Terry Mamini is an American woman who hardly appears in a video clip or photo unless she is wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh, speaking about the massacres of the Israeli occupation in Gaza, exposing its propaganda that seeks to obscure those massacres.
Terry’s story (61 years old) began with her advocacy of the Palestinian cause with the Stone Children Intifada in 1987, and she has been working since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood to uncover what is happening in occupied Palestine, and Gaza in particular, using every possible means to do so, most notably her active account on the TikTok platform, to… In addition to thinking about specific initiatives, one of which was organizing a campaign to send copies of the Qur’an to the American administration.
Terry told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that she had never cared about religious texts, and she is an atheist who grew up in a Catholic atmosphere until she saw – like many – the amazing steadfastness of the people of Gaza and their unwavering faith despite the daily massacres committed by Israel against them.
Sending the Qur’an
She explains that because of this, she thought about organizing an initiative to send a copy of the Qur’an to the administration of President Joe Biden, so that he would know, firstly, that a large number of Americans are with the Palestinian issue, and secondly, perhaps someone from his administration would take a copy and read it, even out of curiosity, and perhaps change his positions.
Terry began her first steps to implement the initiative, and discussed with one of her technical specialists the creation of a website that would enable anyone who wished to send a copy of the Qur’an to do so through the website in a simple way.
But the project stopped – according to Terry – after “a number of Muslims inundated me with messages asking me not to do this because they did not know how copies of the Qur’an would be dealt with. Then I realized how the Qur’an was dealt with, and that it was not just a book that you put in your wallet and read on the bus.” .
She adds that she doubts that the initiative would have made a difference even if it had taken place, because the only language that politicians speak is money and power, and therefore the only way to guarantee effective results from Biden and his military-industrial complex is “to convey to him that we will not vote for him in November.” Because of his support for this genocide.”
She adds that boycott campaigns have also been very successful, declaring, “We have to hit them where it hurts: in their wallet and in their political path.”
Obfuscation and misleading
For Terry, most Americans have been either unaware or misled about the occupation and the situation in Palestine for decades, as the American media does not fully cover foreign affairs, leaving citizens uninformed about many global issues.
Therefore, as long as you do not know, you will not be able to research on your own to understand what is going on. In addition, the average American citizen did not see that his country’s regime was involved in the conflict in Palestine, which increased indifference.
Are Americans selfish and only care about what happens within their country’s borders? Terry says that this judgment is not 100% correct, although many did not care – for example – the extent to which their politicians supported Israel as long as they were addressing problems that were important to them in their daily lives.
Means of communication
Terry explains that she believes that social media is what woke up Americans and made them ask the right questions, as they saw with their own eyes what was happening on the ground and through media other than those that were accustomed to being their primary source of coverage.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, which, according to Terry, has become more interested in pictures of grandchildren, “memes,” and internal American politics, “and I still use it from time to time because I live in Europe, and it is a good way to keep in touch with my friends and family in the United States.”
This is in contrast to the TikTok platform, which allowed a large margin to spread news, not only about Palestine, but about many other injustices in which the United States is involved around the world, and of which Americans have always been largely ignorant or incredibly misinformed, noting that Tik Tok also practices a policy of censorship and deletes several posts that it deems to be in violation of its operating rules.
Freedom of expression
Although freedom of expression is protected by the US Constitution, the Israeli aggression on Gaza created a new political situation in the “land of freedoms” and revealed to many Americans that they cannot express their opinions freely without fearing anyone.
In this context, Terry explains that Congress recently issued Resolution No. 894, which equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, explaining that it is a “deceptive resolution” that deliberately confuses Judaism as a religion with Zionism, which is a political ideology.
She told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “The issuance of this decision proved to the American public that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) owns the American government.”
She continues, “70% of Americans and 77% of Democrats have called for a ceasefire, so none of our politicians represent their voters, for which they will pay the price in next November’s elections.”
Because of such laws, pro-Palestinian university protests are dismissed as “hate speech,” and university professors and other academics are criticized for speaking out against Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Democracy or fascism?
Note that since the issuance of Resolution 894 – Terry confirms – the Attorney General has sent letters to all major media outlets, such as the New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, and others, stating, “We will continue to follow your reports to ensure that your institutions do not violate any federal laws or State Laws By providing material support to terrorists abroad, now your organization is aware of this, follow the law.”
Terry comments on this by saying, “It is truly chilling. The line between what the United States government considers democracy and fascism has become blurred to an alarming degree.”
A difficult and complex situation and exciting challenges to come, but that does not prevent Terry from seeing some light at the end of this dark tunnel, as she confirms that the years of advocating for Palestine since the Stone Children uprising were tiring, but watching the younger generations finally learn the true history of the conflict and protest in unimaginably large numbers. It is true all over the world – especially within the United States itself – it opens a door of hope that no one can close, a hope that Terri never loses, and she always ends her words with “We will not forgive, we will not forget, and Palestine is free.”
