INTRO/ABOUT
For those who don't know me, my name is Lindsay White, and I curated this zine to accompany my recent performance at the 2025 Mission Federal ArtWalk in Little Italy on Sunday, April 27. As I go through life as a busy working mother and artist who struggles with chronic mental/physical health issues, I am constantly trying to find ways within my limited time, resources, and capacity to turn the attention of my community toward the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
I'm not here today to convince you that Israel's actions are wrong and indefensible and are supported by the U.S. government, which means paid for by you and me. Below is a list of some of the things keeping me up at night.
Destruction of Healthcare & First Responders
Destruction of Housing/Infrastructure
Destruction of Education Destruction of Environment
Forced/Massed Displacement, Killing/Violence against Displaced People
Destruction of Food, Forced Starvation
Mass Disabling
Destruction of Children/Families
Traumatizing of Children
Sexual Assault/Gender Based/Reproductive Violence
Ruthless Violence
Targeting of Media
Ignoring International Outcry/Taking No Accountability
U.S. Complicity/Breech of Rights
I know a lot of folks, in effort to preserve their mental health, choose to look away from these things. I think in order to preserve our collective mental health, we need to be bearing witness because that is the only thing that will lead people to take action and refuse such harm to befall their fellow humans. Bearing witness has definitely taken a toll on my mental health, but more so because of the isolation I feel from those around me not seeming to be willing to do so for the greater human good. Some of my closest friends and family can't seem to be bothered, and that is almost harder for my brain to process than having to see gruesome and graphic images on my phone screen. I don't know what it will take to make this stop. I hope it is basic human empathy and sacrificing whatever is takes to make sure we protect each other.
What I am here to do with this project is carry on the work and stories of some of the innocent people who have been lost to this inhumane violence. Normally when I perform, I have a listening room audience at my disposal, but this wasn't really that kind of show. It was more about playing some background music while people enjoyed browsing art from the artists in their community. I thought about the simple things we get to enjoy here in the states, and compared it to the suffering taking place in Gaza. I thought about the Palestinian artists who died senselessly as a result of Israel's relentless hate/lust for land, the U.S.'s own hate/lust, and how we regular people get stuck footing the bill for it. Working Americans, with our tax dollars, when we can barely afford basic cost of living ourselves . Palestinians, with their lives.
I initially thought of a few ideas to bring some Gazan artists to ArtWalk, but given my very limited time and resources, I eventually settled on this zine. I started researching artists who had been murdered or unable to leave Gaza over the last couple years and learned about their work, their families, their hopes and dreams. It was incredibly sad as I dug deeper and observed just how much creative spirit and humanity rippled forth from their lives, how much of that was robbed from their communities, their families, and our collective good in general when their lives were taken.
In the last month, I have seen more dead and dismembered bodies than is healthy for a human mind to process. I understand why people turn away, but I have tried to continue to bear witness to not lose my connection to the lives who have been robbed and to my own humanity. I must admit that observing body after body after body of stranger after stranger after stranger has a numbing effect. If you find that happening to you in bearing witness to the oppressed people of the world, I encourage you to take on a project like this and learn about some of the individuals who should still be here today. Let their stories and their deaths remind you what humanity feels like; what grief feels like, and use that ache in your heart to continue to fuel your resistance against State Sponsored terrorism.
It is not antisemitic or un-American to criticize the role our government plays with your tax dollars in the ongoing slaughter, starvation, disabling, and displacement of innocent people. Choosing to remain silent is choosing to be complicit in war crimes. Shrugging and calling it “too complex” is not an excuse. These are humans, each with a story, each with hopes and dreams, families, talents, and a right to live with dignity and freedom. It’s time to unlearn the false narrative that Palestinians and other oppressed/occupied people do not deserve our attention and education.
It’s time to protect the children.
It’s time to value the artists.
It’s time to show up for each other.
We’re not free til everyone is free.
I'm not here today to convince you that Israel's actions are wrong and indefensible and are supported by the U.S. government, which means paid for by you and me. Below is a list of some of the things keeping me up at night.
Destruction of Healthcare & First Responders
- systematic slaughtering of crucial healthcare personnel
- babies left to die in ICUs after hospital workers were forced to evacuate
- babies dying in ICUs after hospital could not supply electricity/care for them due to collapsed healthcare
- pregnant people giving birth without adequate care, treatment, nutrition, hydration, etc.
- Ambush and slaughter of 15 medics & emergency responders (contributing to the over 100 Civil Defense workers and more than 1,000 health workers they have killed so far according to the U.N.)
Destruction of Housing/Infrastructure
Destruction of Education Destruction of Environment
Forced/Massed Displacement, Killing/Violence against Displaced People
- Rafah erased
- forced displacement
- babies burned alive in tents
- babies freezing to death in tents
- beheaded baby (Rafah tent massacre)
Destruction of Food, Forced Starvation
- food/supplies being purposely withheld
- food/hunger used as bait to massacre hungry Palestinians
- humanitarian/food workers, US citizens, targeted and killed
- forced starvation
- babies starving
- children starving
Mass Disabling
- dangers for people with disabilities
- highest number of amputees per capita anywhere in the world
- majority of amputations performed without adequate access to proper treatment/services
Destruction of Children/Families
- a child massacred in a car full of her dead family members by the IOF who also massacred the first responders on their way to rescue her (Hind Rajab)
- children who survived bombings targeted intentionally by drones and quadcopters
- children incinerated, shredded, bombed, sniped, targeted
- children dismembered
- infant pulled from rubble
- child pulled from rubble out of dead mother's embrace
- child rescued from rubble after 9 days
- children's dismembered bodies collected in bags
- children's body parts being found in the streets by strangers
- more innocent children lost
- largest orphan crisis in modern history
- woman rescued after 5 days under rubble
Traumatizing of Children
- children giving press conferences, begging not to be killed
- children traumatized by bombs
- more children traumatized by bombs
- children collecting and carrying their dead relative's scattered remains in a garbage bag
- children being literally scared to death
- almost all children fear death, almost half want to die
Sexual Assault/Gender Based/Reproductive Violence
- IOF assault against women and teens in detention centers and checkpoints
- sexual abuse of detainees
- systematic sexual violence report
- inhumane treatment, humiliation, stripping of clothing, etc.
- recording this dehumanization as if it is something to be happy about
- entire family bloodlines being wiped off the face of the earth
Ruthless Violence
Targeting of Media
Ignoring International Outcry/Taking No Accountability
U.S. Complicity/Breech of Rights
- protesters getting expelled, arrested, abducted, expelled, etc. for criticizing their universities' role in funding corporations contributing to the massacre of Palestinians
- a Congress full of applauding goons for a Netanyahu speech
- a country full of liberals that will clutch their pearls for every abhorrent thing Trump does EXCEPT his promise to continue Biden's plan to support Israel every step of the way
I know a lot of folks, in effort to preserve their mental health, choose to look away from these things. I think in order to preserve our collective mental health, we need to be bearing witness because that is the only thing that will lead people to take action and refuse such harm to befall their fellow humans. Bearing witness has definitely taken a toll on my mental health, but more so because of the isolation I feel from those around me not seeming to be willing to do so for the greater human good. Some of my closest friends and family can't seem to be bothered, and that is almost harder for my brain to process than having to see gruesome and graphic images on my phone screen. I don't know what it will take to make this stop. I hope it is basic human empathy and sacrificing whatever is takes to make sure we protect each other.
What I am here to do with this project is carry on the work and stories of some of the innocent people who have been lost to this inhumane violence. Normally when I perform, I have a listening room audience at my disposal, but this wasn't really that kind of show. It was more about playing some background music while people enjoyed browsing art from the artists in their community. I thought about the simple things we get to enjoy here in the states, and compared it to the suffering taking place in Gaza. I thought about the Palestinian artists who died senselessly as a result of Israel's relentless hate/lust for land, the U.S.'s own hate/lust, and how we regular people get stuck footing the bill for it. Working Americans, with our tax dollars, when we can barely afford basic cost of living ourselves . Palestinians, with their lives.
I initially thought of a few ideas to bring some Gazan artists to ArtWalk, but given my very limited time and resources, I eventually settled on this zine. I started researching artists who had been murdered or unable to leave Gaza over the last couple years and learned about their work, their families, their hopes and dreams. It was incredibly sad as I dug deeper and observed just how much creative spirit and humanity rippled forth from their lives, how much of that was robbed from their communities, their families, and our collective good in general when their lives were taken.
In the last month, I have seen more dead and dismembered bodies than is healthy for a human mind to process. I understand why people turn away, but I have tried to continue to bear witness to not lose my connection to the lives who have been robbed and to my own humanity. I must admit that observing body after body after body of stranger after stranger after stranger has a numbing effect. If you find that happening to you in bearing witness to the oppressed people of the world, I encourage you to take on a project like this and learn about some of the individuals who should still be here today. Let their stories and their deaths remind you what humanity feels like; what grief feels like, and use that ache in your heart to continue to fuel your resistance against State Sponsored terrorism.
It is not antisemitic or un-American to criticize the role our government plays with your tax dollars in the ongoing slaughter, starvation, disabling, and displacement of innocent people. Choosing to remain silent is choosing to be complicit in war crimes. Shrugging and calling it “too complex” is not an excuse. These are humans, each with a story, each with hopes and dreams, families, talents, and a right to live with dignity and freedom. It’s time to unlearn the false narrative that Palestinians and other oppressed/occupied people do not deserve our attention and education.
It’s time to protect the children.
It’s time to value the artists.
It’s time to show up for each other.
We’re not free til everyone is free.
SOURCES
Note: I did not write these descriptions, only excerpted them from other articles and edited them for length to fit the zine. All sourced articles and artist social media accounts are listed below.
The Middle East Eye - Heba Zagout
The Art Newspaper - The Missiles Will Not Erase His Mark on our Hearts
The Art Newspaper - Mahasen Al Khateeb
The Art Newspaper - Fathi Ghaben
Palestinian Chronicle - Fathi Ghaben
The Guardian - Painter, Poet, Novelist
TRTWorld - Israeli Bombardment in Gaza has Killed Artists Too
The Guardian - Fatima Houssouna
Tamer Institute - Ghazi Abu Ramadan
Tamer Institute - A Human Story
Toronto Palestine Film Fest
Watson Institute for Int’l & Public Affairs
Heba Zagout
Dorgham Quraiqi
HOPE Artistic Transformation for Children in Conflict
Mahasen al-Khateeb
Fathi Ghaben
Mohammed Sami Qariqa
Abdalhadi Alijla (X post)
Fatma Hassouna
The Middle East Eye - Heba Zagout
The Art Newspaper - The Missiles Will Not Erase His Mark on our Hearts
The Art Newspaper - Mahasen Al Khateeb
The Art Newspaper - Fathi Ghaben
Palestinian Chronicle - Fathi Ghaben
The Guardian - Painter, Poet, Novelist
TRTWorld - Israeli Bombardment in Gaza has Killed Artists Too
The Guardian - Fatima Houssouna
Tamer Institute - Ghazi Abu Ramadan
Tamer Institute - A Human Story
Toronto Palestine Film Fest
Watson Institute for Int’l & Public Affairs
Heba Zagout
Dorgham Quraiqi
HOPE Artistic Transformation for Children in Conflict
Mahasen al-Khateeb
Fathi Ghaben
Mohammed Sami Qariqa
Abdalhadi Alijla (X post)
Fatma Hassouna
ACTIONS
Want to Print/Share/Distribute This Zine?
Download Bodies of Work (last revised May 1 2025)
(I used Staples Document/Booklet printing; full color copies were a little over $5/each)
Other Ways to Help:
Donate to Tamer Institute for Community Education
Donate to Hope & Play
Donate to HOPE Artistic Transformation for Children in Conflict
Donate to PCRF
Donate to Palestine Red Crescent Society
Make art! Speak up! Use your voice/platform!
Boycot! Divest!
Ways to Not Help:
Sending me hate comments and condescending messages about Hamas, the hostages, etc. is not helpful. I am focused on resisting the ways my government is using my tax dollars to support Israel's genocide and collective punishment of Palestinians, specifically its children. I am also focused on resisting my government's blatant disregard of free speech, right to protest, assemble peacefully, etc. Liberation and freedom for all ultimately makes the world a safer place for all.
Here are a few other sources/channels/folks I've found educational, informative, humanizing, radicalizing, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, just some I've been tapping into lately.
Book
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
The Message
Genocide Bad
Film/TV
The Encampments
Mo
Media Accounts
Bisan Owda
Jenan Matari
Eye On Palestine
Motaz Azaiza
Code Pink Alert
Wear the Peace
Okay, on with the zine...
Download Bodies of Work (last revised May 1 2025)
(I used Staples Document/Booklet printing; full color copies were a little over $5/each)
Other Ways to Help:
Donate to Tamer Institute for Community Education
Donate to Hope & Play
Donate to HOPE Artistic Transformation for Children in Conflict
Donate to PCRF
Donate to Palestine Red Crescent Society
Make art! Speak up! Use your voice/platform!
Boycot! Divest!
Ways to Not Help:
Sending me hate comments and condescending messages about Hamas, the hostages, etc. is not helpful. I am focused on resisting the ways my government is using my tax dollars to support Israel's genocide and collective punishment of Palestinians, specifically its children. I am also focused on resisting my government's blatant disregard of free speech, right to protest, assemble peacefully, etc. Liberation and freedom for all ultimately makes the world a safer place for all.
Here are a few other sources/channels/folks I've found educational, informative, humanizing, radicalizing, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, just some I've been tapping into lately.
Book
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
The Message
Genocide Bad
Film/TV
The Encampments
Mo
Media Accounts
Bisan Owda
Jenan Matari
Eye On Palestine
Motaz Azaiza
Code Pink Alert
Wear the Peace
Okay, on with the zine...
Heba Zagout
Visual artist and fine arts educator with an international following, who dedicated her life to helping her kids and students cope with challenging life conditions. Zagout was killed March 2023 at age 39, with two of her four children in an Israeli airstrike of the home where she was staying. (Her work is also the featured splash photo of this web page) Heba Zagout Instagram
Visual artist and fine arts educator with an international following, who dedicated her life to helping her kids and students cope with challenging life conditions. Zagout was killed March 2023 at age 39, with two of her four children in an Israeli airstrike of the home where she was staying. (Her work is also the featured splash photo of this web page) Heba Zagout Instagram
Heba Zagout and two of her children
Heba Zagout artwork
Heba Zagout artwork
Heba Zagout artwork
Heba Zagout artwork
Dorgham Quraiqi
A self-taught, newly-married 28 year old artist who worked for a charity called Hope & Play. He was nicknamed “Van Gogh’s grandson” for his love and inspiration of the great artist. In addition to his creative work, he organized theatre, “Tent Cinema”, mobile pools, and other entertainment to help entertain and distract children of Gaza who have been traumatized from ongoing genocide, hunger, and displacement.
Dorgham, his wife, brother and relatives were killed March 18, 2025 as Israel launched intense surprise bombardments across Gaza, breaking a two-month ceasefire, killing 400+, mostly women and children. Dorgham Quraiqi Instagram
A self-taught, newly-married 28 year old artist who worked for a charity called Hope & Play. He was nicknamed “Van Gogh’s grandson” for his love and inspiration of the great artist. In addition to his creative work, he organized theatre, “Tent Cinema”, mobile pools, and other entertainment to help entertain and distract children of Gaza who have been traumatized from ongoing genocide, hunger, and displacement.
Dorgham, his wife, brother and relatives were killed March 18, 2025 as Israel launched intense surprise bombardments across Gaza, breaking a two-month ceasefire, killing 400+, mostly women and children. Dorgham Quraiqi Instagram
Dorgham facepainting for children and example of children's entertainment and mobile pools he brought to children of Gaza
Dorgham Quiraiqi artwork
Mahasen al-Khateeb
Mahasen was a self-taught freelance artist in her early 30s, who specialized in illustration and character design. In an interview, she was once quoted as saying, “Always pray for me, and do not forget me. I don't want to be just another number on the news ticker. I am a story.”
Mahasen’s last artwork, depicted 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou, who was burned to death during the Israeli bombing of al-Aqsa Hospital on October 14, 2024. Days later, Mahasen was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted her neighborhood in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza. This was the last work she published on her social media account. Mahasen al-Khateeb Instagram
Mahasen was a self-taught freelance artist in her early 30s, who specialized in illustration and character design. In an interview, she was once quoted as saying, “Always pray for me, and do not forget me. I don't want to be just another number on the news ticker. I am a story.”
Mahasen’s last artwork, depicted 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou, who was burned to death during the Israeli bombing of al-Aqsa Hospital on October 14, 2024. Days later, Mahasen was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted her neighborhood in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza. This was the last work she published on her social media account. Mahasen al-Khateeb Instagram
Mahasen al-Khateeb
Mahasen al-Khateeb artwork
Mahasen al-Khateeb artwork
Fathi Ghaben
Born in 1947 in a village north of Gaza, Fathi and his family were among hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes during the Nakba (the 1948 mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians after the creation of the state of Israel.)
In a bold act of early resistance during the early 1980s, a period when Israel strictly prohibited the painting of the Palestinian flag or even the use of its colours, Ghaben defied these bans, portraying the Palestinian people's plight and their flag in his work.
Fathi grappled with chest and lung issues—exasperated by smoke from the recent bombardments—for which he was unable to find treatment in Gaza’s shattered healthcare system. Despite appeals from supporters and family, requests to leave for urgent medical treatment received no response; he died on February 25, 2024 in Gaza at age 77. Fathi Ghaben Facebook
Born in 1947 in a village north of Gaza, Fathi and his family were among hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes during the Nakba (the 1948 mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians after the creation of the state of Israel.)
In a bold act of early resistance during the early 1980s, a period when Israel strictly prohibited the painting of the Palestinian flag or even the use of its colours, Ghaben defied these bans, portraying the Palestinian people's plight and their flag in his work.
Fathi grappled with chest and lung issues—exasperated by smoke from the recent bombardments—for which he was unable to find treatment in Gaza’s shattered healthcare system. Despite appeals from supporters and family, requests to leave for urgent medical treatment received no response; he died on February 25, 2024 in Gaza at age 77. Fathi Ghaben Facebook
Fathi Ghaben
Fathi Ghaben artwork
Fathi Ghaben artwork
Mohammed Sami Qariqa
24-year old artist Mohammed was “the heart” of the Tamer Institution for Community Education’s studio. He was killed October 17, 2023 in the airstrike of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital along with hundreds of Palestinians sheltering there. Four hours prior to the massacre, he had gathered children together in a circle to try and help them express their fears. Mohammed Sami Qariqa Instagram
Note: Previous versions of the zine used the spelling Muhammed as it has been reported/spelled in various ways in different news sources. My apologies, I hope it is correct now!
24-year old artist Mohammed was “the heart” of the Tamer Institution for Community Education’s studio. He was killed October 17, 2023 in the airstrike of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital along with hundreds of Palestinians sheltering there. Four hours prior to the massacre, he had gathered children together in a circle to try and help them express their fears. Mohammed Sami Qariqa Instagram
Note: Previous versions of the zine used the spelling Muhammed as it has been reported/spelled in various ways in different news sources. My apologies, I hope it is correct now!
Mohammed Sami Qariqa photographed (L) and artwork (R)
Mohammed Sami Qariqa artwork
Fatma Hassouna
As a young photojournalist living in Gaza, Fatma (sometimes reported/spelled as Fatima) knew that death was always at her doorstep. As she spent the past 18 months of war documenting airstrikes, the demolition of her home, the endless displacement and the killing of 11 family members, all she demanded was that she not be allowed to go quietly.
“If I die, I want a loud death,” she wrote on social media. “I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place.”
On April 16, 2025, just days before her wedding, the 25-year-old was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in northern Gaza. Ten members of her family, including her pregnant sister, were also killed.
Fatma Hassouna Instagram
As a young photojournalist living in Gaza, Fatma (sometimes reported/spelled as Fatima) knew that death was always at her doorstep. As she spent the past 18 months of war documenting airstrikes, the demolition of her home, the endless displacement and the killing of 11 family members, all she demanded was that she not be allowed to go quietly.
“If I die, I want a loud death,” she wrote on social media. “I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place.”
On April 16, 2025, just days before her wedding, the 25-year-old was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in northern Gaza. Ten members of her family, including her pregnant sister, were also killed.
Fatma Hassouna Instagram
Fatma Hassouna
Fatma Hassouna photography
Ghazi Abu Ramadan
Ghazi, an 8 year old boy from Rafah, was displaced with his family in May 2024, as a result of the Israeli military escalation. As part of the “Here We Stay” arts program, Ghazi was part of an art activity where he drew sketch expressing his wish to return to his previous life, shopping at the supermarket as he did before the war. Unfortunately, Ghazi was not destined to paint his picture. He lost his life in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a tent adjacent to theirs in Mawasi Khan Yunis, before he could paint his painting. (FB/TamerInstitute)
Ghazi, an 8 year old boy from Rafah, was displaced with his family in May 2024, as a result of the Israeli military escalation. As part of the “Here We Stay” arts program, Ghazi was part of an art activity where he drew sketch expressing his wish to return to his previous life, shopping at the supermarket as he did before the war. Unfortunately, Ghazi was not destined to paint his picture. He lost his life in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a tent adjacent to theirs in Mawasi Khan Yunis, before he could paint his painting. (FB/TamerInstitute)
Unfinished Painting
