DEARBORN — On April 5, ‘Give, So Gaza Can Live,’ a fundraising dinner, was held at Greenfield Manor with Keynote Speaker Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi. The organizers said the purpose of the event was to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people by helping to rebuild the civic medical institutions through donations. 

Mohammad Qazzaz, one of the organizers, noted at the beginning of the evening that there have been minimal efforts made by the community since Israel’s most recent bombing campaign. 

“Unfortunately since the 8-day war on Gaza last year, this community has failed the Palestinian people. There was not one single major event that was put forward after the war on Gaza. So tonight we are hoping and praying that we can finally get the funds that is needed for Gaza,” Qazzaz said.

Barghouthi shares the stage with organizers of the event, including Mohammad Qazzaz (Center)

Israel may still be losing global support in recent years due to their unethical war tactics against  Palestinian civilians, but the issue seems to have taken a back seat as of late. The ongoing Arab Spring in countries such as Egypt, Syria and Libya has been overshadowing the Palestine struggle as of late, with the media mainly focusing on those movements instead.  Many of Israel’s settlement building and military actions continue to be overlooked. This May 14 will mark the 65-year anniversary of Israel’s establishment through the Nakba, or ‘Catastrophe’ that expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. 

The event was well-rounded, featuring a traditional Palestinian debka group and other performances. Hip hop artist Omar Offendum took the stage to share poems about the suffering of Palestinian families. A ten minute documentary during the program was also screened, depicting the reccurring violence that takes place against Palestinian civilians. 

Mustafa Barghouthi addresses the crowd.

But the highlight of the night was Keynote Speaker Barghouthi, who came from Palestine. Dr. Barghouthi was a candidate for the Palestine National Authority in the 2005 election, finishing second behind Mahmoud Abbas. He is most notable for being the founding member of  the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, a non-governmental organization which provides health care and related services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which was established in 1979. He continues to serve as its president. In 1989, Barghouthi was one of the founders of the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute, a think tank representing an alliance of 90 Palestinian community organizations.

During his speech, Barghouthi discussed how slowly over time, Israel took control of virtually all of the Palestine region, even as they claimed that they were in support of a two-state solution. In the beginning, the proposed solution had allocated 44 percent of the land to Palestine, but over the years, that land has slowly dwindled to just 19 percent, a number that continues to shrink. 

Barghouthi also discussed the severity of the Israeli West Bank Wall, created in 2002, which has left some Palestinian villages in isolation, allowing civilians no more than one hour a day to come and go at checkpoints. Many families suffer from starvation and poverty because Israeli forces have been making it difficult to transport food. Now, Israel is planning to expand on the wall as well.

“What Israel has created is not only a process of ethnic cleansing, where half of the Palestinian population or more, was dispossessed and became refugees…Not only have they created the longest occupation in modern day history, but they’ve also transformed the area into a system of full-fledged apartheid and segregation,” Barghouthi said. 

During the dinner, multiple attendees donated thousands of dollars to the cause. The organizers targeted a goal of $100,000 in donations. Co-sponsoring the dinner along with the 12-member committee who organized the event were the Palestine Aid Society, Friends of Sabeel-Michigan Chapter, and multiple organizations from local universities and high schools.