PAX supports the work of 7amleh (pronounce Hamleh but the first H from the lower part of your throat). In this episode you can hear Nadim Nashif and Mona Shtaya who both work for the advancement of social media and digital rights in the Palestinian context.
We talk about several aspects of their work. For example how social media is censoring Palestinians and others with a pro-Palestinian message. Many Palestinians have their social media profiles shut down without a valid reason and it is often hard to counter that.
Another issue that 7amleh works on is digital security and the use of Israeli spyware on Palestinians and beyond. Recently there was a scandal when it was discovered that Pegasus malware, produced by the Israeli NSO group, was found on devices of human rights defenders, journalists and state representatives.
Other topics we discuss are PayPal, that doesn't have integration for Palestinians to use with their local bank accounts, and Google Maps that does not show Palestinian cities and towns in the Westbank on their maps, while it does show clear details of illegal Israeli settlements.
Furthermore, we discussed a recent campaign to counter Hate Speech online. The campaign targets Palestinians to raise awareness about abusive language on social media and how to recognize it.
From 17 until 19 May they organize the online Digital Activism Forum that you can sign up for if you click HERE
This is the website of 7amleh: https://7amleh.org/
(There is a small tab with the letters EN to click to switch to English language)
If you want to listen to episodes of Stories from Palestine podcast you can visit the linktree: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine