FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 22 November 2024
We at Bridgevolt have been fortunate to find community here in Southern Connecticut, helping working-class & immigrant folks here gain autonomy through mobility. But one of our own here in Connecticut has been heavily attacked and has even had her livelihood threatened, and we feel it necessary to respond.
We all have the right to make our voices heard. For the past century and especially last year, supporters of the Israeli government have been relentless in anti-Palestinian attacks, including harassment of anyone who takes a principled stance against the genocide in Gaza.
Aisha Abdel Gawad is a writer here in Connecticut who fights for the humanity of all people. In her novel Between Two Moons, she explores the experience of Arab Muslim girls growing up in Brooklyn in a post-9/11 world. Since the escalation of the Israeli government’s siege in Gaza, she called for an end to the genocidal attack by the Israeli military. Most recently, she privately withdrew from a panel about her novel at an Albany, NY, literary festival that she felt would not be constructive. We all have the right not to participate in any forum, especially those that don’t uphold our values.
Unfortunately, pro-Israeli government bad actors reacted by perpetuating an online smear campaign, relentlessly targeting her for taking a principled stance against the genocide. The targeted online harassment led to the loss of her writer-in-residence fellowship at one of the libraries in Connecticut. Now, even her career as a K-12 educator is in jeopardy.
Aisha’s views are not as controversial as these bad actors would have you believe. The Israeli military has killed tens of thousands of people, nearly half of which are children, and displaced millions. They’ve destroyed farms & wells to ensure that the population could never return and vehemently attack anyone who would criticize them for the genocide they perpetrate.
As fellow Connecticut residents, we ask that you support one of our own and sign the petition in #SolidarityWithAisha Abdel Gawad: https://bit.ly/SupportAisha.
Read the Bridgevolt Cooperative statement on Instagram here.
