Keep Umm Al-Khair Safe and Warm This Winter

Umm Al-Khair– a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank– is in desperate need of help to prepare for a difficult winter following some of the largest demolitions the village has ever seen.

The village of Umm Al-Khair is a small community filled with joy and perseverance in the face of the longest military occupation in modern history as well as the violent attacks by Israeli settlers attempting to push Palestinians off of the land entirely– attacks which have only increased in frequency and devastation in the past year since 10/7. In this village of 39 families, more than 200 people have been made homeless or living in tents after the demolition of their homes by the IOF. Many of the houses destroyed belonged to families with small children. As winter approaches, leaders and community activists in Umm Al-Khair are faced with the challenge of keeping those people safe and warm as they continue to resist the constant threat of displacement and ethnic cleansing.

They need wood and other supplies to keep fires running. They need supplies to keep visitors warm so that international activists– whose protective presence often means the difference between harassment and demolition, between intimidation and violence– are able to stay in the village safe and warm. They need solidarity from those who support their right to exist in freedom and health but who are unable to stand alongside them on the ground in Umm Al-Khair. Simply put, they need help. They need your help.

I received this urgent call for mutual aid from my good friend, a Palestinian community organizer from Umm Al-Khair. Once we are able to raise the funds necessary to get them through the winter, the funds will first go to me, then to my friend in Jerusalem, and then to Awdah.

No donation is too small, and every cent is appreciated and helpful. On behalf of the folks in Umm Al-Khair, thank you so much for whatever you can give.

In the words of Mahmoud Darwish:

As you prepare your breakfast — think of others.

Don’t forget to feed the pigeons.

As you conduct your wars — think of others.

Don’t forget those who want peace.

As you pay your water bill — think of others.

Think of those who have only the clouds to drink from.

As you go home, your own home — think of others — don’t forget those who live in tents.

As you sleep and count the stars, think of others — there are people who have no place to sleep.

As you liberate yourself with metaphors think of others — those who have lost their right to speak.

And as you think of distant others — think of yourself and say

‘I wish I were a candle in the darkness.'