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“Last March, a fog took hold in my head and never left. It settled there somewhere between the moment a DHS agent asked me, ‘Are you Mahmoud Khalil?’ and the moment I realized that I would miss the birth of my first child,” writes Khalil. A year ago, the Trump administration unlawfully arrested Khalil at his home and detained him for 104 days. “I walk free now, only after an army of lawyers sued the administration for targeting me because of my pro-Palestine speech. But the government is relentless in targeting me,” he writes. “So when I walk, I watch my back.” “When strangers approach me and ask, ‘Are you Mahmoud Khalil?’ — the same words in the same expectant tone the DHS agent used before the handcuffs — I do not know if they want to shake my hand or spit in my face. I do not know whether they will say, ‘Thank you for what you're doing,’ or follow me through midtown aggressively shouting, ‘Am Yisrael Chai.’ Both have happened. At first glance, I can never tell them apart.” In a new essay, Khalil writes about grappling with these two truths: “That I walk through the city afraid and that the city, in small and persistent ways, tells me I am welcome. That I am watched and that I am seen.” Read it in full: nymag.visitlink.me/tM03B5

Palestinians in Gaza feel forgotten - and they’re right. Donations dropped drastically and the media barely mentions Gaza and when it does it’s censored and full of fake news. Please help today: chuffed.org/project/help-u… Palestinians are having fist fights to get bread to eat. Food is too expensive for most people to buy. Many children remain malnourished. The situation is beyond tragic and Palestinians in Gaza are being killed slowly while the world remains silent. The Sameer Project bakery is trying to tackle the bread issue by doing daily distributions in displacement camps. On April 22nd, we gave out 150 bags of bread to Salam Camp and 70 bags to Kanz Camp in Gaza City. 20 bags were distributed to surrounding tents. The 240 bags cost $677, including the 11% commission. For around $3, you provide a family in Gaza with a bag of bread that is enough for a large family for the day or for a small family for two days. During the famine last summer, a bag of bread was a dream - please help us feed Palestinians in Gaza. Donate urgently to the Food & Water Campaign: chuffed.org/project/help-u… Other ways to donate include: paypal.me/mahertali (Paypal option, please make sure to add a message saying "Food") account.venmo.com/u/Maher-Ali (Venmo option, please make sure to add a message saying "Food")