[UPDATED] A Letter to A Real One. Palestinian Justice and Peace, Jon.

The YouTube video and podcast episode are not there anymore. They were removed. Not what I was aiming for with this open letter, but the result I’ll take. Everything in this open letter still stands. To justice and peace. 

Hi Jon, I really hope you read this. 

I’m not saying this lightly, but you are my favorite actor and artist because of what you represent on and off the screen. Your portrayal of 'The Punisher,' your episode on 'The Premise,' the way you sold the pen in 'Wolf of Wall Street,' Shane from 'The Walking Dead,' and many more iconic characters have left a lasting impression. Your episode on 'Hot Ones' and the stories you shared there are a testament to the kind of human being you are.

I just want to remind you that the Punisher’s whole MO was a guy who sees his family murdered in front of him, who doesn’t believe what the "government" is saying and takes justice into his own hands. It’s fictional, but it struck a chord with so many people because of their rooted belief that they’re being lied to and their need for some sort of conviction to fight against it.

Your podcast and the stories told, from Shea’s story to the guy who converted to Islam once he returned from his duty and had an evil plan, are all stories of real people. We find a connection with them every time you give them a chance on your podcast.

Here, you gave your platform to someone who has been through an incredible journey, established himself as trustworthy, then started lying through his teeth. Talking about the Ex-Spec Ops Soldier on 7 OCT.

His story and upbringing are amazing, and his challenges and opportunities are similar to those of many people. I listened to the full podcast, and although I can’t see your face, I know that you're a smart guy. You can tell when he’s being honest and then you feel in your gut that something is off.

Imagine asking a soldier, a special forces soldier, who was trained his whole life to see Palestinians as the enemy, to say nice things about them. I know I can’t.

I’m not going to refute everything he said, but there are a few things I must address.

I’m not the most religious Muslim out there, but I was brought up in a Muslim and tolerant culture. A fighter not killing a woman (even if she's shooting at him) has nothing to do with the "virgins they’ll get in heaven." If you want to understand this correctly, I recommend seeking someone who has studied this his/her whole life. My humble opinion, they don't want to kill women, and the internet is filled with examples of fighters helping people and telling them not to be scared. 

Burnt people? They admitted that their choppers shot at everything without discrimination; that's all I have to say. 

"River to the Sea" is not a call to genocide; it’s a call for liberation, everywhere between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, like it was before Zionists came to Palestine, when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together. My grandparents lived that. They, and their parents, and their parents, all were born and raised in Palestine, not immigrants.

Apartheid is when someone has different rules and full control over someone else, when someone doesn’t get the same justice and is treated as second class to the people running all aspects of their life. That’s it. What is happening is apartheid, not only according to me and Palestinians, but by many organizations, including Amnesty.

Luckily, I have what is called a Palestinian ID, so I can visit Palestine. Well, I can visit the West Bank. My wife, on the other hand, doesn’t; she's also Palestinian but has never seen her homeland. Yet, as he mentioned, if you’re Jewish from anywhere in the world, you can go to the state of Israel, get a passport, and live there. What would you call this?

By international law, even threatening to kill people, let alone actually killing them, because of their nationality, race, or religion, is considered genocide. It has nothing to do with numbers. 

He made his stand against his government because of human rights and LGBTQ reasons, which might be the case. But the uproar in the state of Israel before was due to a legislative overhaul that would give the government control over the Supreme Court, which is not democratic, to say the least.

They send leaflets to flee your house, true. But where to? They've besieged Gaza. Nothing and no one can go in or out. They send a "small bomb" before bombing your house, true. Is this normal? Should we thank them? They then "bomb the shit out of the house," very true. Gaza being "carpet-bombed" is a testimony of that. Can you imagine a world where Palestinians use this phrase in their daily lives? "Carpet-bomb!"

There are many more things I could highlight. Your guest might have been brought up on a certain narrative and needs to believe certain things to make sense of everything in his life. There is no changing that.

However, this is the bottom line: you have a platform here, and you’re sharing human stories from people who went through hell and came back.

I beg you, invite Mohammad El Kurd (X: @m7mdkurd) to your podcast, invite Mariam Al Barghouti (@MariamBarghouti), invite Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta (X: @GhassanAbuSitt1), Ahmed Shehab El Dine (X: @ASE), or anyone who can tell a human story about what is happening there.

Bring in someone who didn’t fight for the occupation, bring voices who are oppressed to showcase stories of the other side.

Jon, doctors, journalists, academics, poets, and UN staff members have all been killed along with their families. They were targeted specifically to create this unbearable life in Gaza and Palestine. Let alone blocking water, food, and electricity. It’s a genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Up until yesterday, 7 DEC, just in two months, 17,177 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, 7,122 of whom are kids. There are another 266 in the West Bank, 63 of which are kids, all killed. Please google "kids killed in Jenin by Israeli sniper"; this happened a few days ago. 

Jon, I’m sending you this while grieving for my people. We are remote war zone witnesses, experiencing the realities of war secondhand through screens. We display our dead families (can you imagine this?) and use this experience to advocate for justice and peace. We are transforming from mere onlookers into storytellers, bringing the harsh realities of war to the global stage and urging governments and organizations to prioritize a ceasefire.

Please check Motaz Azaiza’s Instagram feed (@motaz_azaiza). You will not be able to sleep.

I’m sending this to help you understand the other side, our reality, our Palestine, that we will always fight for its justice, freedom, and peace.

To be clear, the loss of any civilian life is a tragedy, regardless of nationality, religion, or race.

Justice and peace, Jon.