Since the start of the Gaza genocide, a lot of us have been exposed to the ongoing violence and destruction within Gaza through everything from social media to the news. It is also important to take this time to educate ourselves about Palestine and its history. For those who crave to learn without having to read books or watch documentaries, many Arab influencers have taken it upon themselves to create unique and educational content about Gaza that will leave you with fresh new knowledge about the nation. Let’s meet the 5 Arab influencers offering something different about Palestine.
Nasser Al-Rayess (@naw_sir)
Known to many as the “Shawarma King”, Syrian-American Nasser Al-Rayess is known to bring a taste of Arab culture and humor to the west. He is known to be unapologetically proud of being Arab and pushes to showcase the best aspects of the culture through his unique videos. His most popular content are his shawarma reviews where he’d hit up places that make shawarma in the US and unashamedly roast them for not being authentic.
With ongoings in Gaza, he is yet again tapping into his unique humor to shed critical light on the current genocide. In his videos, he taps into his humorous critical side like his video on boycotting Starbucks where he says, “I have a new red flag for you, if the person you are talking to says let’s get Starbucks, you say ‘habibi’, we don’t drink Starbucks, we drink coffee from Palestinian owned places like Philz coffee.” That kind of video is very informative because it tells Western viewers of Palestinian alternatives as a way to boycott Israel. A lot of videos are made in a very similar style.
Omar Araby (@omarscooking)
Known as a home cook, not a chef, Omar Araby is a content creator all about whipping heavy and rich recipes from both the Arab world and abroad. Whether it’s a steaming hot pan of bechamel zucchini or a fluffy and filling beef phyllo pie, he knows how to bring comfort to all his dishes. Today, his channel is taking a new direction with the current ongoings in Gaza as now he is creating content all about Palestinian dishes but filming them with a creative twist.
His most recent addition is a hummus recipe where as he filmed himself making the recipe, he linked each step to a tragedy happening in Gaza. Like for example, when he spoke about soaking hummus in water, he linked it to Gaza by saying how unfortunately Gazans are cut off from water and power. Throughout the video, using this storytelling style, you get to learn how to make hummus while learning about the current state of Gaza.
Farah El Kordy (@farahelkordy_)
With a fiery energy, Farah El Kordy gives us all the latest news through her snappy, short and information packed videos. She talks about both local and global news whether how Travis Scott’s concert got canceled in Egypt or how Barbie surpassed Harry Potter in the box office. Knowing all that is happening in Palestine, she shifted gears and began focusing on Gaza and all the latest news on its ongoing tragedies.
She finds the stories that no one is talking about like how there is an Israeli hotel chain that is bankrupt and asking for donations. Along with that, she also spoke about the controversy of Shein and not knowing if it is with Palestine or Israel. By watching her videos, you’ll get a fresh take on the current Gaza genocide.
Hamzah (@absorberyt)
Bringing something completely different to the table is Hamzah, a Palestinian content creator who prior to the Gaza genocide had a relatively simple online presence until he began posting live-streamed video chats with Israeli citizens. These videos show how much Israeli citizens hate Gaza and have barely any accurate information about the country.
In the videos, when Hamzah tells them that he is Palestinian, the Israeli citizens immediately say that they hate Palestinians and wish them all to be dead. This is a very common response from Israeli citizens and it is truly disheartening. Hamzah tries to make light of the situation by adding nuggets of humor into his videos through funny sound bites or sound effects to showcase how ludicrous the Israeli perspective is.
Watching any of these influencers will offer you a new perspective on Palestine as well as new information that will help keep you informed on the ongoings of the genocide.