Last week, I, as an Executive Producer of FROM GROUND ZERO: STORIES FROM GAZA, was quoted across the country as stating the following: “No filmmaker, writer or artist should ever have to tell the story of their own extermination.”

And yet…

As I write this, in a scattered group of cinemas across the country, movie-goers are watching this anthology of stories captured on camera by Palestinian filmmakers in Gaza amidst Netanyahu’s reign of terror over the past year. This collection of 22 short films of his shameless extermination attempt — the unending barrage of bombs and bullets, the forced starvation — is what the people of Gaza are facing every single day.

And during this hour and fifty-two minutes on the screen, you will feel the pulse of the Palestinian people. Their resilience. And you are right there with them.  They are not Hamas. They are not rapists. They are not lying in wait to murder Israelis. They are not a threat to any human or to Democracy as certain propagandists are hoping you’ll be brainwashed into believing.

In the final hours of last year’s legislative session, Ohio’s legislature passed HB 8—a dangerous bill modeled after Florida’s harmful “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. This legislation forces schools to notify parents or caregivers if a student requests to use a different name or pronouns, even when that disclosure could put the student at risk of harm.

HB 8 endangers the lives of LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio. Transgender and nonbinary students deserve to trust their educators without fear of being outed to unsupportive families, and educators deserve a workplace where they do not have to fear retribution for supporting a student.

Governor DeWine has the power to halt this harmful legislation, but he needs to hear from you. Call or email Governor DeWine now and demand he veto HB 8. Regardless of the outcome, your message in support of our precious youth will resound loud and clear.

Every call and every email counts in the fight to protect Ohio’s children. Through our collective action, our children will see what side of history we are on, and right now, that could save a life. Together, we can send a strong message that discrimination has no place in our state.