This interview was recorded with Anas Arafat in Gaza and Laura Schleifer in the US on May 17, 2025. We are very grateful for their time and their work, and the unimaginable hardship that Anas is enduring in Gaza. We thank them for this interview.

 Our conversation starts with the formation of Plant the Land Team Gaza as a grassroot collaboration between local Gazan community activists and international solidarity activists within the vegan community and beyond to provide life-sustaining foods and services in a way that respects and sustains all life.

  Anas shares details of the situation in Gaza since the blockaid of all aid including food, water and medical supplies since March 2. Palestinians are suffering immense hardship with ongoing violence under the illegal occupation of their land and the genocide and ethnic cleansing being committed by the state of Israel. 

 We discuss the Nakba: both in it's remembrance this week and the ongoing Nakba being perpetrated in Gaza and the West Bank.

 Anas and Laura talk about Palestinian solidarity and what people can do to support Palestine.

  Please follow Plant the Land Team Gaza here:

  https://www.planttheland.org/

  https://www.facebook.com/PlantTheLandTeamGaza

  Anas on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008448283358

  Laura on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008448283358

 Also the BDS Movement https://bdsmovement.net/

 Vegan BDS https://www.instagram.com/veganbds/

  Links to fundraisers that will get dontions directly to Anas in Gaza to continue this work:

 - GoFundMe: Support Mutual aid in Gaza fundraiser (AUD) https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-mutual-aid-in-gaza

 - Muslim Giving: Help for Gaza fundraiser (Pounds Stirling) https://www.muslimgiving.org/g4za2025?fbclid=IwY2xjawKV-PVleHRuA2FlbQIxM...

  - Bonfire Plant the Land Team Gaza t-shirt fundraiser (USD) https://www.bonfire.com/plant-the-land-team-gaza-1/

  Music we played on the show:

  - Falstini Ana by Zain Daqqa

  - Ya Tal3een by Dana Salah

 Please note that due to copyright legislation we are not able to include the songs in our podcast. You can find the songs on the Freedom of Species Spotify playlist here:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3TJQujKYjGFoFP6LhBbaTS?si=6ghUWmzkQpyv...