RSN is challenging mainstream media
(01.12.2024) My name is Atalya, I am a refuser who served jail time in 2018 for refusing to participate in the Israeli military’s crimes. I am also behind our growing online community Voices Against War, one of the only platforms where people the world over can hear the voice of internal Israeli dissent and resistance to the genocide in Gaza and the occupation. From protest actions to civil disobedience against the war, Voices Against War covers what the mainstream media will not. As the Israeli government is now preparing to permanently occupy the Gaza Strip, resistance to the war is growing. Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN) is stepping up our grassroots coverage to bring this wave of activism to our supporters around the world. We need your help to expand our work. With the year coming to a close, we are counting on our supporters to help us raise our end of year campaign goal of $40,000 to continue this important work.
The war’s outbreak had brought upon me a form of political isolation that perhaps not many can understand. Like many in Israel, I knew someone affected by the events of October 7: some of my close friends from one of the towns hardest hit on the Gaza border, Kibbutz Beeri, had their families torn apart. My opposition to the war was more personal than ever. But the war’s outbreak also led to a deliberate campaign of erasure of people like me: The war-driven Israeli majority silenced any dissent after October 7th. Global headlines featured only two stories: the pain of Israelis on October 7th, and the Israeli atrocities in Gaza. I felt powerless, no one wanted to support and amplify the voice of resistance.
That is why we created Voices Against War, to give the Israeli resistance a voice, amplify it and provide international support. Thanks to Voices Against War, the voice of the Israeli resistance reached more than 13 million people around the world over the last year, with thousands joining our network in support of the antiwar movement. We documented protest actions and provided a stage for activists to share their message, building a crucial link between international support and the antiwar movement in Israel in dire need of backing. In my work with the activists on the ground, I saw how meaningful it was for them and the wider movement that someone was amplifying their voice.
With more and more atrocities being committed in Gaza, we’re seeing a growing wave of resistance and war refusal that could bring this war to an end. This is the voice we at RSN want to bring to the globe: That another reality is possible, and that there are more and more people working tirelessly to make it happen. We would not have been able to establish Voices Against War when the war broke out without your support. As the antiwar movement grows, we need to grow with it. That is why we urgently need your support to reach our $40,000 goal, in order to allow us to continue documenting resistance to Israel’s crimes, resistance that the mainstream media will not cover.
In solidarity,
Atalya Ben Abba
Media Coordinator
Refuser Solidarity Network
Refuser Solidarity Network: RSN is challenging mainstream media. Refuser Updates, December 1st, 2024. https://mailchi.mp/refuser/resisting-war-and-apartheid-from-within-the-green-line-to-the-west-bank-gaza-18114649
Keywords: ⇒ Israel