Week 50: Workshop – Securing Privacy and Digital Safety in Emergencies, War, and Crises

On December 12, 2023, Shakeeb Al-Jabri of 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media gave a workshop on how to secure your online privacy while engaging in activism for Palestine.

More about our guests:

7amleh  – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media can be found on their website at https://7amleh.org/. They are on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/7amleh/, Twitter (X) https://twitter.com/7amleh, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCffBcFopuwnfYmf4VoI2cLQ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/7amleh

Urgent Action

UK Action: Support and Publicize the Sabeel-Kairos UK Christmas Appeal

Support families suffering hardship including single parents, the elderly and the unemployed who are identified through parishes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are given a 500 shekel grant for the Christmas period (approx. £100). This yearly programme, which has been running for decades, was originally set up by the Ateek family to help those in their community in need at Christmas. It is even more important this year as the war in Gaza is affecting communities across Palestine.

Please support the Christmas Appeal if you can, and share it with your groups, friends, family, etc.

The appeal is at https://www.sabeel-kairos.org.uk/christmas-appeal/.

North America: Continue to Fax Ceasefire Flyers

Please continue to pressure the U.S. and Canadian governments for a ceasefire. The U.S. this week blocked calls for a humanitarian ceasefire by vetoing a UN Security Council resolution: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-vote-delayed-demand-gaza-humanitarian-ceasefire-2023-12-08/

Clearly, we must continue to pressure our governments.

Look up the fax number of your representative, church, or other community leader – anyone who isn’t using their position of power to call for a ceasefire.

Then, use https://faxzero.com/ to send them a free fax. You can download either this PDF file or this PDF file to send.

Or, if you prefer email, attach the PDF file to an email address.

Alternately, if you’d like to call your senators and representatives in the U.S., the US Campaign for Human Rights has a helpful form and phone program that will automatically connect you with your elected officials. And they even have a script you can use when talking to the officials (you can add your opposition to the UN veto to the script). Access it at https://act.uscpr.org/a/callforgaza

Worldwide: Share Ceasefire Flyers and Images

Continue to share our “A Pause Is Not a Ceasefire” flyers and images via email or social media. You can download the flyers as this PDF file and this PDF file, or they are available as PNG files below (right click and click “save” or “download”). Try to focus on activists or leaders who have expressed support for Palestine but who have not done all they could do.

You can also share the posts on our Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) accounts.

Original Ceasefire Images

You can continue to use and share these as you see fit!

Ongoing: Pressure Governments

Until there is a ceasefire, we want you to think globally, but act locally. Israel won’t stop its assault on Gazans until the international community pressures it to do so. So far, only Arab countries are openly calling for a ceasefire. Let’s change this!

Email or call your own representative, MP, or other leader, urging them to call for an immediate ceasefire. Did you email last week? Email again! Politicians won’t act on a single email. They need to be reminded over and over again that this matters.

Work with members of your local activism group (Friends of Sabeel or otherwise) to identify which politicians and leaders are the most likely to listen and act. Share their email addresses and phone numbers.

We will repeat this action every week until a ceasefire is in place.

Share this action and your local contact information on social media. Use the hashtags #Palestine #Gaza #CeasefireNOW #KumiNow

Kumi Action

First, read the Kairos Palestine document, then sign the “Cry of Hope”. 

Next, send the Kairos Document to your local church. Include a message such as “Please include the plight of Palestinians in your prayers, sermons, and work as a church. The Kairos document can help you: https://www.kairospalestine.ps/index.php/about-kairos/kairos-palestine-document.” 

You can then share the document via Facebook, Twitter, or email with both your religious and nonreligious friends. Include the message: “The Kairos Palestine Document outlines the suffering of all Palestinians, and should be a model for peoples of all faiths in how to approach and solve the Israeli occupation.” Include a link to this page of the Kumi Now website along with the hashtags #KairosPalestine, #KumiNow, and #Kumi48.

From the Presentation/Chat

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ – check to see if your email address has been a part of any data breach

Bitwarden: https://bitwarden.com/ 

KeePassXC: https://keepassxc.org/