Recently, a film about Hind Rajab, the young Palestinian girl mercilessly slaughtered by the Israeli army, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a long standing ovation. The image of her story being dramatized for international audiences was celebrated as a moment of “awareness.” Yet one must ask: what is there to raise awareness about at this point? Every single human who is connected to media knows what is happening in Gaza. The plight of Palestinians is not hidden. It is being broadcasted every day in real time, live-streamed from the rubble of bombed homes, the ruins of hospitals and the tents of displaced families. Everyone knows, and yet nothing changes.

That is why The Voice of Hind Rajab feels less like solidarity and more like a hollow token helping with capitalistic gains. It is, in truth, a fetishization of violence in the name of raising awareness. Hind’s story is not history. It is not a distant atrocity frozen in time, requiring cinematic treatment so that audiences may be educated. It is the story of today, of now, of this very moment. Children like her are still being martyred and families like her own are being wiped out entirely. Millions are still starving and Gaza is undergoing a man-made famine as food and medicine are deliberately withheld. To transform this into a festival spectacle, applauded by audiences who will then return to wine, yachts, and industry dinners, is grotesque.

This pattern of Western hypocrisy is not new. During the Rwandan genocide, the West and the United Nations stood by and did nothing as bodies piled up in the thousands each day. The international community had the tools to intervene but lacked the political will. Later, when the blood........

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