Palestinian Arab peace activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the founder and executive director of the Project Unified Assistance nonprofit organization and a former resident of Gaza, has spoken out against the antisemitic protests that swept the US in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Alkhatib spoke with i24NEWS about life in Gaza and his experiences and journey to becoming an opponent of antisemitism. He stated that the thing most Israelis do not understand about Gaza is that "most people in Gaza are not sitting there and thinking, 'How do we kill Jews and Israelis?' Most Gazans are really caught up in the difficulties of day-to-day life." Alkhatib left Gaza in 2005 and moved to the US. His criticism of the recent actions of the campus anti-Israel movement has itself led to criticism of him and accusation of "treason" against him. Related articles: Columbia bows to Trump, agrees to sweeping campus reforms Backing Mahmoud Khalil 'not a great issue' for Democrats Georgetown U. researcher detained for spreading Hamas propaganda Federal judge transfers case of Columbia activist to New Jersey According to him, this anti-Israel movement on college campuses has "worsened the dehumanization of the Palestinian people through normalizing Hamas, normalizing hostage-taking. They suppress voices like mine. They don't want to hear someone like me. They think I'm the devil, I'm a normalizer, I'm a Zionist - just for talking to you right now." "This isn't about Palestine. This is about channeling their ideology, channeling their fantasies," he said. "Some of these campus protestors, the 'pro-Palestine' protestors, came and attempted to disrupt me. They wore masks and they were yelling and screaming and saying 'Ahmed, you're a traitor' and [that] I'm a Zionist and I'm a spy." "There's no space for someone who is very pro-Palestine, has had skin in the game, literally with battle scars, something that I carry with me daily," in this movement if he does not agree with their extreme views. Alkhatib said that he wants to convey to the Israeli people that things have changed in Gaza and that "the people in Gaza have begun to turn away from Hamas en masse." "I'm not asking you to love the people of Gaza, but I'm asking you to have a little empathy and a little heart for the hardships that they experienced," he said while addressing Israelis.
