About this Event
Since 2013, 7amleh has been at the forefront of protecting Palestinians' rights to safety, security, and free expression online. The mechanisms of digital repression "battle-tested" on Palestinians include mass surveillance, algorithmic targeting, internet shutdowns, and AI-driven military technologies. These tools and tactics, often developed through U.S.-Israeli partnerships, are now being deployed domestically, utilizing the same surveillance infrastructure and policing technologies that are spreading across vulnerable communities.
Join the Palestinian digital rights organization - 7amleh, Institute for Palestine Studies, Adalah Justice Project, and Union Theological Seminary's Center for Religion and Public Life for a moderated conversation on Big Tech's complicity in the genocide—from silencing Palestinian voices and amplifying harmful content, to the weaponization of AI, and the deplatforming of Gaza fundraisers. The panel will discuss the latest US policies related to the "deadly merger" of the US and Israel's military and what we can do to challenge big tech complicity.
Nadim Nashif
Nadim is a digital rights advocate and social entrepreneur, founder and Executive Director of 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, which works to promote and protect Palestinian digital rights. He is also the founder and publisher of Sabra, an independent Palestinian media platform. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI), as well as the Global Reference Group of Deutsche Welle Akademie. He previously served as a policy analyst with Al-Shabaka, co-founded Untold Palestine, and founded and directed Baladna.
Rand Jitani
Rand is Adalah Justice Project's Senior Digital Content Strategist. She is a U.S.-based Palestinian storyteller working across social media, writing, activism, and film. Her work explores culture, belonging, faith, queerness and the ways narratives shape our understanding of ourselves and one another. Grounded in a commitment to political justice and collective liberation, she is particularly interested in the stories, histories, and lived realities of communities fighting to survive, resist, and imagine new futures.
Deborah Brown
Deborah is Deputy Director for Technology, Rights and Investigations division at Human Rights Watch. Before joining Human Rights Watch, she worked at the Association for Progressive Communications as the global policy advocacy lead, where she worked with a global network of civil society organizations and led the organization’s engagement in UN processes. She led advocacy towards governments and companies on internet shutdowns, content moderation, surveillance, cybersecurity and online gender-based violence.
Location: James Chapel
Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway (at W 121st Street)
October 13, 2026 at 6:30pm ET
Event venue & nearby stays
Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway, New York, United States
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