#FreePalestine – a letter from our CEO

About one in every 100 people in Gaza have been killed in a genocide led by US-backed Israel – the occupying apartheid force present in the Palestinian territories.

In over 3 months, that equates to over 25,000 citizens of Gaza who have been murdered, the majority of which are women and children.

This death toll is by design. Gaza, one of the most heavily populated strips of land on Earth, is being constantly and indiscriminately bombarded by Israel with some of the most advanced and powerful weapons ever made, financed by the US government.

Let it be clear: any verified acts of aggression by Hamas which are counter to those defined by Islamic Jurisprudence during times of war, are to be utterly rejected. All civilian life – on both sides – is precious and of equal value.

Let it also be clear – this conflict began not on October 7th 2023, but over 75 years ago, in 1948 – termed the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) – when Zionist armed groups, who were trained by the British, forcibly expelled more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and so begun the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the new state of Israel.

Peaceful resistance by the Palestinian people has been met with brutality and murder by the IDF and occupying Israeli state. A state which has placed Gaza under blockade – controlling food, water, materials and medical supplies to the Palestinian people.

The Israeli state has a long record of imprisoning men, women and children; holding them captive without charge. Reports of prisoner brutality and degrading mistreatment by the IDF has been well documented.

At Muzz, we have been utterly horrified at the escalation in violence in the region, and the depressing statistics of the tens of thousands of Gazans murdered. For decades, Israel has been allowed to break international law on a repeated basis, with the UN seemingly unable to enforce their own conventions and rulings.

We urge the global community to stand by the side of the civilians of Palestine caught up in this brutal apartheid occupation.

The Palestinian people have always been close to our hearts. Muzz has raised over $300,000 to create two mobile clinics which have been under continued operation in the West Bank.

When this current conflict escalated – with your support and our charity partner Medical Aid for Palestinians–we raised $250,000 for medical supplies for the people of Gaza in an emergency appeal.

Thank you to all of you for your generosity.

You may be asking – what more can I do?

We urge you to vote with your wallets. Boycott those companies who support war crimes and brutal occupations such as those demonstrated by the right wing Israeli government.

Money talks. Boycotts work.

If you are a founder, we urge you to speak to your investors regarding the source and destination of their funds with regards to this conflict, and be sure you are comfortable with the answers you are given.

If you are in tech, we urge you to join and support Tech for Palestine, a collection of over 40 tech founders, engineers, marketers, community builders, and investors, working towards ending tech’s support for Israel’s war on the Palestinian people across Gaza and the West Bank, and working towards a free Palestine. I want to thank the efforts of Paul Biggar, whose actions have inspired this statement.

We urge you to stay informed – the information war is real. Misinformation is rife and is sadly a strategy in its own right.

Do your best to question what headlines or ‘news articles’ have been independently verified. Check reputable fact checking services. Far too much mainstream coverage consists of unsubstantiated claims supplied directly by the IDF.

We urge you to keep protesting, keep writing to your elected officials, keep donating, and keep praying for the people of Palestine and all those under oppression globally.

We pray that one day this conflict ends; that one day normality is restored to the region; that one day Muslims, Jews and Christians can equitably live in peace in those lands as they once did.

Shahzad Younas

Founder and CEO of Muzz