 Palestine or stand for Palestine. So we're going to read the book so we can learn about what is happening in Palestine, okay? So this book is called Zayn and Mina Stand for Palestine. It's written by Iman Kurtam and it's illustrated by Sophia Suleiman. Alright, so I'm going to start. What should I say before I start? Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Alright, Mima and Zayn came back from school. They were tired and glad to be home. Mama had prepared their favorite food. Spaghetti and meatballs and blueberry scones happily. Mima joined in excitedly that something wasn't right. Mama seemed distracted and the phone didn't leave her sight. Mima was concerned. She asked if Mama was okay. Mama replied sadly, awful things happened in Palestine today. As they were talking about the news, they heard a strange sound. There were lots of people outside and their chants were quite loud. The kids couldn't tell what they were saying. But as the crowd marched near, they started to hear the words and their voice became clear. Now you see, Masha Allah. Kids, let's join them. Mama said, I'm so tired instead that in Palestine, people are losing their homes. They will have, in that picture, do you guys see the picture? I'm sorry, I can't hear, there's so many kids. Go ahead, what's your question? You know, when the Sultana had to kill him, so they killed him and then 80 years ago, he probably died and that's when they took Palestine, they've been bombing it for weeks. They like sent 20 trucks a day and 100 trucks a day. Yeah, there's a lot that they've been doing. And they use ice cream trucks to bury dead babies. Yes. Yeah, we're gonna ask questions at the very end, okay? Alright, inshallah. We have Mama cried. I'll tell you the details when we get back. Now we have to join the march, so leave your lunch and grab a snack. Mama Zayn and Mima rushed out the door and started marching with the crowd. Zayn and Mima felt unsure, but Mama started chanting out loud. The people united will never be defeated. End apartheid free Palestine, resist and return. Zayn noticed that they were all types of people. Old, young men and women. They were speaking many languages and had different shades of skin. There were women wearing hijab and women with long hair, hair dark and curly, while others had it straight and fair. There were people wearing t-shirts with writing and a cool design. Zayn read the words they said, just another Jew standing for Palestine. That means people of different religions were standing and saying, let's help the Palestinian people. So different. But do you know what was interesting? They were holding the same flag and together they were chanting free, free Palestine. They finally went home after walking for hours. Thank you. Yes. They were sweaty from the march and definitely needed showers. Thank you. I'm good for now. I'm good for now. Thank you. Zayn asked Mama, why are people losing their homes in Palestine? Mama sighed and said loudly, it's a long story filled with crime. So what's going on in Palestine? It sounds like Zayn and Mima are very confused and they want to know what's happening. We're going to have all the questions at the very end, okay? Well, we're going to hear it right now, inshallah. Jews, Muslims and Christians lived in harmony side by side. They practiced different religions and they were fair and kind. That was not the case in the continent of Europe. Jewish people had to face daily harm and pain. Then a man named Theodore Herzl said, this injustice cannot remain. But he came up with an unfair plan. Zionism was its name. That's Theodore Herzl. This was his idea of Zionism. Zionism is the belief that there should be a land only for Jews. Herzl tried to protect his people, but he ignored others' thoughts and views. He decided that Palestine would be the perfect place to make Israel the Jewish only state and that the people already living there could simply be displaced. That means kicked out of their homes. He wanted to kick out everyone who was not a Zionist and take Palestinian land pretending Palestinians do not exist. Over the years, some European Jews began to move to Palestine and Zionism grew. Then came an evil leader. Adolf Hitler was his name. He hurt many people because they were different and not all the same. Including Jews from Europe, he caused them a lot of pain. Nations made Zionism thrive. It forced many Jews to flee for their lives. Some became Zionists and went to Palestine. When the Zionists arrived, they worked hard to create Israel, the unjust Jewish only state. The Palestinians didn't want the Jews to face any harm, but Zionists were taking their land and so that caused them alarm. Until this day, Zionists are stealing people's homes and Palestine shrinks while Israel grows. So on the map it shows what was once Palestine and what's now Palestine. All the little yellow. It's getting smaller and smaller and smaller exactly because their land keeps getting taken away. The Palestinians defend themselves with everything they own and stand bravely to protect their families and homes. But Israel has the best weapons, the best food and the best water. It destroys everything in Palestine with its army and its power. Israeli soldiers stopped Palestinians from walking freely in their own grounds. They build walls and barriers blocking them from moving around. These walls separate Palestinians from their family and friends, making it impossible for them to meet on weekends, days or even weekends. You know when I visited Palestine and you see the wall, it's 30 feet tall and when you walk around it feels like you're in a prison. It's not a nice feeling at all. The sad thing is the cruelty is being repeated by Zionists treating Palestinians the same unfair way that they were treated. Should we ever treat someone badly because we were treated badly? No. If someone's treating us badly, we learn and we do better, right? We treat them better. That's why these people stood up shouting today. Free, free Palestine. They want Zionism to go away. They want Jews, Muslims and Christians living together side by side. Equality is their mission and a free Palestine is their pride. Free, free Palestine. Zayn and Mima listened to the story carefully. They were quiet and sad. Why can't everyone be treated equally? They just didn't understand. What can we do to support them? Asked Mima. Mama said, we will do everything in our hands. We march and we shout and we make our demands. Telling the whole world to stop Zionists from stealing Palestinian land. We must also make sure to use our money with care and never spend it on anything that helps Israel stay unfair. So before we buy anything, we must check a movement called BDS. It gives us an important list of the companies that support Zionists. So we should put our money towards good things like Muslim businesses. It was time to go to sleep. Zayn and Mima crawled into bed, but they were thinking about the Palestinians without a roof over their head. The next day Zayn and Mima got prepared. They painted a flag and made a sign. You see their sign? What's it say? They were brave and had no fear. They were ready to stand. Masha Allah. That was a nice book. Sister Iman Kurtam.