An online campaign for Gaza

[IndianaGreen]

An online campaign for Gaza

January 15, 2010

ON DECEMBER 27, 2009, a well-organized Twitter campaign by activist Nadine Moawad brought together over 100 activists to "tweet" about the invasion and the atrocities in Gaza.

The effort sparked the interest of many, and the message quickly spread. At its peak, the topic "Gaza" ended up third on Twitter's "trending topics" list. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of Twitter users becoming aware of the still-grave situation in Gaza, a situation that is largely ignored by the Western media.

The suppression of truth is becoming more difficult in this age of social networking, but the spread of disinformation is also rampant. Mainstream Western broadcast media does not mention that 80 percent of Gazans depend on aid to survive. These 80 percent are considered to be living below the poverty line and are denied access to aid convoys by Israel as well as Egypt.

The Twitter campaign coincided with the Viva Palestina and Gaza Freedom March trips to Gaza. There were protests at Egyptian embassies around the world as the corrupt Mubarak government initially refused to allow convoys through at the Rafah border crossing. The bravery of these Viva Palestina and Gaza Freedom Marchers is to be commended.

It is deplorable and sad to observe the hostility that arises when a few people offer compassion to the oppressed. The Western media and cyperspace has called any condemnation of Israel's crimes against humanity and illegal invasions as "anti-Israel" and "anti-Semitic." This attempt to suppress constructive criticism in foreign policy discourse must be called out for what it is: The outright desire to restrict free speech in the cause of human rights.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/15/online-campaign-for-gaza

[midnight]

1. I don't like this...

This attempt to suppress constructive criticism in foreign policy discourse must be called out for what it is: The outright desire to restrict free speech in the cause of human rights.