In a hurry, please CLICK HERE to donate!

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good evening!

It is Saturday evening, almost 6pm here in New Jersey, and I need us to push hard tonight.

Right now, 382 supporters have raised $46,001 to help us build a school for orphaned children in Gaza. That is real progress, and I am grateful for every single person who has given, shared, prayed, forwarded an email, or helped carry this campaign in any way.

But we are still behind the pace we need.

Our immediate goal is simple: we need to cross $50,000 tonight.

That means we need $3,999 more to reach the next milestone.

🏫 Donate now to help us cross $50,000 tonight

And I want to be honest with you. Crossing $50,000 matters, but what we really need is to push toward $60,000 as quickly as possible. That would mean raising $13,999 from where we are right now. If we are going to get the team on the ground in Gaza the funds they need next month to begin construction, we cannot afford slow days. We need momentum every single day.

This is not pressure for the sake of pressure. This is what the timeline requires.

Our team in Gaza knows what we are doing. They see the campaign moving. They believe we can raise the full $250,000. They are planning with hope now, and hope is not something I want us to give them halfway. If we start this, we need to finish it.

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, play safely, and sit in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by displacement, hunger, fear, grief, and the loss of family.

A school will not erase what they have endured, but it can give them structure again. It can give them a morning routine, a desk, a whiteboard, a teacher, a courtyard, play, counselling, stability, and adults who are invested in their future.

For children who have lost almost everything, that is not small.

That is mercy made practical.

🤲🏽 Give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation here

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It will include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, along with an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

The design matters because these children need more than a room with desks.

They need a place where they can learn and heal at the same time. The counsellor’s space matters because grief does not disappear just because a child gets quiet. The play area matters because children need movement, laughter, and relief. Solar support matters because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, and this school has to be designed for the reality on the ground.

This is a real plan for a real school for real children.

And tonight, we are close enough to the next milestone that nobody should look at this and feel helpless.

We need $3,999 to cross $50,000. That could be 4 people giving $1,000. It could be 8 people giving $500. It could be 40 people giving $100. It could be 80 people giving $50. It could be 400 people giving $10. Or it could be one person reading this who decides to carry the whole gap.

Every gift matters, but tonight I am asking people who can give more to please do more.

We need the $5 donor who refuses to sit this out. We need the $50 donor who gives and forwards this to friends. We need the $500 donor who helps move the campaign tonight. We need the $5,000 donor who can change the entire pace of the weekend. And I am praying for the person, family, masjid, business, or foundation that can give $25,000, $100,000, or even cover the full remaining need.

📚 Help us build classrooms for Gaza’s orphaned children

This project is organized by Human Concern International. It is LaunchGood verified, tax-deductible, and for Muslims it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be clear, as I always try to be: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees or percentages from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I am doing this because Gaza’s orphaned children deserve more than emergency survival. They deserve education, structure, protection, healing, and hope. They deserve a place that says to them, in a language deeper than words, that their lives still matter and their future is still worth building.

Tonight, I need us to cross $50,000.

And then I need us to keep pushing toward $60,000 so we can get back on pace.

🇵🇸 Donate now and help us keep this school moving toward construction

After you give, please forward this to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we are $3,999 away from $50,000 and that this campaign needs a strong Saturday night push.

We cannot fix every wound in Gaza tonight.

But we can help build a school.

And that school can become a place where hundreds of orphaned children learn, heal, play, and begin again.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

CLICK HERE to help me build this school

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good afternoon from New Jersey on a very sunny day.

I want to tell you something I don’t always say this directly.

Every time I do a major fundraising campaign for Gaza, it kills my email list. I don’t mean that as a metaphor. I mean it literally. Thousands of people unsubscribe. Paid subscribers leave. Open rates drop. People get tired of hearing from me. Some get annoyed that I am sending fundraiser after fundraiser instead of just writing articles. And every single time it happens, it sets me back professionally in a way that can take months, and sometimes years, to rebuild.

I know all of that before I ever send the first email.

And I send them anyway.

Because for me, the question is painfully simple: what matters more — that hundreds of orphaned children in Gaza finally get to go back to school, or that I protect a growing email list of people who love my articles?

I wish I could have both. I truly do. But if I have to choose, I choose the orphans. Every single time.

Please donate now to help us build this school for Gaza’s orphans

Right now, 348 supporters have raised $44,224 toward our full $250,000 goal. That is real progress, and I am grateful for every single person who has given, but we are behind the pace we need to keep if we are going to get the funds to our team in Gaza by next month so they can begin construction.

Today, we absolutely need to surpass $50,000.

That means we need $5,776 more just to cross that next line.

And to be fully honest with you, what we really need is to push past $60,000, which means raising $15,776 from where we are right now. That would put us back on a stronger pace and give our team on the ground in Gaza the confidence that this community is still moving with urgency.

Donate here and help us get past $50,000!

I wish I only had to send one email about this school. I wish one perfect message could fully fund the whole project. But that is not how this work goes. So far, it has taken me about 12 emails to raise what we have raised, and if it takes 100 emails to fully fund this school, then I am going to send 100 emails.

That may sound extreme, but what is the alternative? That I stop because some people unsubscribe? That I slow down because my list gets weaker? That I protect my platform while children in Gaza remain without classrooms, teachers, desks, books, a courtyard, counselling support, and a safe place to learn?

I cannot do that.

These children and the people preparing to serve them are counting on us. Our team on the ground in Gaza sees what we are doing. They believe we can raise this full amount. They are planning with hope now, and hope is not something I am willing to casually take away from them because fundraising emails are inconvenient.

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, and sit safely in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name. Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by displacement, hunger, grief, fear, and the loss of family.

A school will not erase what has been done to them, but it can give them something real that they desperately need: structure, safety, learning, play, counselling, routine, and adults who are invested in their future.

Give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation now

The proposed school will include:

• 6 fully equipped classrooms

• Space for approximately 270 children

• Around 45 students per classroom

• 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance

• An administrative office, teachers’ room, and dedicated counsellor’s space

• Solar power support and electrical infrastructure

• Secure perimeter fencing

• An outdoor artificial grass play area

This is not abstract. It is not symbolic. It is a real plan for a real school for real children who have already lost more than any child should ever be asked to carry.

This project is organized by Human Concern International. It is LaunchGood verified, tax-deductible, and for Muslims it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to say this clearly again: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees or compensation from this fundraiser. Not a penny.

What I do receive is the responsibility of knowing that when I push hard enough, when I email enough, when I ask enough, when I risk enough, people actually give. Food gets delivered. Medicine gets purchased. Families get helped. And now, insha’Allah, a school can be built.

That is worth the cost to me.

If my email list takes a hit, I can rebuild it later. If paid subscribers leave, I can try to earn them back later. If people get annoyed, I can live with that. But these children cannot get these years back. They cannot wait for the perfect moment. They cannot wait for me to feel comfortable asking again.

So I am asking again.

Please help us surpass $50,000 today. And if you can, help us push toward $60,000 so we are truly back on pace.

Donate now and help us build this school for Gaza’s orphans

We need every kind of donor right now. We need the person who can give $5 and refuses to sit this out. We need the person who can give $50 and forward this to friends. We need the donor who can give $500 or $1,000 and move the campaign forward today. And I am directly asking anyone who can give $5,000, $25,000, $100,000, or cover the entire remaining need to please step forward.

This must be done.

The schools were destroyed. The children were orphaned. The future was attacked. So we build. And if building this school costs me subscribers, reach, comfort, or convenience, then so be it.

I choose the orphans.

Please choose them with me today.

Donate now to help build a school for Gaza’s orphans

After you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we need to pass $50,000 today, and we are trying to push toward $60,000 to stay on track.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? CLICK HERE to chip in, OK?

So often, when we look at Gaza, we wonder if we actually have the power to make anything better.

I know that feeling.

The suffering is so massive. The destruction is so constant. The loss is so deep that sometimes even our compassion can feel overwhelmed by the size of it all.

But this is one of those moments where the answer is clear.

Yes.

We can make something better.

We can help build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

And tonight, we have a very specific goal: we need to reach $50,000 by tomorrow morning to stay on pace to get construction funds to our team on the ground next month.

As of now, 305 supporters have raised $40,643.

That means we need $9,357 more overnight.

Please donate now and help us reach $50,000 by morning

I want you to really feel what is happening here.

A few days ago, this was an idea and a sketch. Now it is a live campaign with hundreds of donors, real momentum, and a team in Gaza that believes we can fully fund this school. That matters. They are not watching this from a distance as some abstract fundraiser online. They are planning around it. They are being encouraged by it. They are counting on us to keep going.

And I do not want to send them hesitation when what they need from us is confidence.

I do not want to send them delay when what they need from us is urgency.

This school is being designed for orphaned children ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, and sit safely in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by displacement, hunger, fear, grief, and the loss of family.

A school will not erase what they have endured, but it can give them structure again. It can give them a morning routine, a desk, a whiteboard, a teacher, a courtyard, play, friendship, counselling, and adults who are invested in their future.

That is not small.

For a child who has lost almost everything, a safe school is a mercy.

Give tonight to help us build that school

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It will also include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

Every part of the design matters.

The classrooms matter because these children have lost years of learning.

The counsellor’s space matters because grief does not disappear just because a child gets quiet.

The play area matters because children need movement, laughter, and relief.

The solar support matters because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, and this school has to be built for real conditions on the ground.

Tonight’s goal is reachable, but only if people move now.

We need $9,357 more to reach $50,000 by tomorrow morning.

That could happen with:

• 2 donors giving $5,000

• 10 donors giving $1,000

• 19 donors giving $500

• 94 donors giving $100

• 188 donors giving $50

• 936 donors giving $10

Any combination gets us there.

We need the person who can give $5 before bed. We need the person who can give $50 and forward this to friends. We need donors who can give $500 or $1,000 tonight. And I am directly asking the people, families, masjids, businesses, and foundations who can give $5,000, $25,000, $100,000, or cover the whole remaining need to please step forward.

Because this is one of those rare moments where the ask is simple.

A school is needed.

A plan exists.

A team is ready.

The campaign is moving.

And we can help make it real.

Donate now through the verified LaunchGood campaign

This project is organized by Human Concern International.

It is LaunchGood verified.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be completely clear: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I am doing this because Gaza’s orphaned children deserve more than survival. They deserve education, structure, protection, healing, and hope. They deserve a place that tells them, in a language deeper than words, that their lives still matter and their future is still worth building.

Please do not wait until tomorrow.

We need to wake up past $50,000.

We need to show the team in Gaza that we are still moving.

We need to stay on pace to get construction funds to them next month.

Give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation tonight

And after you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we are $9,357 away from $50,000 and we need to get there by morning.

We cannot fix every horrible thing tonight.

But we can help build a school.

And that is not nothing.

That is a beginning.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? WE NEED YOU! Click here!

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good morning to each of you.

My friends, it is Friday morning here in New Jersey, and for Muslims around the world, it is Jummah — a blessed day of prayer, mercy, generosity, and remembering our responsibility to Allah and to the most vulnerable among us.

As of this morning, 273 donors have now raised $36,166 to help us build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

That is real progress. We crossed 10%. We passed $35,000. And our team on the ground in Gaza is now encouraged and moving with the belief that we are going to raise the full amount needed to begin building this school.

But we cannot slow down now.

Our goal today is to reach $50,000.

That means we need to raise $13,834 today to stay on pace.

Donate now to help us reach $50,000 for Gaza’s orphan school

I want to be direct about why this matters. If we do not raise at least $10,000 per day, we fall too far behind the pace needed to get our team in Gaza the funds by next month so they can begin construction. This is no longer just a hopeful concept. Our partners are preparing. They are planning. They are counting on us to keep the campaign moving.

And I believe we can do it.

We have already raised more than $36,000 because ordinary people, families, Muslims giving Zakat, non-Muslims moved by conscience, small donors, larger donors, and people who simply refuse to abandon Gaza’s children have all stepped forward. Now we need another strong day.

Please make your Jummah donation now.

Give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation here

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, and feel safe in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, many have spent the past two years surrounded by displacement, hunger, fear, grief, and the loss of family.

A school cannot erase that pain, but it can give them structure again. It can give them a morning routine, a desk, a teacher, a whiteboard, a courtyard, play, friendship, and adults who are invested in their healing and future. For children who have lost so much, that kind of stability is not small. It is a lifeline.

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It will also include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, along with an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

That counsellor’s space matters because these children are not only behind academically. Many are carrying trauma that no child should ever have to carry. The play area matters because children need movement, laughter, and relief. Solar support matters because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, and this school has to be built for the reality on the ground.

This is a school designed for learning, healing, safety, and dignity.

Please donate now and help us keep construction on pace

Here is the math for today.

We need $13,834 to reach $50,000.

That could happen if:

• 3 donors give $5,000

• 14 donors give $1,000

• 28 donors give $500

• 139 donors give $100

• 277 donors give $50

• 1,384 donors give $10

Any combination gets us there.

And I mean this with my whole heart: we need every kind of donor today. We need the person who can give $5 and refuses to sit this out. We need the person who can give $50 before Jummah. We need the family that can give $500. We need the donor who can give $5,000 and move this entire campaign forward. And I am praying for the person, business, masjid, family, or foundation that can give $25,000, $100,000, or cover the entire remaining need.

Large gifts help us move fast. Small gifts show that the whole community is carrying the work together. Both matter.

Donate now through the verified LaunchGood campaign

This project is organized by Human Concern International.

It is LaunchGood verified.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be completely transparent again: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I am doing this because Gaza’s orphaned children deserve more than emergency survival. They deserve education, structure, protection, healing, and hope. Our team on the ground believes this school can be built, and now they are counting on us to help make it real.

On this blessed Jummah, I am asking you to give with urgency and sincerity.

Give because these children deserve a place to learn.

Give because the team in Gaza is ready to move.

Give because $50,000 today keeps us on pace.

Give because a school is one of the clearest ways we can say to Gaza’s children: your future still matters.

Donate now to help us reach $50,000 today

After you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them it is Jummah, we are trying to reach $50,000 today, and every donation helps us get construction funds to the team next month.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good evening.

It is almost 9pm here in New Jersey, and I need to ask for your help tonight.

We have now raised $29,588 from 196 supporters to help build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

That is beautiful. That is real. That is momentum.

But now we need to get to $35,000 by tomorrow morning.

That means we need to raise $5,412 overnight.

Please give now:

Donate here to help us reach $35,000 by morning

I am asking because the timing matters.

If we do not raise at least $10,000 per day, we are going to fall too far behind to get the team on the ground in Gaza the funds they need by next month to begin construction. And after we crossed 10% of the full project goal, our team in Gaza was encouraged in a way that is hard to explain. They believe we are going to raise this entire amount. They are planning with hope. They are counting on us.

I do not want us to lose momentum now.

We are not raising money for an idea floating somewhere in the clouds. This is a real school being planned for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be sitting in classrooms, learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, and trust that tomorrow can be better than today.

Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by bombs, displacement, hunger, fear, grief, and loss.

A school will not erase what has been done to them. But a school can give them structure again. It can give them a safe place to go in the morning. It can give them teachers, desks, whiteboards, books, a courtyard, play, routine, and adults who are invested in their healing and their future.

That is what we are building.

Please donate tonight and help us keep this school on schedule

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It will include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, along with an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

The counsellor’s space matters because these children are not only behind in school. Many are carrying grief and trauma that no child should ever have to carry. The play area matters because children need movement, laughter, and relief. Solar support matters because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, and this school must be designed for real conditions on the ground.

Tonight’s goal is simple and reachable.

We need $5,412 more by morning.

That could be:

• 1 donor giving $5,000 and a few smaller gifts

• 5 donors giving $1,000

• 11 donors giving $500

• 55 donors giving $100

• 109 donors giving $50

• 542 donors giving $10

Any combination gets us there.

And I mean this sincerely: we need all of it. We need the person who can give $5 and refuses to sit this out. We need the person who can give $50 before bed. We need the donor who can give $500 or $1,000 and move the night forward. And I am directly asking the people who can give $5,000, $25,000, $100,000, or even cover the entire remaining need to step forward.

Somebody reading this can help us hit this overnight goal almost immediately.

And everyone reading this can help.

Give your tax-deductible donation now

This project is organized by Human Concern International.

It is LaunchGood verified.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be clear again: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I am doing this because Gaza’s children deserve more than emergency survival. They need education, structure, protection, healing, and hope. Our team in Gaza believes this school can be built, and now they are counting on us to help make it real.

Please do not wait until tomorrow.

We need to wake up past $35,000.

We need to show Gaza that we are still moving.

We need to keep the daily pace strong enough to get construction funds to the team next month.

Please give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation tonight.

Donate now to help build this school for Gaza’s orphans

After you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we need $5,412 by morning and every donation helps us get there.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? Please CLICK HERE to donate!

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good morning from New Jersey!

My friends, we just crossed the first major milestone.

Together, 159 donors have now raised $25,978 to help build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

That means we have officially passed 10% of the full $250,000 project goal.

And I need you to understand what this has done for our team on the ground in Gaza: it has encouraged them deeply. They now believe we are going to raise the entire amount and build this school. They are planning with that hope in mind. They are counting on us to keep going.

Please don’t let this momentum slow down today.

Donate now to help build this school for Gaza’s orphans

We still need to raise $224,022 to fully fund the project.

That is a serious number, but it is no longer an abstract number. We have already proven that people are willing to step forward. The first donors have already stepped up! We have already shown that this project can move. We have already shown Gaza’s children, and the team preparing to serve them, that we are not just talking about rebuilding. We are doing it.

Now we need to build on the momentum.

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3. These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, ask questions, make friends, and sit safely in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by bombs, displacement, hunger, grief, and loss.

A school will not erase that pain.

But a school can give children structure again. It can give them a safe morning routine. It can give them a desk, a teacher, a courtyard, a place to play, a place to breathe, and a place where adults are invested in their future.

That is what we are building.

Please give today and help us keep this campaign moving

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It will include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, along with an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

The counsellor’s space matters because these children are not only behind academically. Many are carrying grief and trauma that no child should ever have to carry. The play area matters because children need movement, laughter, and relief. Solar support matters because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, and this school must be designed for the reality on the ground.

This is not just a building. It is a place for children to begin again with dignity.

And after crossing 10%, I am asking us to push hard toward the next milestone. If we can raise another $25,000, we will be more than 20% funded. That would send an even stronger message to our team in Gaza that this community is serious, focused, and determined.

Here is what the next $25,000 could look like:

• 5 donors giving $5,000

• 25 donors giving $1,000

• 50 donors giving $500

• 250 donors giving $100

• 500 donors giving $50

• 5,000 donors giving $5

Any combination gets us there. The gift of $5 matters. The gift of $50 matters. The gift of $500 matters. And I am also directly asking those who can give $5,000, $25,000, $100,000, or even cover the entire remaining need to please step forward.

Somebody reading this has the capacity to change the entire direction of this campaign today.

And every single person reading this has the ability to help.

Donate here now through the verified LaunchGood campaign

This project is organized by Human Concern International.

It is LaunchGood verified.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to say this clearly again: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I am doing this because Gaza’s children deserve it. I am doing this because the orphans of Gaza need more than emergency survival. They need education, structure, protection, healing, and hope. I am doing this because our team on the ground believes this school can be built, and now they are counting on us to help make it real.

We crossed 10%.

Now we keep going.

Please give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation today.

Donate now to help build this school for Gaza’s orphans

After you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we crossed 10%, our team in Gaza is encouraged, and we need everyone to help us finish this.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? DONATE HERE, OK?

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good morning from New Jersey!

We have now raised $14,118 to help build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

That is real momentum. It means 114 people have already stepped forward and said, with their money and their mercy, that Gaza’s children deserve more than survival. They deserve a future. They deserve an education. They deserve a safe place to learn again.

Now I need us to reach our next milestone: $25,000, which will put us at 10% of the full $250,000 goal.

That means we need to raise $10,882 more to cross this first major threshold.

Please donate now to help us reach $25,000 for this school for Gaza’s orphans.

I want to say this plainly: getting to 10% matters.

It tells our partners on the ground in Gaza that we are serious. It tells donors that this project has momentum. It tells every person watching from the sidelines that this is not just a beautiful idea floating around on the internet, but a real project being carried forward by real people giving what they can.

And it tells Gaza’s orphaned children something even deeper, even if they cannot hear us yet: you have not been forgotten.

What We Are Building

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3.

These are children who should be learning how to read, write, count, study Qur’an, understand science, make friends, play safely, and sit in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, so many of them have spent the past two years learning the sounds of bombs, drones, hunger, displacement, grief, and loss.

Some of these children have lost parents. Some have lost siblings. Some have lost homes. Some have lost every normal routine that once made childhood feel safe.

That is why this school matters so much.

This is not just about walls and desks. It is about giving orphaned children a rhythm again. A morning routine. A classroom. A teacher. A courtyard. A place to breathe. A place where they can learn, play, heal, and begin again.

Please give now and help us build this school.

The School Design

The school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom.

It will serve Grades 1, 2, and 3.

It will include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance.

It will also include an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area where children can safely move, gather, and play.

The classrooms will include student benches, teacher desks, whiteboards, and essential educational materials.

The counsellor’s space is especially important to me. These children do not only need academic support. They need care. They need adults who understand that grief does not disappear because a child is quiet. They need a space where trauma is not ignored, where their humanity is honored, and where their healing is treated as part of their education.

And because Gaza’s infrastructure has been devastated, the school is also being designed with practical realities in mind: solar support, electrical infrastructure, secure fencing, and a layout that can help children feel protected while they learn.

The Math Is Clear

Our full goal is $250,000.

We have raised $14,118.

To reach $25,000, we need $10,882 more.

That could happen today if:

• 2 people give $5,000

• 11 people give $1,000

• 22 people give $500

• 109 people give $100

• 218 people give $50

• 1,089 people give $10

• or any combination of the above

And I mean this sincerely: we need all of it.

We need the donor who can give $5 and refuses to sit this out. We need the donor who can give $50 and share it with their friends. We need the donor who can give $500 and help move the campaign forward in a serious way. We need the donor who can give $5,000 and change the entire day.

And yes, I am praying for the donor, family, masjid, business, foundation, or community that can give $25,000, $100,000, or even cover the whole project.

But nobody has to do everything for everybody to do something.

That is how we build.

Please donate now and help us cross $25,000 today.

Important Donor Details

This project is organized by Human Concern International.

It is verified by LaunchGood.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be clear, as I always try to be: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

I do this work because I believe in it. I do it because Gaza’s children deserve it. I do it because Allah has placed this responsibility in front of us, and I refuse to look away.

Please give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation here.

Why This Moment Matters

A school is one of the most hopeful things human beings can build.

A school says tomorrow exists.

A school says the child in front of us is worth investing in.

A school says even after destruction, even after displacement, even after grief, we still believe children should learn their letters, write their names, ask questions, laugh with friends, and dream about who they might become.

That is what Gaza’s orphans deserve.

They deserve more than emergency aid, even though emergency aid is still desperately needed. They deserve more than tents and food parcels, even though shelter and food remain essential. They deserve a future that has structure, dignity, learning, and love built into it.

And that is why I am asking us to push hard today.

Let’s get this campaign past $25,000.

Let’s cross the first 10%.

Let’s show that this school can and will be built.

Please donate now to help us build a school for Gaza’s orphans.

After you give, please forward this to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them we are trying to cross $25,000 today, and that every donation helps us get there.

The children of Gaza have already lost too much.

They should not lose their future, too.

Let’s build.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? CLICK HERE to Donate OK?

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good evening from New York!

In the past 24 hours, we raised $10,682 to help build a school for orphaned children in Gaza.

That is beautiful. That is serious. That is real momentum.

And now I need us to understand something very clearly: we do not need a miracle to build this school…

We need consistency. We need urgency. We need all hands on deck.

Our full goal is $250,000.

That means we still need to raise $239,318.

And when I say I believe we can do this, I am not saying it as a slogan. I am saying it because the math tells me we can.

If we simply repeat what we just did in the past 24 hours about 24 more times, this school is built.

Not imagined.

Not discussed.

Built.

Please donate now to help build this school for Gaza’s orphans.

This Is How We Build It

Sometimes a goal like $250,000 can feel too large.

It can make people freeze.

It can make people assume someone else will handle it.

But that is not how movements work. And it is not how we have ever done anything meaningful together.

We build by stacking acts of mercy on top of each other.

We build by refusing to let the size of the need make us numb.

We build when someone gives $5 because that is what they have.

We build when someone gives $50 because they want to be part of something real.

We build when someone gives $500 because they understand that Gaza’s children cannot wait.

We build when someone gives $5,000 and changes the entire day.

We build when someone gives $25,000 or $100,000 and helps move the whole project from dream to reality.

And yes, we are even praying for the person, family, business, masjid, foundation, or community that can cover the whole project.

Every gift matters.

But I need to say this plainly: we need small donors, medium donors, large donors, and extraordinary donors.

All of it counts.

All of it helps.

All of it moves us closer to opening the doors of a school for orphaned children who have already lost more than any child should ever be asked to carry.

Please give whatever you can right now.

What the Math Says

Here is what we still need to raise: $239,318.

That could be:

• 23,932 people giving $10

• 4,787 people giving $50

• 2,394 people giving $100

• 479 people giving $500

• 240 people giving $1,000

• 48 people giving $5,000

• 10 people giving $25,000

• 3 people giving $100,000

Or any combination of the above.

That is the point.

Nobody has to do everything.

But all of us have to do something.

If 100 people reading this gave $100, that is $10,000.

If 20 people gave $500, that is another $10,000.

If 10 people gave $1,000, that is another $10,000.

If one person gave $25,000, it would cover more than 10% of what remains.

And if someone reading this has the means to give $100,000, you would not just be making a donation. You would be making history for orphaned children in Gaza.

Please donate now through our verified LaunchGood campaign.

What We Are Building

This is not a vague fundraiser.

This is not a symbolic gesture.

This is a real school for orphaned children in Gaza.

The school is being designed for children ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3.

These are children who should have been learning how to read.

How to write.

How to count.

How to study Qur’an.

How to make friends.

How to sit safely in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, for more than two years, they have endured bombs, displacement, hunger, grief, and the loss of family.

And I need us to be honest about what that means.

A child who was 5 years old when this phase of the genocide began is now around 7.

A child who was 7 is now around 9.

These are foundational years.

These are the years where a child learns not just facts, but rhythm. Structure. Trust. Confidence. Safety. Community. Imagination.

And that is exactly what has been attacked.

One way to destroy a society is to destroy its schools.

Kill its teachers.

Scatter its students.

Flatten its classrooms.

Interrupt its future.

And then expect the world to move on.

We are not moving on.

We are building.

Please help us build this school for Gaza’s orphans today.

A Safe Place to Learn Again

The proposed school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom.

It will include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance.

It will include an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

The classrooms will include student benches, teacher desks, whiteboards, and essential educational materials.

The courtyard matters.

The play area matters.

The counsellor’s space matters.

Because these children do not only need lessons.

They need care.

They need adults who can help them process grief.

They need a safe routine.

They need somewhere to breathe.

They need somewhere to be children.

They need somewhere that says, without words, your life still matters, your mind still matters, your future still matters.

That is what we are building.

Not just walls.

Not just classrooms.

A place of dignity.

A place of mercy.

A place where orphaned children in Gaza can begin again.

Please make your donation now.

Important Donor Details

I want to make a few things very clear.

This campaign is organized by Human Concern International with Shaun King.

The project is verified by LaunchGood.

It is tax-deductible.

For Muslims, it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be completely transparent about my role. I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees, commissions, percentages, bonuses, or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

Not a penny.

Not 1%.

Not anything on the back end.

I do this work because I believe in it. I do it because Gaza’s children deserve it. I do it because Allah has placed this responsibility in front of us, and I refuse to look away.

Please give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation here.

We Can Do This

I know people are tired.

I know the needs are endless.

I know many of you have already given again and again and again.

I also know this: Gaza’s children are more tired than we are.

The orphans of Gaza do not get to take a break from their grief.

They do not get to pause their displacement.

They do not get to postpone hunger, trauma, or missed years of school.

So we cannot let fatigue make us passive.

This is one of those moments where we need everybody.

If you can give $5, give $5.

If you can give $50, give $50.

If you can give $500, give $500.

If you can give $5,000, please do it today.

If you can give $25,000 or $100,000, I am asking you directly: step forward.

And if you can cover the entire remaining need, may Allah bless you and multiply it for you in this life and the next.

But whatever you give, give now.

Do not wait for somebody else to make this real.

Please donate right now and help us build this school.

One School, Then Another

This is the first school.

Not the last, insha’Allah.

Once we build this one, we want to build another.

And another.

And another.

Because Gaza does not need one classroom.

Gaza needs an entire education system rebuilt from the ashes.

But we start here.

With one school.

One safe place.

One group of orphaned children.

One daily rhythm of learning.

One courtyard.

One teacher calling a child’s name.

One child raising their hand.

One little boy or girl opening a book and remembering that the future is still possible.

That is what your donation helps make real.

The schools were destroyed.

The children were orphaned.

The future was attacked.

So we build.

With love.

With urgency.

With trusted partners.

With receipts.

With every single one of us doing our part.

Please donate now to help build a school for Gaza’s orphans.

And after you give, please forward this to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, justice, and mercy.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? DONATE HERE, OK?

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good evening from New Jersey to each of you!

Gaza’s children have not just been bombed, starved, displaced, and orphaned….

They have been robbed of the most basic human need for an education.

And I need us to do something concrete, beautiful, and urgent about it.

Today, with Human Concern International, we are launching a new campaign to build schools for orphaned children in Gaza — children ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3.

Please donate now to help us build this school for Gaza’s orphans.

This campaign is Zakat-verified, organized by Human Concern International, listed a registered charity, and verified for authenticity on LaunchGood.

And I want you to understand what we are building.

Not an idea.

Not a slogan.

Not a vague dream.

A real school.

A safe, structured, dignified learning space for orphaned children in Gaza who have already lost more than any child should ever be asked to endure.

A School Is Not Just a Building

By now, you probably know that Gaza’s schools have been devastated.

But the numbers are still hard to absorb.

UN experts warned in April of 2024 that more than 80% of schools in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, raising grave concern over what they called the possible “scholasticide” of Gaza — the systematic destruction of an education system. That was 2 years ago.

By 2025, OCHA reported that 501 out of 564 schools in Gaza — nearly 88.8% — would require full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to become functional again.

UNICEF has since reported that most of Gaza’s 658,000 school-age children have had limited access to face-to-face learning for more than two academic years, and that the education system is on the brink of collapse.

Click Here to Donate Now!

Sisters and brothers, that is not just a crisis.

That is a deliberate wound to the future.

Because one way to destroy a people is to destroy their schools.

Kill the teachers and slaughter the principals.

Flatten the classrooms.

Scatter the children.

Erase the normal rhythms of reading, writing, math, science, faith, play, friendship, and childhood itself.

And then tell the world it was all unavoidable.

It was not.

And now we have to help Gaza rebuild.

Please give whatever you can today to help build this school.

The Orphaned Children We Are Starting With

This first school is being designed for orphaned children ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3.

These are children who should have been learning their letters.

Their numbers.

Their first Qur’an lessons.

Their first science lessons.

Their first friendships.

Their first routines of school life.

Instead, many of them have spent the past three years learning the sounds of drones, bombs, hunger, grief, displacement, and death.

I need you to sit with that for a moment.

A 7-year-old child in Gaza today may have missed nearly the entire foundation of early education.

A 9-year-old may have gone from childhood into survival mode without the basic continuity every child deserves.

And for orphaned children, the wound is even deeper.

They are not only trying to catch up academically. They are trying to rebuild their inner world after losing the people, places, and protections that once made life feel safe.

That is why this school is being designed not just as a place to teach.

It is being designed as a place to help children learn, play, heal, and feel human again.

What We Are Building

The first school will include 6 fully equipped classrooms with the capacity to serve approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom.

The school will also include 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

The classrooms will be furnished with student benches, teacher desks, whiteboards, and essential educational materials.

The courtyard will give children a safe place to move, play, gather, breathe, and remember that childhood is not supposed to be lived under rubble.

The counsellor’s space matters deeply to me.

Because these children do not only need lessons.

They need care.

They need adults who can help them process grief.

They need a place where their pain is not ignored.

They need structure, tenderness, and stability.

And the solar support matters because Gaza’s power infrastructure has been shattered. A school cannot depend on ideal conditions. It has to be built for the reality on the ground.

That is what we are trying to do here.

A real school.

A functional school.

A dignified school.

A school designed for Gaza as Gaza actually is right now.

Please donate here to help us build it.

One School, Then Another, Insha’Allah

This is the first school.

Not the last.

Once we build this one, we want to build another.

And another.

And another.

Because Gaza does not need one classroom.

Gaza needs an entire education system rebuilt from the ashes.

And I know the scale of that can feel overwhelming. I know it can feel too big. I know it can make people freeze.

But we do not have to solve everything today to do something meaningful today.

We start with one school.

One safe place.

One group of orphaned children.

Click Here to Donate NOW!

One set of classrooms.

One courtyard.

One daily rhythm of learning.

One real answer to a real wound.

And then we keep going.

That is how rebuilding works.

That is how mercy works.

That is how solidarity works.

This Is Zakat-Verified

For Muslims who are giving Zakat, this campaign is listed as Zakat-verified on LaunchGood.

That matters.

Zakat is not charity in the casual sense. It is one of the pillars of Islam. It is an obligation Allah placed on us so that wealth does not simply circulate among the comfortable while the most vulnerable are abandoned.

And sadaqah — voluntary charity — is also beloved to Allah, especially when it protects the vulnerable, feeds the hungry, shelters the displaced, and restores dignity to those who have been crushed by injustice.

These children are orphans.

They are displaced.

They are living through one of the great crimes of our lifetime.

And they deserve more than pity.

They deserve a future.

Please give your Zakat or sadaqah now through this verified campaign.

What Your Donation Makes Possible

Your donation helps create a school with:

• 6 classrooms serving approximately 270 children

• Grades 1, 2, and 3 for children ages 5–9

• 6 washrooms with separate exterior entrances

• Student benches, teacher desks, whiteboards, and learning materials

• Administrative office, teachers’ room, and counsellor space

• Solar power support and electrical infrastructure

• Secure perimeter fencing

• Outdoor artificial grass play area where children can learn, play, and heal

That is what your donation is helping build.

A place where orphaned children can sit at a desk again.

Open a book again.

Hear a teacher call their name again.

Raise their hand again.

Play safely again.

Laugh without feeling guilty again.

Begin again.

I Need Us to Move

I am asking every single person reading this to give something.

Do not wait.

Do not overthink it.

Do not assume someone else will carry this.

If you can give $10, give $10.

If you can give $50, give $50.

If you can give $100, give $100.

If Allah has blessed you with more, give more.

And if you cannot give much, give what you can and share this with people who can help.

Please donate now to help build this school for Gaza’s orphans.

This is one of those projects that is simple to understand.

The schools were destroyed.

The children were orphaned.

The future was attacked.

So we build.

We build with love.

We build with urgency.

We build with receipts.

We build with trusted partners on the ground.

We build because Gaza’s children deserve more than survival.

They deserve dignity.

They deserve education.

They deserve a future.

And with Allah’s help, we are going to help give them one.

Donate here now. Help us build the first school for Gaza’s orphans.

And after you give, please forward this to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, and justice.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

An Iraqi soldier is dead because he got too close to a secret Israeli war base inside his own country.

That is the story.

Not Israel’s “logistical sophistication.” Not the brilliance of its air campaign. Not some admiring Tom Clancy fantasy about special forces moving through the desert. According to a stunning new report from The Wall Street Journal, Israel secretly built a military base in Iraq’s western desert to support its war on Iran — then launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who almost discovered it.

Before I go further, let me say this plainly. The North Star exists for moments exactly like this — when the most powerful governments and media institutions in the world try to make illegal violence sound normal, technical, and inevitable. We keep as much of this work free as possible because readers in Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, and right here in the United States should not need a credit card to understand what is being done in their name. If you can support this work, click here to become a member, or click here to join as a monthly, annual, or founding member.

Now let’s sit with what the Journal just reported.

According to the Journal, Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert just before the war with Iran began. The base reportedly housed Israeli special forces, served as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force, and positioned search-and-rescue teams closer to Iran in case Israeli pilots were shot down. The Journal reported that the base was established with the knowledge of U.S. officials.

Let me translate that.

A foreign government built a secret military base inside Iraq, used Iraqi territory to wage war on Iran, and did so with U.S. knowledge.

And Iraq, according to the reporting, did not approve it.

That alone should be a global scandal.

But then it gets worse.

The Journal reported that the base was almost discovered in early March after a local shepherd noticed unusual military activity, including helicopter flights, and Iraqi troops were sent to investigate. As Iraqi soldiers approached the area in Humvees, they came under intense fire. One Iraqi soldier was killed. Two others were wounded.

The Journal says Israel launched airstrikes to keep Iraqi troops away from the site.

Read that again.

Iraqi troops were allegedly attacked inside Iraq while investigating suspicious military activity on Iraqi soil — and the force they were closing in on was reportedly Israeli.

That is not “self-defense.”

That is not “regional security.”

That is a violation of sovereignty so brazen that if Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, or any Palestinian faction had done anything remotely similar, the headlines would be screaming for sanctions, retaliation, and emergency meetings at the United Nations.

When Israel does it, news outlets report it like they are simply impressed.

But this is not just another covert operation.

This is an unauthorized foreign war base.

This is Iraqi territory being used as a platform for Israel’s war.

This is an Iraqi soldier dead after his own military got too close to finding out.

The Iraqi government had already condemned the March attack at the time. Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, reportedly told Iraqi state media, “This reckless operation was carried out without coordination or approval.” Anadolu and other regional outlets reported the same quote in their summaries of the Journal’s revelations.

That phrase matters: without coordination or approval.

In plain English, Iraq is saying this was not authorized.

And under the United Nations Charter, states are prohibited from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state. “Territorial integrity” simply means a country’s land, borders, and sovereignty cannot be treated like an open battlefield by another government because it finds the location convenient.

That is supposed to be the rule.

Unless, apparently, the violator is Israel.

Then everything gets softened.

A secret base becomes a “clandestine outpost.”

A war crime question becomes an “operational risk.”

A dead Iraqi soldier becomes background detail.

U.S. knowledge becomes a passing line instead of a flashing red warning.

And Israeli airstrikes against Iraqi troops become part of a story about how Israel “managed” to project power across the region.

This is how impunity is manufactured.

Not always through outright lies. Sometimes through tone. Through placement. Through what gets emphasized and what gets buried. Through whether the reader is invited to be outraged or impressed.

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If a foreign military secretly built a base in Texas, Arizona, or New Mexico, and then bombed U.S. troops who went to investigate, nobody would call it a daring forward-operating site.

They would call it an act of war.

If Iran secretly built a military base in Iraq to attack Israel, then killed Iraqi soldiers who came too close, American officials would be on television before sunset calling it terrorism, aggression, destabilization, and proof of Iran’s evil.

But when Israel is accused of doing it, the media language becomes strangely calm.

That is the double standard.

And it is not harmless.

This report also deepens something we have been seeing throughout this war: the American public has not been told the full truth about how wide this conflict really is. The war was sold as a focused campaign against Iran. But the receipts keep showing something much bigger — U.S. bases hit across the region, Iranian oil routes under blockade, the Strait of Hormuz in crisis, Lebanon bombed, Iraq dragged in, and now, according to the Journal, a secret Israeli base on Iraqi soil.

This was never contained.

It was regional from the start.

And once again, Iraq becomes a stage for other people’s wars.

Iraq has already endured invasion, occupation, sanctions, torture sites, drone strikes, proxy battles, ISIS, militias, U.S. bases, Iranian influence, Turkish attacks, and endless violations of its sovereignty by governments that claim to respect international law while treating Iraqi land like a chessboard.

Now we are told Israel secretly built a war base there too.

And when Iraqi soldiers almost found it, one of them died.

I keep coming back to that soldier.

Because empire loves abstractions. “Forward-operating base.” “Search-and-rescue hub.” “Air campaign.” “Special missions.” “Strategic depth.”

But a man died.

An Iraqi soldier died on Iraqi soil because he was doing what soldiers are supposed to do: investigating unauthorized military activity inside his own country. I am working to learn more about him now.

His life should not be reduced to a footnote in a story about Israeli efficiency.

His death should force the central question:

Who gave Israel the right to build a secret war base inside Iraq?

And if the United States knew, what exactly did Washington know? When did it know it? Did it object? Did it warn Iraq? Did it quietly allow Israel to use Iraqi territory while pretending this war was cleaner and more contained than it really was?

Those are not minor questions.

They are the questions every serious journalist, every member of Congress, every Iraqi official, and every international law scholar should be asking right now.

But I already know how this normally works.

When Israel violates sovereignty, officials call it complicated.

When Israel bombs another country, pundits call it security.

When Israel kills, maims, occupies, invades, or spies, headlines reach for the softest possible verbs.

And when the victims are Arab or Muslim, the world is trained to move on.

No.

Not this time.

A secret base inside Iraq is not normal.

Bombing Iraqi troops who nearly found it is not normal.

Using Iraq as a staging ground for war with Iran is not normal.

Doing it with U.S. knowledge is not normal.

And dressing all of this up as military ingenuity is not journalism. It is laundering power.

The real story is simple.

Israel secretly built and defended a war base inside Iraq. Iraqi troops nearly discovered it. Israel struck them. One Iraqi soldier was killed. Iraq said the operation had no coordination or approval. And the United States reportedly knew the base existed.

That is the scandal.

Not how clever the base was.

Not how useful it was to Israel.

Not how far Iran is from Tel Aviv.

The scandal is that Iraq’s sovereignty was treated like an obstacle, an Iraqi soldier’s life was treated like collateral, and the public is now being asked to admire the machinery that made it happen.

I refuse.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

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Don’t Stop Here

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Here are 3 FREE articles for you:

In the Fall of 2023, local, national, and even international news reported that a New York man made a series of threats against Jewish students and staff at Cornell University. A year later he was actually convicted and sentenced to nearly two years in prison for it.

It happened. Students there were actually afraid. I don’t want to pretend that they weren’t.

But there is one detail in this story that pretty much changes EVERYTHING.

According to NPR’s own reporting, the lawyer for Patrick Dai — the former Cornell student sentenced to 21 months in prison for making violent threats against Jewish students — said Dai made those threats as a “misguided attempt” to generate support for Israel and that he was a devout supporter of Israel. It was a false flag attack.

Before I go further, I need to say something clearly. The North Star exists for exactly this kind of work. Not to excuse threats. Not to deny harm. Not to twist facts. But to ask the questions corporate media too often buries when the answers complicate the official story. We keep as much of this work free as possible because readers all over the world cannot afford another paywall between them and the truth. Those who can afford to support this work make that possible for everybody else. If that’s you, click here to become a member, or click here to join as a monthly, annual, or founding member.

Now let’s talk about what actually happened.

Patrick Dai, a former Cornell student from Pittsford, New York, pleaded guilty to one felony count of posting threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications. According to the Department of Justice, Dai admitted that on October 28th and 29th, 2023, he posted anonymous threats to the Cornell section of an online discussion forum, including threats to shoot up 104 West, a Cornell dining hall that serves kosher meals and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center.

The posts were vile.

They were criminal.

They terrorized Jewish students.

And Dai deserved serious consequences.

But that is not the whole story.

The part that should have been in the headline — or at least in the first few paragraphs — is that Dai’s own attorney said he was not acting out of hatred for Israel, but out of a desire to defend it. Except I had to literally scroll down TWELVE PARAGRAPHS to learn that the student was a Zionist who did it all to make people feel more sympathy for Israel.

NPR reported that Dai’s lawyer, Lisa Peebles, described his actions in a court filing as a “misguided attempt to highlight Hamas’ genocidal beliefs and garner support for Israel.” She said he believed the posts would create “blowback” against what he perceived as anti-Israel media coverage and pro-Hamas sentiment on campus.

Read that again.

According to his lawyer, he made threats against Jewish students to create sympathy for Israel.

That is not a small detail.

That is not a footnote.

That is the story.

Because if that defense claim is true, even partly true, then this was not just a case of antisemitic threats in the simple way NPR framed it. It was a false-flag-style propaganda act: a man allegedly posing as the very hatred he claimed to oppose in order to manipulate public opinion.

And NPR buried that fact deep inside the story.

That matters because media framing shapes public consciousness. Most people never read to paragraph 10 or 12 or 15. They read the headline. They skim the first few paragraphs. They absorb the frame. And the frame here was simple: a former Cornell student made antisemitic threats during a period of rising campus tension after October 7th.

But the buried fact makes the story more complicated and more politically explosive.

The threats were real. The fear was real. The crime was real. But according to the defense, the motive was not what the public would naturally assume.

That is the tension NPR should have centered.

To be fair, prosecutors rejected Dai’s explanation. NPR reported that federal prosecutors described his claims as “self-serving” and said they were contradicted by the threats themselves and by his later apology. The court also found that his conduct qualified as a hate crime under federal sentencing guidelines because he targeted Jewish students and substantially disrupted Cornell’s educational function. The Justice Department said the threats “terrorized the Cornell campus community for days and shattered the community’s sense of safety.”

That must be included.

But including the prosecution’s view does not erase the media problem.

The public deserved to know, from the start, that the defendant’s lawyer said this was an attempt to manufacture sympathy for Israel. Arab News, citing AFP, stated it much more directly:

Peebles told the court Dai was “pro-Israel” and made posts “in the guise of an anti-Semite Hamas extremist.”

That phrase should stop everybody cold.

“In the guise.”

Meaning, according to the defense, he was pretending.

If a Muslim student had posted fake Islamophobic threats against Muslims and later claimed he did it to generate sympathy for Palestine, do we honestly believe NPR would have buried that detail deep in the story?

No.

It would have been the headline.

It would have been the lead.

It would have been the entire frame.

We would have heard about hoaxes, manipulation, propaganda, radical activism, and fake victimhood. Every cable news panel would ask what this says about pro-Palestinian movements. Every politician who wanted to criminalize Palestine solidarity would use it as evidence.

But when the alleged motive points in the other direction — toward manufacturing support for Israel — suddenly the detail is handled delicately, carefully, quietly.

That is the double standard.

And it is not harmless.

Since October 2023, American media has repeatedly helped create an atmosphere where Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and anti-war students are treated as presumed threats. Their protests are scrutinized. Their chants are criminalized. Their grief is pathologized. Their politics are framed as danger before they are understood as dissent.

Meanwhile, this case involved a man who admitted to making horrific threats against Jewish students — and whose own lawyer said he did so to create backlash against anti-Israel sentiment.

That should have forced a deeper media conversation about how fear is manufactured, how propaganda works, and how quickly institutions accept narratives that benefit Israel.

Instead, the story was mostly folded back into the same familiar frame.

“Rising antisemitism.”

“Campus tensions.”

“Threats against Jewish students.”

Again, the threats were real. Jewish students were harmed. Nothing about Dai’s claimed motive changes the terror they experienced.

But motive matters.

Political context matters.

Media framing matters.

Because when a threat is allegedly staged to create sympathy for Israel, the public deserves to understand that clearly. Not as an afterthought. Not buried beneath official statements. Not softened into a detail most readers will miss.

The same media institutions that demand endless nuance when Israel bombs hospitals, schools, refugee camps, journalists, doctors, and children somehow lose their curiosity when a story might reveal pro-Israel manipulation.

That curiosity returns only when it can be aimed at Palestinians, Muslims, Arabs, immigrants, protesters, or anyone demanding an end to genocide.

This is why independent media matters.

Because the question here is not whether Dai should have been punished. He should have been.

The question is why one of the most important facts in the story was buried.

The question is why a case that may involve false-flag-style threats designed to “garner support for Israel” was still framed mainly as a straightforward example of antisemitic danger on campus.

The question is why American media is so much more comfortable telling stories that benefit Israel than interrogating stories that expose how support for Israel is manufactured.

That is the real story.

And NPR had it.

They just buried the lead.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

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Don’t Stop Here…

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Here are 3 FREE articles for you too…

For decades, the United States has treated its military bases across the Middle East like untouchable platforms of power. Not just bases. Symbols. Warnings. Permanent reminders that America could strike anywhere, anytime, while remaining largely beyond reach.

But the satellite images are now telling a very different story.

According to a new investigation by The Washington Post, Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at 15 U.S. military sites across the Middle East since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on February 28th. The Post says the damage includes hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, radar, communications, and air defense equipment — far more destruction than the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged.

Before I go further, let me say this clearly. The North Star exists for moments like this. When the government, the military, and much of the media give the public a soft, sanitized version of reality, we have to tell the truth plainly, with receipts. We keep as much of this work free as possible because readers all over the world cannot afford another paywall between them and the truth. Those who can afford to support this work make that possible for everybody else. If that’s you, click here to become a member, or click here to join as a monthly, annual, or founding member.

Now let’s talk about what this really means.

Because I do not think most Americans understand the scale of what has just been revealed.

This may be the most geographically widespread direct damage to U.S. military infrastructure by a state adversary in modern American history.

I am not saying this is Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was catastrophic in human loss and concentrated military destruction. According to the National Archives, the United States suffered 3,435 casualties and lost or sustained severe damage to 188 planes, eight battleships, three light cruisers, and four miscellaneous vessels in the Japanese attack on Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.

But Pearl Harbor was one place.

One harbor.

One morning.

What The Washington Post has now documented is something altogether different: a state adversary damaging U.S. military infrastructure across an entire region. Bahrain. Kuwait. Qatar. Saudi Arabia. Jordan. The United Arab Emirates. Multiple bases. Multiple categories of targets. Multiple forms of military infrastructure.

That is the point.

Iran did not merely “respond.” Iran demonstrated that the U.S. military footprint across the Middle East is not some invisible, invincible architecture of empire.

It is a map of fixed targets.

The Damage Was Not Random

The Post says it reviewed more than 100 high-resolution satellite images released by Iranian state-affiliated media, then verified 109 of those images against lower-resolution imagery from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite system and high-resolution Planet imagery where available. The Post says it excluded images when comparisons were inconclusive, found no Iranian imagery it reviewed to have been manipulated, and separately found 10 damaged or destroyed structures not documented in the Iranian imagery.

That matters because the obvious response from the U.S. government and its defenders will be to say, “Well, Iran said it, so we can ignore it.”

No.

The whole point of the Post investigation is that the images were checked.

And the damage was not just symbolic.

The Post found that Iranian attacks hit a satellite communications site at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Patriot missile defense equipment at bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, THAAD-related radar and equipment in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, a satellite dish at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, a power plant at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, and five fuel storage bladder sites across three bases.

The Post also reported that more than half of the damage it reviewed occurred at the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and three bases in Kuwait — Ali al-Salem Air Base, Camp Arifjan, and Camp Buehring. It identified damage or destruction involving radomes, fuel storage, command-and-control infrastructure, air defense systems, satellite communications, and an E-3 Sentry command-and-control aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

That is not a scratch on the paint.

That is the physical architecture of U.S. military power being hit across the region.

The Post quoted Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, saying, “The Iranian attacks were precise.” He added that there were no random craters indicating misses.

That one sentence should stop everybody cold.

For years, American officials and television generals have spoken about Iran like it is both an existential threat and a fragile, backward state that can be easily dominated. They cannot have it both ways. Either Iran is so dangerous that America must reorder the entire Middle East around it, or Iran is so weak that the U.S. can bomb it into submission without serious consequences.

What the satellite images show is that the Trump administration badly underestimated Iran’s capacity to hit back.

The Human Cost Was Hidden in Plain Sight

The Post reported that seven U.S. service members have died in strikes on U.S. facilities in the region since the war began — six in Kuwait and one in Saudi Arabia — and that more than 400 troops had suffered injuries by late April. At least 12 of those injuries were classified by military officials as serious, but I have seen countless reports that the numbers of American soldiers killed and injured is FAR HIGHER. I believe this.

This is a familiar pattern.

In 2020, after Iran struck al-Asad Air Base in Iraq in response to the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration initially downplayed the injuries and lied about the numbers. Later, the U.S. Army reported that 110 service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from that attack.

We have seen this before.

First, the government says nobody was seriously hurt.

Then the number grows.

Then the story quietly changes.

Then the public is expected to move on.

But traumatic brain injuries are not “headaches.” Shrapnel wounds are not abstractions. Dead soldiers do not become less dead because the administration wants better headlines.

And this time, the casualties are only part of the story.

Because the damage to the bases themselves appears to have forced real operational changes.

The Post reported that commanders moved most personnel from some sites out of the range of Iranian fire early in the war, and that damage at Naval Support Activity Bahrain was described by a U.S. official as “extensive.” That same official said the headquarters there relocated to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and that troops, contractors, and civilian employees are unlikely to return anytime soon. Two other officials told the Post that U.S. forces may never return to regional bases in large numbers, though no final decision had been made.

Please understand what that means.

This is not just damage.

This is forced adaptation.

The empire is being made to move.

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The Cost Is Already Staggering

Reuters reported that a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers the war has cost $25 billion so far, mostly for munitions. But Reuters also reported that the official did not detail whether that number included projected costs for rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged during the conflict. Some experts are saying the damage alone is over $100 billion to American bases and equipment.

That matters.

Because the official price tag is already enormous — and it may not include the full repair bill.

Al Jazeera reported that CSIS calculated U.S. aerial equipment losses between $2.3 billion and $2.8 billion, and that the estimate does not include losses incurred at U.S. bases in the region, specialized equipment, or naval assets.

Al Jazeera also reported, in a separate cost analysis, that NBC quoted six U.S. officials saying Iran damaged U.S. bases and equipment in the Middle East far worse than publicly acknowledged, with repairs alone potentially costing billions of dollars. That same Al Jazeera report cited a New York Times estimate that repairs to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain could cost $200 million by itself.

And even the Pentagon does not appear to have a final number. Al Jazeera reported that acting Pentagon comptroller Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell Hurst told reporters the department did not “have a final number” for damage to overseas installations and was still assessing what it wanted to construct in the future.

America’s Bases Became Liabilities

For a long time, U.S. bases across the Middle East functioned as launchpads for American power. They allowed Washington to bomb, surveil, threaten, sanction, blockade, and occupy from a distance. They were sold to the public as necessary for “stability,” which is often empire’s favorite word for domination.

But those same bases have now become liabilities.

A CSIS report warned that the United States heavily used seven key munitions during the 39-day air and missile campaign before the ceasefire, and that for several of those munitions, inventory levels have become a serious concern. CSIS described THAAD interceptors as especially critical because of low inventory and limited alternatives, and warned that damaged or lost THAAD radars could create a capability gap that takes time to replace.

That is one of the most important details in this entire story.

Because this war was not only expensive in damaged buildings and destroyed equipment. It burned through the very systems America relies on to fight future wars.

Responsible Statecraft, summarizing the CSIS report, noted that the U.S. fired at least 45% of its critical Patriot missile interceptors and more than 53% of its THAAD interceptors during the war. At the high end, it said CSIS estimated the U.S. may have used more than 80% of its THAAD interceptors.

In other words, Iran did not have to destroy the U.S. military to expose it.

It had to make America spend wildly to defend exposed bases, absorb damage across the region, deplete critical weapons, and then pretend everything was fine.

That is not victory.

That is vulnerability.

The Nuclear Argument Is Falling Apart

Now comes the other devastating part.

The stated purpose of this war was to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

But Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence assessments indicate the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that earlier U.S.-Israeli attacks had pushed the timeline to up to a year. Reuters said the assessments remain broadly unchanged even after two months of war.

Sit with that.

The United States and Israel launched this war in part by telling the public it was necessary to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran hit U.S. bases across the region. The U.S. spent at least $25 billion. Troops were killed and wounded. Critical munitions were depleted. Bases were damaged. Global energy markets were disrupted.

And according to Reuters, the core intelligence assessment of Iran’s nuclear timeline may be basically where it was before this latest round of war.

That does not mean Iran’s nuclear program was untouched. It does not mean the conflict had no impact. Reuters reported that Israel has hit significant nuclear facilities and that earlier strikes had damaged or destroyed known enrichment plants. It also reported that U.S. officials argue the campaign damaged Iran’s conventional military capabilities and defense industrial base.

But the central promise was larger than that.

The public was told this war was necessary to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

And now the evidence suggests that promise may have been wildly oversold.

Reuters reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to verify the whereabouts of about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, and that the IAEA assesses the total highly enriched uranium stockpile would be enough for 10 bombs if further enriched. Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons, and Reuters noted that U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA say Tehran halted a warhead development effort in 2003, though some experts and Israel argue it secretly preserved parts of the program.

This is exactly why the public deserves evidence instead of slogans.

War is sold in certainty.

The aftermath is usually written in caveats and excuses.

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The Blockade Is Not the Victory They Claimed

The Trump administration has also sold the blockade as a sign of American control.

But even that story is more complicated than the public has been told.

According to a new Washington Post investigation, since the U.S. imposed its naval blockade on Iran in April, at least 13 tankers have offloaded Iranian oil through covert ship-to-ship transfers near Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago. The Post estimated those transfers included roughly 22 million barrels of Iranian oil worth more than $2 billion.

So yes, the blockade may be hurting Iran.

But no, it has not cleanly shut Iran down.

And the U.S. government knows it.

A separate Washington Post report says a confidential CIA assessment concluded that Iran can survive the U.S. blockade for 90 to 120 days, possibly longer, before facing severe economic hardship. The same report says Iran still retains about 75% of its prewar mobile launchers and about 70% of its prewar missile stockpile, directly undercutting Trump’s public claim that Iran’s missiles were “mostly decimated.”

That is not a small contradiction.

That is the difference between a political talking point and an intelligence assessment.

And even while officials talk about ceasefire and diplomacy, the blockade itself remains a live military operation. CENTCOM said that on May 6th, U.S. forces disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to sail toward an Iranian port in violation of blockade measures.

So let’s be clear.

This is not peace.

This is a paused shooting war wrapped around economic warfare, naval pressure, fragile negotiations, and the constant threat of renewed bombing.

Washington Is Looking for an Exit Ramp

And that brings us to the current moment.

Reuters reported today that the United States and Iran are edging toward a temporary agreement to halt the war, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting while leaving the most contested issues unresolved. Reuters says the emerging plan centers on a short-term memorandum aimed at formally ending the war, resolving the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and launching a 30-day window for broader negotiations.

That is not the posture of a government that simply got everything it wanted.

That is the posture of a government searching for a way out after discovering the road ahead is more dangerous than advertised.

Reuters reported that the proposed memorandum does not appear to include several long-standing U.S. demands Iran has rejected, including limits on Iran’s missile program and an end to its support for proxy militias. It also said the sources made no mention of Iran’s existing stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of near-weapons-grade uranium.

In plain English, the U.S. appears to be trying to stop the war now and leave the hardest issues for later.

That is not triumph.

That is damage control.

The Cover Story Is Collapsing

The public story was simple: America hit Iran hard. Iran was weakened. The U.S. absorbed limited retaliation. Trump projected strength. The Pentagon kept control. The bases held. The mission worked.

But the receipts now tell a different story.

The satellite images show widespread damage across U.S. military infrastructure.

The casualty numbers show dead and wounded Americans.

The cost reports show billions already spent and billions more likely coming.

The munitions reports show depleted missile-defense stockpiles.

The nuclear reporting shows limited new damage to Iran’s core nuclear timeline.

The blockade reporting shows Iranian oil still moving and U.S. naval operations still active.

The CIA reporting shows Iran may be able to endure the blockade for months and still retain most of its missile force.

And the diplomatic reporting shows Washington trying to negotiate a short-term way out.

That is the story.

Not one headline.

Not one paragraph.

The whole picture.

The U.S. government wants the public to believe it can wage war across the Middle East without consequences. It wants Americans to think bases overseas are just dots on a map, not buildings full of human beings, fuel, aircraft, radar, communications gear, missile defense systems, barracks, warehouses, and vulnerabilities.

And mainstream coverage too often helps maintain that illusion.

When America bombs, it is “targeting.”

When America is hit, it is “retaliation.”

When U.S. officials hide the damage, it is “operational security.”

When Iran releases images, we are told to be skeptical — and we should be skeptical — but somehow the same skepticism is rarely applied to the Pentagon’s carefully controlled narrative.

The truth is simpler and more dangerous.

The United States and Israel launched a war on Iran. Iran hit back. And now satellite imagery, intelligence reporting, military-cost reporting, and diplomatic reporting all point in the same direction: Iran made a much larger impact than the American media and the American public truly understood.

And I need us to sit with that.

This is not about cheering for war. But I also refuse to lie about power.

The United States built a military footprint across the Middle East that has brought misery to millions. Iraqis know it. Afghans know it. Palestinians know it. Yemenis know it. Syrians know it. Lebanese families know it. Iranians know it. Entire generations have lived under the sound of drones, sanctions, occupations, assassinations, airstrikes, and threats.

Now the American people are seeing, maybe for the first time in this war, that the machinery of empire is not invincible.

It is expensive.

It is exposed.

It is fragile.

And when it breaks, the same officials who told us the war would be clean, controlled, and decisive will ask working people to pay the bill.

That is always how this works.

They manufacture consent.

They hide the cost.

They minimize the damage.

They bury the wounded in fine print.

Then they call the next escalation “necessary.”

No.

Not this time.

The satellite images are the receipt.

The deaths are the receipt.

The billions in equipment losses are the receipt.

The $25 billion official price tag is the receipt.

The relocation from Bahrain to Tampa is the receipt.

The depleted missile stockpiles are the receipt.

The unchanged nuclear timeline is the receipt.

The still-moving Iranian oil is the receipt.

The negotiations are the receipt.

And the receipt says something very different from what the government has been selling.

It says America’s bases across the Middle East are not untouchable.

They are targets.

And every politician who pushed this war, excused this war, funded this war, or lied about this war owes the American people — and the people of the region — the truth.

Not spin.

Not flag pins.

Not tough-guy speeches.

The truth.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

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Don’t Stop Here

If this reporting matters to you, please help us keep doing it. Our work is independent because readers make it independent. If you can afford to support it, click here to become a member, or click here to join as a monthly, annual, or founding member. Your support helps keep this work free for readers around the world who need the truth but cannot afford another subscription.

Forward this to 3 people who need to understand what this war is really costing.

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good afternoon from New Jersey to each of you. As you may know, I am a very private, almost reclusive person. As Muslims we believe that you should, generally speaking, keep your personal struggles and battles between yourself and Allah - and I have been practicing this.

But today I needed to update you all because I have some news that will impact my ability to type and speak publicly for a while.

In March of 2025 I had two discs in my cervical spine (my neck) replaced with artificial titanium discs. Later in the year, the pain in my right arm and hand was so excruciating that I had to have a surgery to address that pain.

Now, the two discs below the ones I had replaced are pushing directly on my spinal cord and on nerves that have made the pain simply more than I can handle from day to day. I just saw a second doctor who agreed with the first that I will need to have these two additional discs removed as well because nobody could sustain this level of pain for too long.

I can take a lot of pain. For 30 years I’ve been in pain. But when my average daily pain is above a 7 on a scale of 1-10, and sometimes peaks higher than that, it’s simply more than my mind and body can take.

So, I am preparing for another major spinal surgery. Of course the insurance companies are always terrible, but we are working now to get approval. I have a procedure tomorrow to help me deal with the pain until I have the surgery.

Thank you for your patience with me. I am somewhat embarrassed to say this, but I really could not provide for my family without your support of me.

I will keep all of you posted and updated as I learn more. You are really my tribe and I am grateful for each of you.

Over the next few days I want to take some time to really explain my thoughts and views on Iran, the horrible and unmerited violence visited upon them by the United States and Israel, and what I think has been the most masterful response to these two violent nations I’ve seen in my lifetime. Iran did not ask for this, but has stood boldly in the face of two of the most heavily armed colonial powers in the world.

Hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, mostly to civilian infrastructure, has been caused in Iran. Thousands of Iranian civilians, including so many children have been slaughtered, and it’s all so purposeless and cruel.

A short note about Donald Trump…

He is owned by Israel. It’s obvious. He will do whatever they want, allow whatever they want, and fund it with our money. He has violated his own base. His own supporters hate this.

He ran as a man who hated wars all over the world and is now going into his 3rd month with a senseless war against Iran. We are now learning that Iran basically destroyed almost every single US Military base in the entire Middle East.

I don’t mind, but the whole thing is such a disaster for Trump - and now he is basically begging Iran to allow everything that they were already allowing before they were attacked.

It’s all about Israel. That’s all this is.

I have to run, but will be doing my best to write you all here in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Your Friend and Brother,

Shaun

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As-Salaam-Alaikum and greetings to each of you.

Today I have to be a little nerdy and wonky to explain a few things OK? But it’s SO important that you understand.

First, I am SOOOOOOOOO glad to be back after 7 weeks of fundraising for Gaza and Lebanon. Thank you for your patience and for your support. It means the world to me. Now to business….

When Iran and the United States agreed last week to a temporary ceasefire, part of the deal was that Israel also had to stop bombing and destroying Lebanon. But, as always, Israel ignored this - so Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz closed. Opening it was a part of the deal as well, but they closed it to show that they simply would not accept blatant violations of the agreement. Listen - this was a profound move, but what Iran just did, in my opinion, was the smartest move they made yet.

If you did know it, Israel and Lebanon just agreed to a ceasefire. So, to show their integrity, but to also show who is TRULY in charge, Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz just now.

For those who don’t follow shipping routes and oil markets every day, the Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. It is one of the most important economic choke points on the planet. And today Iran made plain what powerful people in Washington and Tel Aviv never wanted the world to fully absorb: they can tighten that choke point, and they can loosen it.

If this work matters to you, please click here to become a member. I work hard to keep telling the truth plainly, especially when the truth is inconvenient to presidents, generals, and the media class that launders their violence. And because many of our readers around the world simply cannot afford a paywall, those who can support this work help make it free for everybody else.

This Was Not Symbolic

Iran’s foreign minister did not make a vague statement about peace. He said the passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon.” That wording matters.

It matters because it tells us this was not some unrelated economic gesture. It was not Tehran randomly deciding to calm the waters. It was a deliberate signal that Lebanon was part of the equation. Iran is telling the region, and telling the world, that if Lebanon is included, the Strait opens. If Lebanon is excluded, everything changes.

That is a chess move.

And it is a brilliant one.

Because now the world has seen, in real time, that Iran does not merely talk about the Strait of Hormuz as abstract leverage. It can actually use it. It can disrupt the flow. It can restore the flow. It can create pressure and then relieve it. That means every market analyst, every insurer, every shipping executive, every White House staffer, and every Israeli war planner now has to calculate around a reality they already knew in theory but just watched in practice.

That is what power looks like.

Lebanon Was Never “Separate”

What enrages me is that Lebanon has been treated by the United States and Israel as though it were somehow negotiable collateral damage. As though bombing villages, flattening neighborhoods, displacing over a million people, and killing over 2,000 human beings could all be swept into the category of regional management.

That is evil.

A ten-day ceasefire after that kind of devastation is not justice. It is not accountability. It is not repair. And it is certainly not mercy.

According to reporting on this deal, Israel kept bombing before the ceasefire took effect, and even now Israeli officials are openly saying they intend to remain in positions they have captured inside Lebanon. So let’s be very clear, sisters and brothers: this is not peace. This is a pause imposed on top of ruin, with Israel still trying to preserve military freedom after reducing so much of southern Lebanon to trauma and ash.

That is exactly why Iran’s move matters.

Because Tehran refused the lie that Lebanon could be separated from the wider war. Iran’s deputy foreign minister reportedly said any ceasefire had to include all conflict zones “from Lebanon to the Red Sea,” and described that as a red line. In other words, Iran rejected the imperial trick of fragmenting one crisis from another so that the United States and Israel can bomb across the map and negotiate over each shattered people one by one.

Either there is security for all, or there is security for none.

That is not just a slogan. That is now maritime policy.

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The Real Message to Washington

The truly humiliating part for Washington is this: after all the boasting, after all the aircraft carriers, after all the threats, after all the language about strength and deterrence, Iran has just shown that it still holds a hand the United States cannot casually wish away.

And Tehran played that hand with discipline.

That is what makes this so smart.

If Iran had simply kept the Strait closed indefinitely, Western media would have screamed “irrationality,” “extremism,” “madness,” and every other lazy colonial word they use when people outside Washington exercise real leverage. But by reopening it now, and explicitly linking that reopening to Lebanon’s ceasefire, Iran has done something far more sophisticated.

It has shown itself capable of restraint.

It has shown itself capable of calibration.

It has shown that the pressure was political, not random.

And it has shown that if Lebanon is attacked again, the world will know exactly what changed and exactly who changed it.

That is a stronger position than chaos. That is a stronger position than bluster. That is controlled leverage.

Israel Burned Lebanon, Then Wanted Credit for a Pause

This part should make every decent person furious.

Israel devastated Lebanon. Entire families were killed. Children were killed. Medical workers were killed. Homes and bridges and neighborhoods were torn apart. More than a million people were driven from where they lived. Then, after all of that, Israeli officials and their allies wanted to posture as though agreeing to a temporary ceasefire was some kind of noble diplomatic offering.

No. Absolutely not.

An arsonist does not get praise for briefly putting down the gasoline can.

And the fact that outside powers still scramble to preserve open passage through Hormuz tells you everything you need to know. They understand, perhaps better than they admit in public, that the global economy is vulnerable in ways their weapons cannot fully solve. There were already warnings of fuel disruptions. There were already reports of tankers beginning to move again once the Strait reopened. European powers were already staging meetings about secure passage. Why? Because everybody understands the same thing:

Iran’s leverage is real.

Not imagined. Not exaggerated. Real.

I am still angry for Lebanon. I am angry that so many of the world’s most powerful governments watched that country be battered and bled. I am angry that a “ceasefire” comes only after destruction so vast that families are returning not to homes, but to wreckage. I am angry that the same people who call themselves defenders of order keep producing mass disorder and then naming it diplomacy.

But I am also able to recognize a brilliant move when I see one.

Iran just taught the world that the Strait of Hormuz is not merely a map feature. It is not just a headline phrase. It is a live instrument of regional power. And by reopening it now, not in surrender but in linkage to Lebanon, Tehran has forced even its enemies to reckon with that fact.

That is the move.

Not just that Iran can close the gate.

But that Iran can open it, on its own terms, and make the whole world understand why.

If you value this kind of reporting and analysis, please click here to become a member. I want to keep building a platform strong enough to tell the truth about these wars, these lies, and these people in power without flinching. And when those who can afford to support this work do so, it helps keep it open for readers all over the world who cannot.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? Please CLICK HERE to Give!

Family,

I want to make one final ask for Lebanon before I step back from fundraising for a while.

By the grace of God, 284 people have already helped us raise $23,022 toward our $30,000 goal. That means we are now just $6,978 away.

Please click here to give to our Lebanon Emergency Appeal right now.

I need to tell you honestly: I wish I could do this full time. I wish I could just stay on these campaigns every day, pushing and asking and building until every need was met.

But I can’t.

After this, I have to get back to my journalism. There is so much ugly, dangerous, urgent truth unfolding right now that I need to document and help us fight back against. That work matters too. It matters deeply.

But before I shift back to it, I do not want to leave Lebanon without making one last direct appeal.

If you have considered donating, please do it now.

Please do not wait for the next email.
Please do not assume somebody else will carry this the rest of the way.
Please do not tell yourself your gift is too small to matter.

Right now, what stands between this campaign and its goal is not some impossible mountain. It is $6,978. And that can be closed if people move today.

Our team is already in Lebanon doing the work. This campaign is helping provide grocery items, warm meals, mattresses, blankets and pillows, water, and medicine to families who have been pushed from their homes and are trying to survive unbearable conditions.

This is direct relief.
This is real work.
This is help that reaches people now.

Please click here and donate now.

As always, I want to be crystal clear:
100% of your donation goes straight to the charity.
I do not receive any percentage or fee.
100% of your donation is tax deductible.
100% of your donation is Zakat eligible.

I work full-time for Human Concern International and coordinate directly with our team, so when I ask you to support this appeal, I am asking you based on direct knowledge of the work and the need.

If you can give $100, please give it.
If you can sponsor 1 family for $250, please do it.
If you can cover 2 families, 5 families, or more, this is the moment.

We are close enough now that one strong push can finish this.

And that would mean something real:
more meals,
more groceries,
more bedding,
more water,
more medicine,
more relief for families who cannot afford to wait.

Please click here to support Lebanon now.

And after you give, please forward this email to one or two people you trust who may want to help us close the gap.

Thank you to every single person who has already given.

Thank you to the 284 people who got us this far.

And thank you to everybody who helps us finish this.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? DONATE HERE OK?

The images I’m sharing with you matter.

Not because pictures solve anything on their own. Of course they don’t.

But because in a world full of empty talk, staged outrage, and promises people never keep, I want you to see with your own eyes what your support is making possible in Lebanon right now.

These are not abstract plans.
These are not vague intentions.
These are not “we hope to” or “we’re trying to.”

This is the work.

Our team in Lebanon is preparing and distributing warm meals.
They are providing grocery items to families who have been pushed from their homes.
They are delivering mattresses, blankets, and pillows so people are not sleeping on the floor with nothing.
They are helping provide water and medicine to people who need relief right now, not in some imagined future.

Please click here to support our Lebanon Emergency Appeal right now.

One of the things that has broken my heart most about Lebanon is how easy it has been for the world to look away.

The genocide in Gaza is still unfolding. The violence in the West Bank is still escalating. The threats around Iran are still dangerous and real. And because the region is so overwhelmed with catastrophe, Lebanon can get treated like the side story.

But for the families living through this, there is no side story.

There is only the loss of home.
The loss of safety.
The search for food.
The search for water.
The search for medicine.
The search for one mattress, one blanket, one hot meal, one box of groceries, one small sign that somebody still sees them.

That is why these photos matter.

They show the hot meals being cooked and packed.

They show the boxes being stacked and distributed.

They show the bedding being handed directly to families.

They show the work moving from kitchens and warehouses into the hands of the people who need it.

And Family, that is exactly the kind of proof I always want us to have.

Because when you give, you deserve to know that your support is not disappearing into a black hole. You deserve to know that real people are being served by real teams doing real work on the ground.

That is what this is.

Please click here and give whatever you can for Lebanon.

I also want to say this plainly: Lebanon still needs more than our awareness.

Yes, people need to know what is happening.

Yes, people need to understand that families are being displaced, communities are being shattered, and suffering is spreading while much of the world is distracted.

But awareness does not cook a meal.
Awareness does not buy groceries.
Awareness does not place a mattress under a child.
Awareness does not put medicine in a sick person’s hands.
Awareness does not bring water to a family tonight.

Support does.

That is why I am asking you not just to look at these images, but to act on them.

Every gift matters here.

Every dollar can help us provide the very things you see in these photos:
grocery items, warm meals, mattresses, blankets and pillows, water, and medicine.

As always, I want to be crystal clear:
100% of your donation goes straight to the charity.
I do not receive any percentage or fee.
100% of your donation is tax deductible.
100% of your donation is Zakat eligible.

I work full-time for Human Concern International and coordinate directly with our team, so when I tell you this work is happening, I mean that directly and personally.

This is not speculation.
This is not PR.
These are receipts.

And the need is still growing.

So tonight, I’m asking you to do two things.

First, please give to our Lebanon Emergency Appeal right now.

Second, share this post with people you trust. Share the photos. Share the link. Share the proof. Because sometimes people do not move until they can see the work with their own eyes.

Now they can.

They can see the meals.
They can see the boxes.
They can see the mattresses.
They can see the blankets.
They can see the deliveries.
They can see the dignity.

And now I need them to help us do more.

Please click here to support Lebanon tonight.

May God protect the people of Lebanon. May God reward every person who gives, every person who serves, every person who cooks, packs, carries, delivers, comforts, and refuses to look away.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

In a hurry? Please chip in here OK?

I want to tell you something honestly.

I did not plan on fundraising for Lebanon this month.

Truthfully, I did not plan on fundraising after Ramadan at all.

I planned on writing essential articles. I planned on focusing on special projects. I planned on catching my breath a little bit and turning my full attention to the work that has been piling up around me.

But the violence from the United States and Israel is so brutal, and it is harming so many people, that I just could not keep my head down and move on to my next task.

Across Gaza, the West Bank, Iran, and now Lebanon, more than 6 million people have lost their homes. Sit with that for a moment. Six million human beings. Six million lives destabilized. Six million people pushed into fear, uncertainty, and displacement because the most powerful governments in the world keep treating entire populations like they are disposable.

And in Lebanon, the suffering is escalating so fast that I do not have the luxury of pretending this can wait.

In just one month, the death toll there has now crossed 2,000 people. More than 1.5 million men, women, and childrenhave been pushed from their homes. One of the fastest ethnic cleansing campaigns in modern history is happening right now, and much of the world barely knows it.

Yes, Lebanon needs awareness.

But awareness is not enough.

Families cannot sleep on awareness.
Children cannot swallow awareness when they need medicine.
Parents cannot feed their families with awareness.
The displaced cannot drink awareness when they need water.

They need support. Right now.

That is why, even though I had other plans for this month, I launched this emergency appeal with Human Concern International. And that is why I am asking you, very directly, to please give to our Lebanon Emergency Appeal right now.

By the grace of God, 218 people have already helped us raise $16,669.

I am deeply grateful for that.

Truly.

But our current goal is $30,000, and Lebanon still needs us badly. Please click here and give now.

Our team is already in Lebanon doing the work. This is not abstract. This is not theoretical. This is direct emergency relief for families who have been driven from their homes and need help immediately.

The money from this campaign is going directly to mattresses, medicine, food, and water.

That means this is about the simplest and most urgent human needs imaginable.

A child needs a mattress tonight.
A wounded person needs medicine tonight.
A mother needs food for her family tonight.
A father needs clean water tonight.

That is what this campaign is for.

As always, I want to be crystal clear: 100% of your donation goes straight to the charity. I do not receive any percentage or fee. 100% of your donation is tax deductible. 100% of your donation is Zakat eligible.

I work full-time for HCI and coordinate directly with our team. So when I ask you to support this appeal, I am asking you based on direct knowledge of the work, the urgency, and the need.

And I want to say something else plainly.

I know the world feels unbearably heavy right now.

I know people are trying to process a genocide in Gaza, rising violence in the West Bank, a dangerous and expanding war in Iran, and now mass displacement in Lebanon. I know many people feel emotionally overwhelmed. I know many people feel financially stretched. I know some people are exhausted.

I understand all of that.

But the families suffering in Lebanon are exhausted too. They are displaced too. They are overwhelmed too. And they do not have the option of emotionally checking out from what is happening to them.

So I am asking us not to look away.

Not because Lebanon is the only place hurting.
Not because the suffering elsewhere matters less.
But because Lebanon matters too.
And because people there need more than our sympathy. They need our help.

If you can give $100, please give it.
If you can sponsor one family for $250, please do it.
If you can cover two families, five families, ten families, or more, please move generously right now.

Every gift matters.

And after you give, please send the link to people you trust. Send it to your family. Send it to your friends. Send it to your masjid. Send it to anybody you know who still has a heart for Lebanon and wants to do something real.

Here is the link again: Lebanon Emergency Appeal with Shaun King

I did not plan on spending this month fundraising.

But plans change when people are being crushed at this scale.

Plans change when children are displaced.

Plans change when families are sleeping in fear.

Plans change when entire populations are being uprooted and the world barely notices.

So here I am, asking you again: please give to Lebanon right now.

May God protect the people of Lebanon. May God heal the wounded, comfort the grieving, shelter the displaced, and move our hearts to act while there is still time.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun