# What can ordinary people do about the Palestinian crisis, and do social-media posts help? *What can be done: global outcry, Israeli impunity, boycotts and the limits of online awareness* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/umku_ocftes/s/2/ - Date: 2021-05-15 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Palestinian Plight & Israeli Injustice | Mufti Abu Layth (6:34–11:49) - Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMKu_OCFTes&t=394s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/umku_ocftes/ **Topics:** Palestine and Gaza; Social media **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Global outcry and boycotts are necessary even though Israel ignores them and acts with impunity, but Instagram posts make no difference to the crisis, which is not caused by lack of awareness, so Muslims should not guilt-trip one another. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says a global outcry is necessary even though Israel acts with impunity and people can boycott Israeli products, but that social-media posts make no difference to the crisis, so Muslims should not guilt-trip others who do not make them. **Evidence, his words at 10:19:** “people doing this in all honesty makes zero difference to the actual crisis israel is not going to stop because you posted something on instagram” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMKu_OCFTes&t=619s) ## Longer summary Turning to what can actually be done, Mufti Abu Layth says the matter is complex: a global outcry is necessary, but Israel acts with impunity and does not care, ignoring several United Nations Security Council resolutions, and Biden, while somewhat critical, remarked that Israel's actions were not out of proportion; other countries condemn but will not physically stop the atrocities and at most request. He says outcry by governments and people is necessary rather than silence, that people can create awareness and boycott Israeli products and brands, but that it is important not to guilt-trip other Muslims. He explains that a person's circle is at most about 150 people and that Muslim circles are ethnic, insular echo chambers in which everyone already knows what is going on, so the crisis is not a result of lack of awareness. He says sharing posts or videos of bloodshed on Instagram, which itself desensitises people to the sanctity of blood, makes zero difference to the crisis when Israel ignores even the Security Council, calling this a hard-hitting truth; people may still do it, but not to take a holier-than-thou attitude to those who do not. ## Sources and names cited - The Palestinian crisis (May 2021) - United Nations Security Council - Joe Biden ## Transcript (machine tier, 6:34–11:49) [6:26] uh interests to maintain a palestine palestinian buffer between them and israel these are just some of the issues that we are aware of allah knows what really is going on behind the scene how many other countless variables are at play we genuinely do not know moving to what can be actually done now here this matter becomes incredibly complex [7:05] because yes the global community can create an outrage and that is necessary that they do but the truth is israel acts with impunity it doesn't care i mean there's several united nations security council resolutions against israel israel just simply does not care uh biden recently he whilst to some somewhat criticizing israel's behavior he wasn't shy to remark that the actions however were not um [7:42] out of proportion and although other countries have condemned israel but israel for the most part just does not care and there's nothing that they can physically do to stop them or it's not in their interest either way they're not really going to physically stop the atrocities at most they will just simply request so yes global a global outcry is necessary but in all honesty it doesn't is it effective is the question so it is necessary that it must [8:22] be done as opposed to just being silent and and this outcry is by governments it's by positions of power and people for the most part as well can create an awareness people can boycott economically israeli products or israeli bran amongst other forms of boycott on a side note it is incredibly important not to one try to guilt-trip other muslims for the most part we have to understand [9:01] just on a tangent here that most muslim muslim circles so let's say a person is on social media they have i don't know let's say 500 friends or 300 friends most of these people one does not really engage with so sociologically they say a person's circle may expand up to 150 known people that they have some contact with you may create an awareness you may create posts you may highlight um the struggle for the most part everybody that is in your circle [9:40] already is away and and that's you know for that that's mostly accurate every single person that is in your circle is aware because most muslim circles are um they're ethnic insular and they're kind of micro chambers echo chambers and everybody within those echo chambers knows what's going on so it's not an issue of this the the the gaza crisis is not a result of a lack of awareness it is not that that that said [10:19] it does not mean that people can't continue to do so they can and they should however not to guilt-trip others who are not doing it because in all honesty this uh awareness that is being made on instagram by somebody sharing a post or somebody putting up a video of um just bloodshed and which in and of itself is problematic as well because it leads to desensitization of the sanctity of blood and of massacres but still people doing this in all honesty makes zero difference to the actual crisis [10:59] israel is not going to stop because you posted something on instagram i mean for god's sake they don't stop even though the united nations security council has passed resolutions against them at the highest degree at the highest degree internationally they still refuse to stop and continue the atrocities with such impunity in front of the entire globe so an instagram post in all honesty is is nothing now that's a hard hitting truth but it is the truth but you can do it and that's wonderful in your own right but it's not [11:35] to give you a holier than thou approach into condemning others in feeling that they have not done something holding protests is another form of action that once again you can do that it creates its sensationalism for the media it demonstrates an outcry it places a certain amount of pressure on politicians who will write and present something to the house of parliament and they will try to build up some pressure on the prime minister but in all honesty although that is important to do the time frame that that takes in lobbying such ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment uMKu_OCFTes/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/umku_ocftes/s/2/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.