Time magazine has named Palestinian twins and activists, Muna and Muhammed El-Kurd of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The magazine said Muna and her twin brother Muhammed have become symbols of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation’s attempts to evict Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah.
BREAKING
Muna El-Kurd and Mohammed El-Kurd [@m7mdkurd] have been named by @TIME as two of The 100 Most Influential People of 2021! https://t.co/7kkbvwkvYh
— Palestine Deep Dive (@PDeepdive) September 15, 2021
“Through online posts and media appearances, sibling activists Muhammed and Muna El-Kurd provided the world with a window into living under occupation in East Jerusalem this spring—helping to prompt an international shift in rhetoric in regard to Israel and Palestine,” the magazine wrote.
“Charismatic and bold, they became the most recognizable voices of those threatened with losing their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.”
“For more than a decade, the El-Kurd family, along with dozens of their neighbors in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, has been fighting against the possibility of forced removal from their homes by Israeli settlers,” it added.
A statement by Mohammed El-Kurd after he and his sister were designated by Time Magazine as being among the 100 most influential personalities in the world. https://t.co/c0jlTE7RBZ
— J. Shawa جاسم الشوا (@shawajason) September 15, 2021
In response to the announcement, Muhammed El-Kurd wrote: “My sister and I’s selection as part of the ‘100 most influential people in the world’ may be a positive indicator of the centralization of the Palestinian cause in the global public sphere. However, the creation of symbols – which reduces the struggle of a whole people to a single face – is not enough.”
“What we are demanding is a tangible, radical change in the media system (including the Times) to end its Zionist bias.”
"The untold story of Sheikh Jarrah, of Jerusalem – in fact, of all of Palestin," Ramzy Baroud is at it again: Muna is Palestine, Yakub is Israel: The Untold Story of Sheikh Jarrah – https://t.co/JhsGfRkrM3 https://t.co/c5J8AH5wyp
— Nasser Rabbat (@nasserrabbat) May 15, 2021
The list also includes current US President Joe Biden, his predecessor Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who is of Palestinian origin, was also named.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
