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Gaza: To Exist is to Resist

posted on: Jul 1, 2016

BY: Tamara Wong Azaiez/ Contributing Writer

Speaking to the First Unitarian Church in Des Moines, Iowa, Maria Fillippone recalled her travels to Gaza, where she saw for herself what the living conditions were like there. In this sermon, Fillippone describes her experience in Gaza as a time of catastrophe, a time of celebration, and time of remembrance. As a person not directly affected by the Palestine-Israel conflict, she explained that it was probably much harder for those on the opposing ends: the fighters, “for Palestinians, to exist is to resist.” Her talk is a discussion of massacre, mutilation, and determination. At times, it is difficult to watch, but is an important recollection of an outsider’s perspective. These are the stories needed to effect change in U.S. policy toward the conflict, which has been horribly shaping the lives of Palestinians for far too long.