Speaking out for Israel’s smallest victims

ON JULY 31, a small but spirited group of activists marched two laps around the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison, Wis., displaying signs and chanting loudly in support of Palestine and against Israel's murder of children in Gaza.

The "Mothers United March" was organized via Facebook by Rayhanna Raziq and her husband Abdul. Both Rayhanna and Abdul are longtime supporters of Palestine, but have been unable to attend local demonstrations against Israel's current assault on Gaza.

In late July, they read a story about a Palestinian family killed by Israeli bombs, and the child that almost survived. In the Facebook event page calling for the protest, Rayhanna Raziq wrote:

I'm organizing a protest against the human rights violations that continue on a daily basis against the Palestinian civilians. I no longer can sit on Facebook and like pages. This has become very personal to me as a mother. As a mother, we do whatever it takes to protect our children. Please join me in support.

Love, Mother Rayhanna

Rayhanna's anger and sense of justice is the product of more than a single story, but this story in particular struck a chord, and she decided she needed to act.

The story was about 23-year-old Shayma al-Sheikh Qanan, who was killed along with her husband when Israeli jets bombed their home. Qanan had been 36 weeks pregnant when rescue workers found her body in the rubble of the home, and determined that the baby was moving inside her while they tried to resuscitate her.

Rushed to an intensive care unit in Gaza, doctors performed a Caesarean section. Although Qanan had been dead for as long as 10 hours and doctors feared the baby would have brain damage, they were reportedly able to keep the infant--also named Shayma--alive in an incubator, prompting them to call her the "miracle baby."

Sadly, baby Shayma died five days later, on the morning of the march at the Madison Capitol. As the International Business Times reported, "Some Twitter commentators said the five-day-old baby died as Israeli forces attacked power plants in Gaza causing a power outage."

WHEN ASKED what had moved her to call the Mothers United March, Rayhanna told this story and said Shayma looked a lot like her own 10-month old daughter, Rubi. She felt a deep sense of connection for this defenseless baby and for her mother, whose "right to nurture her child was taken away. There are so many stories like that, and I want people to ask themselves--to take away the labels and religions--and ask themselves as humans: 'Is this ok?'"

Another motivation for Rayhanna is to dispel the lies spread about Muslims. As a Muslim American, she is painfully aware of the way the mainstream media paints people of her faith in a negative light. She explained that this is done to take away their humanity and justify the killings: "People blink and then turn the channel. I want people to put themselves in our shoes. I wanted to get people in the streets in order to spark a conflict within each of us."

Rayhanna's husband, Abdul Reziq, moved to Wisconsin from Pakistan in 2011 on a Fulbright scholarship for journalism. He talked about the stark differences between the way the Palestine/Israel conflict is perceived in Pakistan as opposed to the U.S.

"In Pakistan," he explained, "from 1948 to today, the conflict is understood as an unjustifiable occupation. In the U.S., on the other hand, Israel is portrayed as the victim, surrounded by enemies. How can people continue to accept this lie when, from Syria to Lebanon to Gaza, Israel is always the one on the offensive?"

During the march, Rayhanna pushed a stroller with a doll wrapped in a white cloth, in the way so many children in Gaza have been laid to rest in the wake of Israel's bombs. She carried a sign which read, "Baby Shayma, age 5 days old. Died July 31st, 2014."

Stopping Israel's genocide begins by humanizing its victims and exposing the lies that justify it. Doing so will require a global movement of people willing to take action--and doing that means getting past our own feelings of powerlessness.

Rayhanna often shares such feelings herself, but said that seeing Muslim and non-Muslim people who care enough to oppose these killings was inspiring. Rayhanna and Abdul plan to be involved in more actions soon.