“Zein was the youngest member of the al-Najar family. They lived in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. On Oct. 10, 2023, 18 members of the family, including five children and three women, were killed and 23 others injured in an Israeli air strike on their home. Zein was just two months old.” (Source: Al Jazeera Know Their Names Project website)
Zein’s father, Suleiman al-Najar, told Amnesty International, “I was shocked. I rushed home and saw a scene of utter destruction. I could not believe my eyes. Everybody was under the rubble. The house was completely pulverized. The bodies were reduced to shreds.”
This story is told to make the point that Palestinians are people, not mere numbers, however, the numbers are horrific.
So Many Lives Lost
Since Oct. 10, 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports “42,063+ killed and at least 97,886 wounded in the Gaza Strip. 32,280 of the slain have been identified, including 10,627 children and 5,956 women, representing 60% of the casualties, and 2,770 elderly as of Aug. 6, 2024. Some 10,000 more are estimated to be under the rubble.
“The Lancet Medical Journal predicts another 180,000 deaths from disease and starvation in the near future.
“[Moreover,] 749+ Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This includes at least 146 children. [There have been] 2,141 Lebanese killed and more than 10,096 wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 8, 2023.
“Israel revised its estimated Oct. 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,189.”
The Israeli army recognizes the death of 720 Israeli soldiers and the injury of at least 4,100 others since Oct. 7. (Gaza’s branch of the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed this figure in its daily report, published through its Whats App channel on Oct. 10.) Rights groups and public health experts estimate the death toll to be much higher.
As protests to the genocide in Gaza continue in the United States and throughout the world, local activists continue to hold weekly vigils and demonstrations. A recent event in the Fresno arts district showed the creativity and commitment to peace and justice for Palestine here in Fresno.
Local Resistance through Art
On Oct. 3, local solidarity activists Zahra Al, Rosy Kayoe, Samai M. and Lauren L. collaborated with local artists Angel Lenikowski and Brandi Nuse Villegas at Lenikowski’s art studio during ArtHop to make an art exhibit.
The artists and activists said the prevailing themes of the art exhibit were “art is resistance, occupy the human senses and occupy the mind.” It was a call to action and an opportunity to donate with 100% of the proceeds generated donated to Palestine. Another theme of the exhibit was “history repeating itself” (think of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Vietnam, Native Americans).
Palestinian struggle is a shared global struggle. Americans fund genocide, and we have blood on all of our hands. Another significant goal of the event was to honor the innocent lives lost.
Lenikowski, the main artist, said of the project, “Since it’s an art studio and an art-related space, I thought we could get the art community involved in some way. It’s been almost one year since the genocide began and it needs to be talked about.
“October is usually the spooky month for ArtHop, and there is nothing scarier than genocide. The goal is to educate and do something to make a difference.
“How we will achieve that is by updating the space to represent the current feelings we have toward the Free Palestine message and selling paper candles that the community can write a message on and decorate with colors. They then can tape the candles anywhere in the space with the art installation.
“This will not only raise money to donate to funds needed but also show the amount of support the community has while the collection of candles grows.”
Al, one of the event organizers, said that “art has long been a vital form of expression in Palestinian resistance, offering a way to preserve identity, culture and history amid the ongoing struggle for freedom.
“The Palestinian plight resonates deeply with marginalized communities worldwide, as it highlights shared experiences of displacement, oppression and the fight for self-determination.
“In Palestinian art, symbols like the watermelon, representing resistance under occupation, and the poppy, a symbol of remembrance for the fallen, embody resilience and hope. These symbols and art forms unite Palestinians in their struggle and connect their narrative to global movements for justice.”
Kayoe, another organizer of the event, called the exhibit “very riveting and moving. If we don’t take action, there will be a total catastrophe. The genocide in Gaza shows the world how America is making a mockery of international law.
“Polls are saying 60% of Americans want this genocide to end. The politicians aren’t listening, and they are making a mockery of democracy.”
The event was well attended, and everyone participating seemed to understand and empathize with the plight of the Palestinian people.
