Naomi Foyle (she/they)

SINGLE OUT: TODAY 19 July VIDEO OUT: MONDAY 22 July Our charity single for #Gaza, raising funds for #UNRWA's essential work "If I Must Die" Poem by: #RefaatAlreer Music & vocals: @ReemKelani Featuring @bruno_heinen on piano Available on @Bandcamp (Link below) 👇 #IfIMustDie

💥💥💥 BREAKING!! Brighton Council planning committee have just voted unanimously to REFUSE the L3Harris arms factory extension! A massive victory for community resistance & organising. #StopArmingIsrael 🇵🇸

A Jewish student at Cambridge University gives MEE a tour of the Cambridge Encampment for Gaza. “There's many of us here in Cambridge. Jews who believe that it is our duty, to speak out against the genocide that is being, carried out in our name, by the Israeli state”

We send our solidarity to the many thousands of university students and staff across the world who are taking a stand against their institutions' complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Full statement 👇

Hello, I am Qian Zephaniah, Benjamin Zephaniah’s wife. Thank you all so much for the love that you showed Benjamin thank you so much for the lovely messages that you sent to me after he passed away.

Fawzia Muradali Kane is the second prize winner of the National Poetry Competition 2023 for her poem ‘Eric’. Fawzia is a Trinbagonian architect and poet, now based in London. Her debut collection Tantie Diablesse was published in 2011. Read more: poetrysociety.org.uk/npc

Jenny Jones from the Green Party knocking the top off the rice pudding here. Whatever your political views are she just nailed the state of this country and what’s wrong with it in 5 minutes.

"Whoever listens to a witness, becomes a witness" - Elie Wiese This is 'Whistling' by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat from 'A Blade of Grass: New Palestinian Poetry' a must-read anthology published by @SmokestackBooks. Translated by Al-Hayyat and @naomifoyle.

I wish I didn’t have to write this I am an artist, not a politician, and would rather speak through creative action than explanatory text But I find that for several reasons, I must respond to accusations and smears made against me these last couple of weeks 🧵 1/12

Massive Brighton march in black now heading off towards city centre

500,000 people have now watched this here and on YouTube, and I’m so grateful to TED for making it happen. Fun fact: Ali and I had never met until they introduced us. ted.com/talks/ali_abu_awwad_… via @TEDTalks

Jordan, Egypt & the UAE have conducted food airdrops over Northern Gaza today; King Abdullah participated in the operations. My brother sent me photos of Emirati C-17s flying over Rafah en route to Gaza; Jordanian & Egyptian C-130 aircraft spearheaded the drop. Yalla, let's go!

Peace of the Brave? When I was 11 years old in Gaza, I remember a particularly deadly Hamas suicide bombing in Israel in 2001. Soon after, a news conference was held by Yasser Arafat in which he called for de-escalation and asked Hamas to stop undermining the Palestinian Authority through its violence against Israelis. He ended his conference calling for a mutual ceasefire and renewing his commitment to bolster the “peace of the brave,” a phrase that grew in prominence during the 1990s at the height of the Oslo Peace process. This phrase (سلام الشُجعان) was always mocked by anti-peace Palestinian factions and their mouthpieces. Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a few small militant groups would instead refer to it as the peace of the cowardly, the treacherous and the weak. There was so much anti-Arafat propaganda which specifically condemned him for believing that peace with Israel was courageous, saying instead that armed resistance was the only possible courageous act for the Palestinian national movement. I remember wondering about who was right: was peace indeed cowardly or was it actually courageous and brave? Unfortunately, Hamas created so much confusion, uncertainty and doubt among Palestinians about peace, making the word itself sound radioactive, toxic, unsavory and inherently treasonous. As time went on, and I learned so much more about history, the peace process, Hamas, conflict resolution, and even some Muslim teachings and scholarly interpretations, I realized that for all of his faults and shortcomings, Arafat was absolutely right. Peace does require brave courage to wage, promote, adopt, embrace and act upon. It is so much easier to be consumed by hate, incitement, violence and vengeance. Tribalism, entrenched narratives, lack of pragmatism and blind rage cause many nations and societies to walk away from peace and perpetuate a vicious cycle of violence and enmity. Again and for all his faults and horrendous leadership mistakes during the 1970s and 1980s, Arafat made an incredibly courageous decision to renounce violence and recognize Israel and its right to exist — he would still go on to make detrimental and disastrous mistakes after this brave decision. Nevertheless, he set a precedent within the Palestinian national movement to acknowledge that there will be no full liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea and that recognizing Israel and working with the Jewish State is necessary and inevitable for peace and the well-being of the Palestinian people. Brave and courageous Palestinians and Israelis must wage peace and find the slightest of common ground to give their people a chance at a better future. This will start with engagement, dialogue, conversations, and discussions. Yes, the disagreements are vast, and emotions are running high; yet I truly believe that cross-aisle gestures of goodwill based upon mutual respect, acknowledging our common humanity, and embracing that neither side is going anywhere can help break the entrenched narratives and start the slow healing journey. Peace requires courage to challenge dominant narratives and withstand reactionary accusations of disloyalty or treason. And yes, political decisions are ultimately what will bring about a transformation of conditions on the ground. However, that will be useless if people-to-people connections are not made. Governments make political agreements, but people make true and lasting peace. My own suffering and hardships, the death of so many family members, and the continued horror that my folks in Gaza are experiencing is precisely what motivates me to seek a different path forward. I’ve talked to former Israel hostages released by Hamas and to families of hostages who have an incredible capacity for compassion, and also want to use their suffering/awful experiences to push for a different reality. Inshallah in our lifetime, and with some courageous individual acts and steps, we will have true and lasting peace of the brave.

In a few days I will face trial according on two protocols drawn up by the russian “Center for Combating Extremism”. My laptop and phone were taken away, but this will not stop me. I am grateful to everyone who worried about me and wrote words of support. #Crimea

In the occupied Crimea 🇷🇺, security forces detained human rights activist and citizen journalist Lutfiye Zudiyeva. Her house was searched, and reports were drawn up against her for “abuse of freedom of the media”, claiming that she had not indicated its status in 🇷🇺 as a “foreign agent” in her post on the social network, mentioning the media outlet @radiosvoboda. This case is an example of pressure and persecution of journalists for covering the repressive actions of 🇷🇺 authorities. #HumanRights

Russia: Elderly woman in downtown Moscow bravely called for an uprising against Putin in the aftermath of the Kremlin's murder of Alexei Navalny and mass arrests of mourners throughout the nation.