Support Noura's Family in Their Fight for Survival

Hello community!

My name is Jen Rubinshteyn. I am an aspiring human rights attorney from New York City and am a first generation American descendant of Ashkenazi holocaust survivors. My family has been directly impacted by the violence of antisemitism and the evil that is genocide fueled by racism. For this reason, and simply because I am human, I am pleading that you please help my friend Noura.

Noura Al-Akkad is a 34 year old mother of four young children, Sandi, Basand, Mohammed, & Siraj. They are currently in their homeland of Gaza, Palestine fighting day in and day out to escape brutal murder while struggling to meet their basic survival needs, and this says nothing of the pain and discomfort they experience constantly.

Noura's children next to a tent they stayed in months ago.

Noura already had a campaign, but we had to start fresh because the original fundraiser barely accumulated any assistance for her and her family, as it was being very passively coordinated. Noura and her children have struggled very much in collecting enough funds to take care of their basic needs throughout the entirety of this genocide. They have experienced famine, infectious disease, constant displacement, beatings by the occupation forces, and so much trauma it is indescribable, but we will nonetheless try to tell their story.

Left to right: Sandi, Siraj, Mohammed, & Basand

Siraj & Mohammed with their pet bird

Before October 7, 2023 Noura and her family lived a beautiful, simple life. The kids went to school, they all enjoyed the comfort of their home, playing with each other and their pet parakeet, and eating nourishing meals together as a family. That all changed upon the start of this genocide, when life turned into something straight out of nightmares.

The Al-Akkad family home before .. and after the occupation bombed it

Suddenly, they lost everything but each other. Their beautiful home and all of the memories inside of it, all gone and turned to rubble. They were homeless with absolutely no safe place to turn to, as the sound of shelling and bombing surrounded them everywhere they went.

Now, Noura's children will grow up having seen and experienced the unthinkable. Now, Noura and her family move at the whim of the occupation forces, having to leave their already unmanageable living conditions (a makeshift tent surrounded by dirt, rubble, and exposed to the elements) .. to be displaced time and time again as the sounds of bombs and explosives go off in the background, if not directly nearby. Noura's children are naturally traumatized, as is she, and they can't take it anymore .. but they have no choice.

About 1.5 months ago, Noura's children developed an illness of the skin, whereby blisters and rashes formed all across their bodies. The children suffered as they continued to live in uninhabitable conditions without a consistent way to clean their wounds. They also struggled to access medical care, as facilities continue to be bombed, doctors continue to be murdered, and equipment continues to be blockaded from reaching them. They are since doing better, but are still in the later stages of the healing process. (Difficult photos of illness below)

Over one year later and the circumstances have only gotten worse. More and more people continue to be murdered day in and day out right before their eyes, the occupation has continued to block aid from entering Gaza, and when it does enter because of the scarcity of ANYTHING, basics are unimaginably expensive. They do not have incomes, they are just trying to survive a genocide, and they have to pay between 3-10 times what you or I would ever think of paying for things as simple as produce, water, soap, shoes, socks, coats, and plastic materials for repairing their makeshift shelters.

WHERE WILL YOUR DONATIONS GO?

As winter approaches, the weather is getting colder and colder. Their tents need to be regularly repaired to at least help a little bit with the temperature drop. The children need winter clothes so that they are not cold and filthy after weeks of wearing the same thing. The entire family is constantly rationing food, leaving them both cold AND hungry with no real alternative. Their immune and nervous systems are defeated. They all DEPEND on US to help them get their next meal, their next bottled water, medicine, socks, shoes, clothes .. all things that no human should have to beg for, especially a child. As Noura uses your donations, she will update me on their purchases (within reason) and I will share this with you all so that you can see the impact of your dollar.

And all of this is to say nothing of the slim possibility of escaping this nightmare. Though the occupation has blocked people from seeking safe passage into Egypt for a while now, when the rare opportunity arises the cost of exiting through the Rafah Gate ranges between $7,000 to $8,000 for adults, and $2,000 to $3,000 for children. This does not include the cost of travel expenses and the cost of basic survival need, which are both extremely expensive.

All money from this fundraiser will be going toward the survival of this family in the hopes that when this horrific chapter ends, they will all be alive and able to begin their journey to healing and trying to piece their lives back together. From my experience, the amount you will see on the fundraiser likely if not definitely will have already been spent by the time you see it. Spent on essentials needed for survival each and every day when you are forced to exist without real shelter, barely any food to go around, exposure to illness, and extreme exhaustion. The cost of simply surviving.

I ask that each time you visit this fundraiser and other similar fundraisers you humbly ask yourself if there is anything truly prohibiting you from sharing a portion of your fortune with this beautiful family .. who is suffering starvation, disease, and narrowly escaping death day after day. Friends, they truly depend on us to give them a chance at life. Even in the midst of a genocide, people need to pay to survive. Without our collective effort, they would have no access to food or water. Please friends, let us give what we can whenever we can. Let us share our abundance so that these beautiful children and their family have a chance at a future following this atrocity. Noura and her family share their prayers with me every day, because we are family now .. those heartfelt prayers will extend to you too. Thank you for your generosity, from the bottom of my / our hearts.

Please give what you can to allow this family another chance at life and ensure their safety. Palestinians are not numbers, they are human beings.