Fatema Zainab Rajwani, a Palestinian rights activist and member of Palestine Action, is languishing in a British jail for her involvement in direct action against Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer with facilities in the United Kingdom. Rajwani and other activists sought to disrupt the company’s operations through physical means, hoping to stem the tide of weapons directly used by the Israeli military in Gaza and contributing to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Palestine Action has long campaigned against the arms trade to Israel, calling for accountability for the violence against Palestinians.
MintPress News is publishing Rajwani’s letter to give voice to a perspective often lost in a climate where criticism of Israel in the West can result in severe social and legal repercussions. As discussions of Israel’s actions continue to test the very limits of Western concepts of freedom, activists like Rajwani face imprisonment, the loss of personal relationships, and even professional livelihoods for voicing their support for the victims of Israeli violence.
To the people of Gaza I write to you in my state of love and grief
At night I dream of a love so wide and so deep it frees us all
It stretches across continents to fill the space between my brown body and yours I wish the love I dream of, was enough I wish the love I dream of would hold your grief the same way that our silence holds violence.
When there’s nothing else to write about, I write about love.
Because there’s no life worth living, no strength worth perception if not for love
The kind of love that forces you to witness
The kind of love that does not stay silent
Love that is not patient or kind but relentless and harsh I dream of a love so encompassing it hurts.
A love that does not make us less afraid But a love that makes us less compromising.
At night I dream of a love so wide and so deep it frees us all
When dawn breaks I dream of waking up to a love that is not new but old and ancient and unforgiving.
The type of love that stands to action
There is no greater act of love than standing uncompromising between all which you know and (that destroys) and all which could be (rebuilt anew).
— Fatema Zainab Rajwani
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