of Defence.  Sustainability Live also played a part in the recruitment pipeline by advertising job openings at pro-apartheid companies to students.

Ignition Front’s goal was to shut down the recruitment pipeline and make these companies aware that the youth will not stand for the continued destruction of the planet in the name of ethnic cleansing. At first, I intended to stick with the familiar role of a peaceful protester outside. However, escalating to an insider role, I set off a speaker that interrupted a panel discussion with audio recorded from the Gaza Strip, and it was the best decision of my life.

Before the action, I was required to attend a training session so that I could be informed on what my role would be and prepare in case anything happened to me while I was inside. Immediately, I was impressed with how well-thought-out the operation was, as well as how kind the organizers were to people who hadn’t participated in this type of activity before. I was worried that my inexperience would make me a burden; however, I found the training easy to follow, and was assured that there would be multiple people there to help me.

Both initial interruptions were planned during Microsoft’s speaker panel, the first being an unveiling of a banner on stage, followed by multiple chants: “Our generation sees through your lies, we won’t work for genocide!” “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be!” I hadn’t expected to be as moved as I was by the initial action – hearing corporate greenwash-speak finally being called out snapped me out of my disillusionment. I bore witness to how security tried to drown out the sounds of genocide by playing loud music over the chants, called the police to arrest non-violent youths, and tried to block cameras from documenting these arrests; it invigorated me to carry on my comrade’s goals. At that moment, I knew that even if the protest didn’t change policy, it had changed me, and I could use that flame sparked in my heart to build a better world.

After the second action, where the speakers were set off, it was clear that the organizers were surpassing their initial goals. The anonymous deployment of speakers had made it so the people in charge were unable to weed out the activists and thus had to revoke all student passes, leaving the corporations unable to recruit. Attendees, who were not aware of Microsoft’s involvement with Israel, began discussing their misgivings with Microsoft’s greenwashing and Sustainability Live’s poor handling of the protestors, both in the audience and on the r/chicago subreddit under a post asking why people were leaving Willis Tower. Overall, there was a clear message sent that the corporate greenwashing of genocide will never be welcome in Chicago.

Multiple activists during this action volunteered to be in a high-risk role (the banner action), and we provided jail support for these individuals after the event was shut down. Here, I became aware of how activism is a practice of care and love, for Palestine and the Earth, as well as for each other.

Jail support consists of waiting for your comrades to be released from custody and raising funds for bail postings. Though it takes only time on the part of the supporters, it means so much to those who have gone through the trauma of the legal system. If anything happened to someone, they had a vast network of community to keep them safe.

If you are feeling inspired to fight for an actually sustainable future, Ignition Front is seeding a chapter at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With connections to experienced youth organizers, Ignition Front is ready to provide you with the resources you need to realize your vision of a better world; contact [email protected] with any inquiries and to stay up-to-date with us.

On our way to the jailhouse, one of the organizers told me that she felt every single activist had played a crucial role in the action’s success. You have the power to frighten fossil fuel villains; together, we can form a choir to liberate the Earth from imperialist oppressors.