The abundance of material we received this month reveals that advocacy is deeply rooted in Palestinian society and goes beyond the demand for the respect and fulfillment of Palestinian human and humanitarian rights to include the rights of children and youth, women, prisoners, people with disabilities, animals, and more. Palestinians have created a wide range of advocacy institutions that aim to help disadvantaged members of their society. This is in line with the centuries-old tradition of auwnah, which means mutual community support during harvest time and in times of struggle. The sense of responsibility and community is shared by many institutions and individuals who join Palestinians in their quest to make the world a better place. With the growth of social media and electronic communication, advocacy is becoming an increasingly important tool in creating change across a wide range of arenas, from the human and humanitarian rights of Palestinians to climate change and the environment. While Palestinian students have not yet taken up weekly protests in the streets, Gazans have demonstrated weekly for more than a year. Yet without international pressure, there will be no easing of conditions − and unfortunately, without our advocacy, this pressure may not materialize very soon!
As always, we would like to thank our authors who include Dr. Yara Hawari, Palestine Policy Fellow at Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network; marketing and PR consultant Anan Abu Rmieleh; Dr. Benjamin Bouquet, coordinator of the right to health advocacy program, WHO, and Jeanne Dubroca, who is currently an intern with WHO; Lana Bandak, founder and director general of QADER for Community Development; Rania Murra, director of the Arab Educational Institute (AEI), and Dr. Toine van Teeffelen, adviser and manager of AEI’s advocacy project; Nour Odeh, media professional, communications consultant, and political analyst; Maha Abdallah, senior legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq independent human rights organization; Sam Bahour, managing partner of Applied Information Management; Randa Siniora, general director of the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling; Ismail Abu Arafeh, Economic Justice Programme Coordinator at Oxfam; MIFTAH civil society organization; Budour Hassan, advocacy officer at Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center; The Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association–Asala; and Aref Husseini, the founder and CEO of Al Nayzak for Scientific Innovation. Our personality of the month is Abdullah Yacoub, and Dina Matar our artist of the month. Visit our exhibition of the month that features Ihsan Al Bandak, find the flowers introduced by Morgan Cooper in What’s in Bloom, or cook the stuffed cauliflower leaves according to Fadi Qattan’s recipe in TWiP Kitchen. Enjoy the listed events.
From the entire team at TWiP, we wish a blessed Ramadan to all.

Sincerely,
Tina Basem