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Amidst Israel’s relentless assault on Palestine, zionists in the U.S’ entertainment industry continue to try and bury the truth about the ongoing genocide in Gaza by requesting that Bisan Owda’s Emmy nomination for It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive be rescinded.

The fact that people in today’s society feel comfortable enough to go out of their way and publicly request to move down the honest experience of a person who is currently living under constant air assaults and bombardments highlights the corrupt nature of powerful governments that allows them to neglect ongoing cultural cleanses and suffering all over the world while simultaneously contributing to such cruelty.

Bisan Owda is a Palestinian journalist with a social media presence on multiple platforms such as youtube and instagram. She has gained a significant following over the past year as people around the globe are becoming increasingly aware of Israel’s wrongdoings and history of occupation over Palestine. Her vlog-like videos have been extremely eye opening to viewers and provides a beacon of reality to movement #FreePalestine, motivating the push for freedom for the people of Gaza as well as other occupied territories all over the world.

Owda is a contributor to the Al Jazeera Media Network, and through their youtube outlet AJ+, released a short documentary titled It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive on Nov. 3 2023, which depicts Owda recording life from the hospitals to the streets in Gaza after Israel’s repeated bombings, which left thousands of palestinians dead and many more injured, as well as some insight to the harsh transition of her life going from an educational journalist who focused on Palestinian culture, to a survivor now reaching out to the rest of the world to bear witness to such cruelty.

The docushort won a Peabody Award earlier in spring of 2024 and has been announced as a nominee for an Emmy in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Short Form category, which is what the fuss is about.

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) received a letter from the Pro-Israeli non-profit Creative Community for Peace (CCP) in August claiming that Owda is tied to a U.S  recognized terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and as a result, her nomination violates NATAS guidelines.The CCP is blinded by same victim mindset as Israel’s government failing to realize that the movement demanding to #FreePalestine (which Owda has become a large face of) is not antisemitic or anti-Israeli, but a protest against Israel’s merciless prolonged occupation of the Gaza strip. 

Luckily, Adam Sharp, the NATAS President and CEO, responded with a letter, published through Deadline, back to the CCP acknowledging their request but pointing out that their claims are obsolete due to the fact that Owda’s affiliation with the PFLP are only documented from when she was a teenager, and the content of It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive was consistent with award nomination guidelines and therefore the nomination will remain.

After Sharp’s official response acknowledging the CCP’s letter, all the concerns initially expressed have fallen short in their goal to diminish the voice of Owda, a witness of Israel’s cruelty and an influential force in raising awareness for Palestine.

The continued refusal of the U.S and zionists around the world to acknowledge that the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict is not war but a one-sided genocide in which Israel disguises it’s actions as reactionary is the face of an eras-old message to the world that power can avoid justice. 

In spite of such a fact, people like Owda are brave and continue to share what is really going on in the darkest places of the world and it is more important than ever that others listen to voices like hers to increase societal consciousness and create peace.

The CCP’s failure to deny the acclamation of such an important piece of media in our current world is a success in the effort towards (slow-coming) progress.

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