How to Help Palestinian Civilians (from IGN)

Update, 8/25/2021: IGN reposted the post!!! Here’s part of the new addendum:

An IGN employee council, with the advice of a third-party ombudsman, and leadership are in agreement that the post required adjustments to be more culturally conscientious of our staff’s and our audience’s potential reading. We regret the error in publishing without those adjustments, and recognize that our processes failed us. We are also in agreement that instead of taking down the post we should have updated the post.

The editorial team at IGN also values candid transparency with our audience as an important tenet of journalism, affirming trust and authenticity with our community. To that end, with advice from the ombudsman, we’ve published our newly formalized, more rigorously structured policies regarding takedowns and corrections to published posts. We also have more formal processes in place to ensure that the EIC and a wide group of senior editorial leads are involved in both the editing process for sensitive topics as well as any necessary post-publish adjustments and statements.

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On May 14, mainstream video game news outlet IGN did something no other major western media outlet had yet done: voiced its support for Palestine and posted a blog entry with links to donate to charities and humanitarian organizations providing direct on-the-ground support to Palestinians effected by Israel’s latest military actions in Gaza. The post was taken down a day later, presumably by IGN corporate, and replaced by dribbling pablum that lamented the destruction on “both sides” and committed $25,000 to… Save the Children. Needless to say, this cowardly move does not reflect at all on the editorial team, and in solidarity with them (and in the spirit of wishing to provide a resource for people to lend mutual aid to Palestine), I am mirroring the IGN staff’s original statement, which you can find below.

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Palestinian civilians are currently suffering in great numbers in Jerusalem, Gaza, and West Bank, due to Israeli forces. The NYTimes reported that most of the deaths so far have occurred in Gaza. We want to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Palestine because, while there has been fighting in the region for decades, recent escalations have seen a catastrophic loss of Palestinian lives. Below are charities and organizations on the ground in those areas where you can donate funds to help those most in need. We will continue to update this article with other ways you can help.

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund:

PCRF has been providing humanitarian assistance to injured and sick children in Gaza for 30 years. Their efforts include sending children abroad to receive appropriate medical care, providing food and medicine, sponsoring orphans and disabled youth, and building the only pediatric cancer center in Gaza.

https://www.pcrf.net/

Anera:

A non-profit organization, Anera works on the ground with partners in Palestine (specifically West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon, and Jordan, offering resources for both emergency relief and long-term needs in the areas of health, education, and economic development.

https://www.anera.org/

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

The UNRWA has provided food assistance for over 1 million Palestinians, and continue to do so in the territories with heavy destruction. They also provide emergency mental and physical health protection for those in the region.https://www.unrwa.org/gaza-emergency

Medical Aid for Palestinians

MAP provides medical and healthcare to Palestinians in need, specifically women and children. The assistance includes emergency relief, psychosocial support, help with disabilities, among other medical needs.https://www.map.org.uk/

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders has medical teams on the ground in Jerusalem and has been treating Palestinians who have been injured by Israeli police. They are also on the Gaza Strip assisting with medical needs as the conflict in that region escalates.

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

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For further reading on the region: Check out this timeline of the conflict, why this seems to keep happening without resolution, some background on the current fighting, and a helpful feed of live updates. We hope you’ll join us in helping civilians in need in these Middle East regions by donating to the above organizations and causes.