Artivism
Artivism is a powerful fusion of art and activism, where creativity becomes a catalyst for social and political change. It uses the universal language of art to amplify voices, challenge injustice, and inspire action. Through visual expressions, artivism transcends barriers of language and culture, evoking empathy and sparking conversations about pressing issues such as human rights, climate change, and inequality. It transforms public spaces and galleries into arenas of advocacy, inviting audiences not only to reflect but also to participate in shaping a more just and compassionate world.
This portrait series aims to humanize and honor some of the Palestinian victims, who tragically are often reduced to mere numbers. Each individual portrayed had their own unique story, and was someone's loved one, their whole world.
Hind Rajab (6)
In January 2024, six-year-old Hind fled from Israeli ground forces along with her uncle, aunt, and four cousins. The IDF then began firing at the car they were in, and only Hind and her cousin Layan (15) survived.
Brave Layan called the Palestine Red Crescent Society for help. She told the aid workers, "They're shooting at us, the tank is right next to us!" Layan was then shot and killed; the aid workers could hear her screams through the phone line.
They called back, and Hind, now the only survivor in the car, answered.
Hind stayed on the line for three hours while she sat surrounded by her dead family members. "I'm so scared. Please call someone to come and get me," she pleaded.
At the hospital, her mother, Wissam, waited for news about her daughter. She carefully held a small pink handbag that belonged to Hind. It contained a notebook where Hind practiced her handwriting.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society worked tirelessly to get permission from Israel to rescue Hind. After three hours, they finally received approval, and paramedics Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun rushed to the scene. But the ambulance never made it; it was hit by an American-made missile.
The IDF killed Yusuf and Ahmed. They were not found until twelve days later, after the IDF had withdrawn. The ambulance was completely destroyed and appeared to have been run over by a tank.
Hind's mother Wissam never got the chance to return the small pink handbag to her daughter. Hind never got to write any more letters in her little notebook.
Sources: The Guardian, Zeteo, AlJazeera, Forensic Architecture,
NRK (in Norwegian)
Dr. Midhat Saidam (47)
Dr. Saidam was a surgeon and burn specialist. On the evening of October 15, 2023, he needed a rest. The 47-year-old surgeon had not left the al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City for more than week.
He told his colleagues he was going home for the night. But a few hours later he was killed in an Israeli airstrike at his home.
"This calm, funny and kind-hearted man came back to the hospital the next morning, but as a lifeless body," his colleague Dr. Adnan Albursh explained.
Dr. Albursh, who had known the surgeon for more than 20 years, added that his late colleague had been nicknamed "the relentless surgeon" by his peers for his dedication to the job.
A veteran of the operating room, Dr. Saidam was also known as a great mentor to younger doctors."If any of the doctors faced any difficulties, they knew Dr Saidam was the one who would sort it out," agreed Dr. Ahmed El Mokhallalati, the head of the plastic surgery department at al-Shifa Hospital.
"His death is a huge loss not only to this hospital but also to the medical profession," he added.
Sources: The New Humanitarian, The Guardian,
Saly (5)
Along with her mother, sister, aunt and uncle, Saly was killed in an Israeli airstrike on October 17, 2023.
Her aunt, Inas Abu Maamar, recounted: "I held her in my arms. The doctor asked me to let her go... but I asked them to let her stay with me."
Saly was a favorite of Inas - she used to stop by her grandmother's house on her way to kindergarten and ask her aunt to take pictures of her with her mobile phone. "Most of the videos and pictures on my phone are of her," Inas said.
Saly's 4-year-old brother, Ahmed, was outside the house when it was hit, and survived. He now lives with Inas. But he has little appetite for play, Inas says. He rarely speaks, except to ask where his sister Saly is.
Sources: AlJazeera, The Times of Israel, World Press Photo, NY Times
Hazem Muhammed Ali Salem (9)
Hazem was among four children killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on August 6, 2022.
The other children were Momen Mohammad al-Neerab (5), Khalil Jameel Shobeer (10), and Ahmad Mohammad al-Neerab (11).
Unfortunately I was unable to find any other information about Hazem. If you know anything, please reach out to me and send me the sources.
Sources: Middle East Monitor
Fekriya Hassan Abdul A’al (65)
Women in the Radwan neighborhood of Gaza who needed formal clothing would often go to Fekriya Hassan Abdul A’al's place.
"I remember when our house used to be full of brides-to-be and bridesmaids who came to my mother to try on clothes. She was exceptionally talented," says Fekriya's daughter Nevine.
The 65-year-old tailor was killed along with two of her siblings, two of her children, and two of her grandchildren after the house they were sheltering in was hit by an airstrike on October 23.
Nevine, who took refuge with a friend, says that Fekriya was devoted to her family and used to host large weekly gatherings.
But Nevine says that her mother’s mood was deeply affected by the escalation of the conflict: "She told me during our last phone call, 'I am very depressed and exhausted by what seems like an endless war.'"
Source: BBC
Lurin Azzam Abuhalima (30)
In her final phone call with her fiancé, Khaled, Lurin said she was exhausted from moving from place to place in search of safety from the war.
In October, 2023, the 30-year-old woman had just arrived at the Nusairat refugee camp in central Gaza to stay with her aunt.
Lurin had survived two attacks, including one on October 16 that leveled the building where she lived with her parents in Gaza City.
"She told me she was going to take a shower, pray, and rest," Khaled recalls. According to her fiancé, who lives and works in Cyprus, she was praying in a room when the house she was in was struck.
"She was killed while she was praying," he says.
Lurin and Khaled had postponed their wedding several times due to the unstable situation in Gaza.
They had finally planned to get married in December and move to Cyprus.
A heartbroken Khaled said, "She is now resting forever. She used to wear a white dress, but now she wears a white shroud."
Source: BBC
Reem Ali (3)
In November 2023, Reem and her 5-year-old brother Tarek were killed by an Israeli air strike while sleeping in their bed. Their mother Maysa slept right next to them - she was seriously injured, but survived.
Maysa said “I heard Reem screaming next to me, I told her there is something heavy on top of me, I can’t reach you. I said my final prayers and next I woke up in the hospital“.
Maysa woke up to the news her young children were gone. Their lifeless bodies were found together under the rubble.
“At the hospital I was just numb. I hugged them, I wanted to get as many hugs as I could. No matter how much I hugged them I didn’t get enough,” Maysa said.
Maysa’s father and Reem and Tarek’s grandfather, Khaled, said he woke up screaming for his children and grandchildren, struggling to walk through the dark and the wreckage to find them.
“I couldn’t find anyone, they were buried underneath all this rubble”.
Khaled was seen in a video that went viral, of his moment of grief as he kissed his lifeless 3-year-old granddaughter, the soul of his soul, goodbye.
“I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose and she would giggle,” he said. “I kissed her, but she wouldn’t wake up.”
Reem and Tarek, along with all the other children in this world, are the souls of our soul. May we remember them, and honor them.
Source: CNN
This portrait series aims to honor some of the victims who has stood in solidarity with Palestine. Regardless of their own nationality, ethnicity and religion, they fought for a free Palestine.
Hayim Katsman (32)
“Hayim in Hebrew is ‘life’. “That’s the meaning of his name. And he gave life to this planet as he saved me, and I was able to save two kids.” - Avital Alajem.
Born in Israel in 1991 to American immigrant parents, Katsman was a scholar and peace activist deeply committed to fostering understanding and solidarity between Israelis and Palestinians.
From a young age, books played a central role in shaping Katsman’s worldview. As a teenager, he began reading philosophy and, at 16, was expelled from his religious high school for refusing to suppress his critical views on religion. By 17, he had already started pursuing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the Open University. This intellectual curiosity and courage to challenge the status quo remained a hallmark of his life.
After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, where he focused on religious Zionist communities and their role in Israel-Palestine relations, Katsman sought to shed light on the complexities of the region. His research explored the intersection of religion and radicalism, driven by his deep concern for the well-being of all citizens, Israeli and Palestinian alike.
Although his academic focus was on the religious Zionist movement, Katsman was also critical of mainstream Zionism, particularly regarding Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. He saw this as a profound moral and political issue with serious long-term consequences. He believed that to restore political strength, the Israeli left needed to reimagine Zionism as a movement centered on a shared national identity that upholds liberal democratic values, rather than relying on exclusionary ethnonationalism.
In one of his essays, Katsman called for action: Engendering left-wing transformation will be a long process, requiring a coherent political program, resilience, and a willingness to engage with the broader Israeli public. But it is only through struggle that we can build the world we desire, a world in which Israelis and Palestinians both are able to live full lives as equals under the law.”
Katsman was one of the former IDF soldiers who testified for Breaking the Silence, an organization that seeks to expose the realities of the occupation. Despite the group's controversial standing—facing bans in Israeli schools, vilification, and even arson attacks—he remained steadfast in his commitment to justice. He was also actively involved in several peace initiatives, such as Mahsom Watch, which monitors the impact of government activities on Palestinian lives.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian resistance fighters attacked Kibbuts Holit, where Hayim lived. He went to the home of his neighbor Avital Alajem, who was alone, and they tried to hide together. When the fighters started shooting, Hayim shielded Alajem, and his body absorbed all the bullets. He died, saving her life.
Alajem was then taken hostage by the Palestinian fighters, along with a four-year-old boy and a four-month-old baby from next door. The three of them were taken to Gaza, where their captors suddenly released them. Alajem walked all the way back to Israel, carrying the two children in her arms. Alajem later learned that the children's mother had been killed.
In the wake of Hayim's death, his sibling Noy urged against using it to justify violence, stating, “I don’t want anything to happen to people in Gaza like it happened to my brother — and I’m sure he wouldn’t want that either. That’s my call to my government: Stop killing innocent people. That’s not the way to bring us peace and security.”
Through his activism, research, and dedication to human rights, Hayim Katsman’s life and legacy continue to inspire those seeking peace and equality in the region.
Sources: Jacobin.org, TheNation.com, TimesofIsrael.com, TheGuardian.com, JewishCurrents.org, Forward.com, TheLibrarians.com, JewishAgency.org, WashingtonUniversity,
Vivian Silver (75)
"She was a person who would never surrender. Not to hatred. Not to despair. Not to supremacism. Never to darkness.” - Bradley Burston, 2023.
Vivian Silver was born and raised in Canada. In 1968, during her junior year in college, she studied abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Six years later, she immigrated to Israel, and became a member of Kibbutz Gezer, where her early activism focused on women’s rights.
In 1990, she moved to Kibbutz Be’eri, near the Gaza boarder, with her husband and two sons. Nine years later she co-founded the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation (AJEEC-NISPED). The center organized projects in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Before the closure of the Gaza border in 2007, Silver worked with Gazan residents in cross-cultural projects. One group she founded, Creating Peace, focused on fostering business connections between Palestinian and Israeli artisans.
Silver was a former board member of B'Tselem, a Jerusalem-based human rights organization. She was also involved with Alliance for Middle East Peace, as well as a number of their member organizations. Her work included driving Palestinians, mostly children living in Gaza, for life-saving medical treatments at Israeli hospitals. She also organized tours of the border area, raising awareness among Israelis and foreigners about the struggle of her Palestinian neighbours in Gaza.
In 2014, following the Gaza war, Silver co-founded the grassroots organisation Women Wage Peace. Its primary goal is to prevent future wars and promote a non-violent, respectful, and mutually accepted solution – with the active participation of women from diverse political and religious backgrounds through all stages of negotiations. With over 55,000 members, it’s considered the largest grassroots peace movement in Israel.
In 2024, three days before Palestinian resistance fighters attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, the movements Woman Wage Peace and Women of the Sun organized a peace rally in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. The message was this: “We, Palestinian and Israeli mothers, are determined to stop the vicious cycle of bloodshed and to change the reality of the difficult conflict between both nations, for the benefit of our children”.
On October 7, Vivian Silver's home was burned down, and she was killed. It is still unknown who killed her.
Vivian Silver left behind two sons and four grandchildren, and a legacy filled with love, hope and commitment.
Sources: Forward.com, TRTWorld.com, TheStar.com, TimesOfIsrael.com