My name is Anat, and I am an Israeli-American mural artist, residing in Houston, Texas. All my family lives in Israel.

I just had a conversation with a Palestinian friend Ziad, that lives in a small village (Husan) in the west bank. I had visited him a couple of times in the past.

Due the October 7 atrocities, the war in Gaza and the shelling from Lebanon and Syria, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and of course, Gaza, are in dire straits. Basically the residents in the north of Israel have been displaced, evacuated due to ongoing shelling. The villages and towns close to Gaza have been evacuated since October 7. Life as a whole in Israel has not remotely returned to normal, if there will ever be one, or ever was.

But I am sure the Palestinians - those who want peace and coexistence, those who do not support Hamas - hurt the most. They never had a strong leadership or support system to begin with, and now everything has gone to shit.

My friend was asking me to help in any way I can, and I did, but I think I can do more. We can do more. I came up with a plan to gather clothes, food, art supplies to the kids and adults in the village. Naturally there's no point in doing it from here, so I'll be working with my brother to make it happen. Your donations will help us facilitate these items and even support my friend and his family with much needed funding.

I am still hoping to paint murals in his village some day, and spread the word of coexistence and peace. We all deserve a better way to live this short and precious life we were gifted.

Thank you.