Susan Abulhawa: Why Gaza Demands Rage, Resistance & Accountability
In this searing episode of Out Loud with Ahmed Eldin, I sit with Palestinian novelist, poet, and activist Susan Abulhawa—bestselling author of Mornings in Jenin and Love in the Time of Genocide. Susan speaks with brutal clarity, refusing half-truths to confront the genocide in Gaza, the complicity of global powers, and the power of righteous rage. This isn’t just a conversation—it’s a reckoning.“I absolutely reject the policing of my speech when we’re being exterminated. I don’t give a shit about anybody’s feelings,” Susan declares, dismantling the myth of decorum while children are “shredded” and “burned alive.” She insists anger is no sin: “The thing that oppressors fear the most is the anger of the masses... It is a fuel.” Her words demand we channel rage into resistance, not silence.Gaza, Susan argues, is a hinge of history—a testing ground for a new model of AI-driven colonialism. “They’re developing a model wherein they will do the unthinkable,” she warns, exposing how Western elites normalize horrors to disempower us. From the Balfour Declaration to the Iraq War, she traces Zionism’s grip on global policy, noting, “The United States is totally subservient to Israel—they have hijacked our sovereignty.” Even Arab regimes’ growing trade with Israel wounds the collective soul.Yet Gaza’s defiance inspires: “Against all odds, two years on, over 85,000 tons of bombs, starvation—and they’re still fighting.” Susan celebrates Palestine Action’s UK activists, risking jail to shut down arms factories: “They are willing to pay the price... If more people do that, they can’t put us all in prison.” She rejects non-violence as a 75-year failure, demanding, “We want our homeland back... the full menu of human dignity.”This conversation isn’t easy—it’s meant to wake you. Susan exposes Zionism’s fragility, like uprooted trees collapsing in Tel Aviv, as Churchill noted: “If you don’t have roots, things will fall down.” Her call to escalate—through boycotts, protests, storytelling—reminds us: “Liberation comes from standing for the most defenseless.” She also teases her children’s book Palestine on the Moon (pre-order on her site) and a 2027 novel.⏱️ Timestamps0:00 – Intro2:05 – Why Susan went to Gaza6:15 – Gaza as the future of humanity10:42 – The psychology of helplessness & control16:30 – Why rage is a responsibility22:45 – Refusing euphemisms: naming genocide28:10 – Roots vs. “death technology”34:40 – Resistance and the right to fight back42:12 – Betrayal and Arab complicity48:25 – What sustains hope in Gaza53:50 – Channeling rage into responsibility1:00:20 – Susan’s upcoming books & Gaza anthology1:05:00 – Closing reflectionsSusan’s words burn: silence is complicity, anger is duty, hope is discipline. If this moves you, don’t stop here. Act: read untaught histories, join boycott campaigns, support legal funds, make art, show up in numbers. Share this episode, follow Susan on X, pre-order Palestine on the Moon, and donate to credible Gaza aid groups. Rage without action is despair. Rage with action is the seed of liberation.#gaza #israel #gazagenocide #palestine #palestinesolidarity #outloud #ahmedeldin #podcastUntil next time, stay loud.
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