#Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair speaking about the fine he received for wearing eye black with the name of a Palestinian girl named Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces along with 6 members of her family after their car came under fire in Gaza City in 2024.
“Probably most of you guys didn’t know who she was and that’s the point.”
The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel. To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect. Everything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life.
This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle’s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary. The $111 billion deal would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros., backed in part by foreign money whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully explained to the public.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven’t given the public a real answer. Until they do, the merger shouldn’t move forward. Now is the time to dive boldly into all these issues, not step back or concede.
Just because you lobbied to have the man who issued the war crimes taken down doesn’t mean the war crimes disappear or your guilt is assuaged. You will not outrun justice. You will not lobby history. You are a murderous maniac Benjamin Netanyahu. You will always be remembered as such.
What happened to me in the West Bank was an outrage. But it is nothing compared to what Palestinians face every day.
It is time to share their stories that American politics have silenced and ignored. This is our first video about Palestinians we met.