Carrying Refaat Alareer’s legacy, with Yousef Aljamal

Monday this week marked the birthday of Dr. Refaat Alareer, the educator, writer, poet, frequent contributor to The Electronic Intifada and a beloved friend and mentor to many. Refaat would have turned 45, but his life was cut short when Israel murdered him in a targeted airstrike in Gaza City on 6 December. Following his death, Refaat’s life and work became known to people all over the world, especially through his prescient poem, which opens with the words, “If I must die, you must live, to tell my story.” Those lines have become a call to action for many of us, particularly Refaat’s students who continue to try to survive this genocide in Gaza. We are proud that we publish their work at The Electronic Intifada every day. And perhaps no one has been more inspired to action by Refaat’s work than his former student, colleague and close friend, Yousef Aljamal. A prolific writer and analyst, Yousef is the Gaza Coordinator for the Palestine Activism Program at the American Friends Ser