This campaign is not just a protest; it is a living, breathing act of love and resistance. It is a collective, nonviolent hunger strike initiated by Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals in the West Bank, standing in solidarity with Gaza amid systemic starvation and genocide.
Who Are the Organizers?
Mai Shahin, a Palestinian from the West Bank, and David Ginati, who descends from an Israeli father and a German mother, co-founded the campaign under the banner of SATYAM, a center for unity and truth.
They began their indefinite hunger strike on June 16, 2025 from Beit Jala in the West Bank.
What Are Their Goals?
They demand the following urgent actions:
Entry of sufficient food, clean water, and medical aid into Gazaβtargeting around 2,297 tons of food to meet daily needs (~2,100 kcal per person).
A permanent ceasefire.
Independent assessment by international experts, particularly from OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and WHO, to evaluate Gazaβs humanitarian conditions.
How Are They Taking Action?
Their strike is embodied solidarityβrefusing to eat while Gaza starves, as an act of conscience and shared humanity.
They organize daily Zoom meetings, vigils, gatherings, and outreach, connecting via YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
The campaign also supports community resilience, such as providing clean water, trauma healing, and strengthening women-led resistance, promoting art, storytelling, and collective expression as tools of nonviolent resistance.
How Is the Movement Growing?
It has become a global movement, rooted in the West Bank and Gaza, but expanding internationally, including solidarity actions, stories, and media shared worldwide.
Updates show ongoing hunger strike milestones, such as:
Day 42 (July 27, 2025): Co-founders reached 42 days without food and hosted solidarity events in Jaffa with the Handala Freedom Flotilla.
Day 54: David Ginati was hospitalized in Berlin after seven weeks of hunger strike, indicating the intensity and personal cost of the protest.
Day 62 (around August 16, 2025): The strike continued amid growing physical weakness, yet maintaining a sharp spiritual and moral resolve.
Why Does It Matter?
The campaign strives not just to halt violence and starvation, but to restore dignity, justice, and shared humanity across deeply divided communities.
It transcends traditional protest by embodying nonviolent resistance through the body itselfβa spiritual and strategic act that insists: βTheir hunger is ours. Until Gaza eats, we wonβt.β