In March of this year, comedian and actress Hannah Einbinder accepted the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign for expanding LGBTQ+ representation on-screen through her role in HBO’s “Hacks.”
Passionately addressing attendees, her acceptance speech went viral.
“My queerness is a tradition of social justice, as is my Judaism,” she said. “To me, these are traditions of humanity, of care for human life — all human life, equally.”
From there, she used the rest of her time at the podium to speak up on behalf of Palestinians.
“As a queer person, as a Jewish person and as an American, I am horrified by the Israeli government’s massacre of well over 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” Einbinder said.
“I am ashamed and infuriated that this mass murder is funded by our American tax dollars. It should not be controversial to say that we should all be against murdering civilians.”
While this speech became perhaps her most well-known example of Palestinian solidarity, Einbinder has long stood in opposition to the Israeli occupation of Gaza.
As a participant of Artists 4 Ceasefire, she has used her platform to elevate calls to end the violence through a permanent and lasting ceasefire, alongside others in the entertainment industry.
Einbinder has also worked with a campaign called “Fund Abortion, Not War,” which supports abortion funds that have received backlash and funding cuts due to their advocacy for Palestinians.
“‘Fund Abortion, Not War’ is a campaign to uplift these abortion funds through financial, public, and communal support,” Einbinder wrote in a social media post.
“Fund abortion because the war on bodies extends across borders, and the struggle for bodily autonomy is intertwined.”
Most recently, she has encouraged her fans and followers to donate to an organization called PAL Humanity, a collective led by two female doctors on the ground in Gaza.
They are fundraising to help those in Northern Gaza access immediate humanitarian relief, with a goal of $50,000 for medical aid and $100,000 to support clean water access, food security, and shelter initiatives.
So far, Einbinder and her followers have raised $60,000 for the organization.
“Gd bless you all,” Einbinder shared in an Instagram story yesterday. “We raised $60,000 for PAL Humanity so far!! This is an amazing org I will continue to boost.”
According to the collective, all funds will go towards emergency water, food, and shelter, as well as medical support, building desalination stations for clean water, and education and stability for Gaza’s children.
“Thousands remain displaced without access to food or adequate shelter. We are distributing sweet water through deliveries, essential food supplies, and providing tents to offer temporary refuge,” PAL Humanity writes on its fundraising page.
“Every donation is a lifeline for families in desperate need.”
Einbinder amplified this message in another Instagram Story, sharing a video of PAL Humanity doctors at work.
“This is what your donations go to,” she wrote. “Supplies are so expensive due to scarcity as a result of Israel’s blockade of all aid at the border of Gaza.”
Although Israeli officials have said they would open the border to aid, countless Palestinians are still waiting for food, according to The New York Times.
Global nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which has provided 130 million meals in the area in the last 19 months, has been forced to halt operations without the necessities needed to continue.
“There are four WCK warehouses in Jordan filled with food for the people of Gaza… rice, oil, flour, vegetables,” the organization shared on social media this week. “Over 100 trucks loaded and ready to arrive to the border crossing in less than an hour… But still, the government of Israel is not permitting us to enter with aid.”
Earlier this week, Einbinder also shared another Artists 4 Ceasefire post that reads: “Now is the time to speak up.” It demands a ceasefire, especially in the wake of United Nations leaders sharing that 14,000 babies in Gaza are at risk of severe malnutrition — and death — if they don’t receive immediate aid.
While the future is uncertain for the people of Gaza, Einbinder and her fans have given invaluable support, doing what they can to help the people on the ground.
“North Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Families have lost everything — homes, loved ones, and access to basic necessities,” PAL Humanity shared.
“Even in the face of devastation, the people remain resilient and full of hope, and we are committed to standing with them.”
Header images courtesy of Hannah Einbinder and PAL Humanity
