I’m supporting Unmute Gaza because I’m a pacifist. I believe in solutions to disagreements that avoid violence. I stand with countless others demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. We are an intelligent species capable of cooperation and solving problems without violence. The tragic events of the last nine weeks in Israel and Palestine have saddened and upset me. First, I was shocked by Hamas’s murdering and kidnapping of Israeli citizens on October 7. I have since been shocked by the indiscriminate bombing and disregard for human rights and human life in Gaza by the Israeli military in response to Hamas’s attack. The denial of water, electrical power, and basic necessities to Gaza’s citizens, as well as their mass displacement, has no moral justification. Within the complex conversation and histories between Israelis and Palestinians, one thing that has emerged very quickly to me is that the Western media is largely uninterested in giving equal coverage to the suffering in Gaza that has taken the lives of an estimated 18,000 Palestinian civilians, many who are women and children. There are many photojournalists working courageously in Gaza to shed light on the real human consequences of Israel’s offensive. I was inspired to work from Belal Khaled‘s photo of a young boy who is crying out in pain from his injuries as blood runs down his face. An image like this (and thousands of others) can strip away the superficial overlay of country, ethnicity, and religion and illuminate the basic human suffering that is happening in Gaza. I’m morally compelled to amplify the message of Belal’s photograph and his caption “CAN YOU HEAR US?”. Let’s hope that, for the sake of peace and humanity that, we can all hear and respond!
–Shepard Fairey
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