Meet the activist who shamed Israeli 'baby-shredding' defence firms

A few days ago, a video of a man going from one booth to another at a defence exhibition asking Israeli weapons manufacturers if they were selling "baby shredding tech" went viral on social media.

The person behind that video is Abu Rahss, the founder of Palestine News Network, who has helped put the spotlight on the role of defence firms in perpetuating the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 42,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children.

“We are looking for baby shredding technology. Is this where they shred babies?” Rahss confronts Israel’s arms manufacturers in one of the clips. "Do you have it? Sir? Baby-killing technology. We want to shred babies to bits. Can you help us? Guys, we're looking for the baby-killing technology."

The defence expo was held in Washington this month.

As Rahss went around putting the camera in their faces, representatives of the defence companies pretended not to understand, some tried to switch off his camera, while others responded with laughter.

'I'm always getting threats'

In the video’s final moments, expo staff tried to stop Rahss from filming, but he continued until the police were called.

"I'm always getting threats, so nothing to write home about, but they ended up getting the police," he told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

Rahss said that his creative activism aims to present the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a fresh perspective that challenges the normalisation of violence.

"We get desensitised, so the goal is to show the same message from a new angle," he said.

'He is legend!'

The footage quickly went viral, particularly on X, amassing millions of views and reactions.

Praise has poured in from social media users who described Abu Rahss as a 'legend', 'hero' or 'revolutionary'.

One person expressed deep admiration for Rahss' courage, saying that his act of protest carries more moral and symbolic power than the military might of nations like the US, Israel, and the EU.

“Sometimes we all get lost in the kind of everyday flow of what we're doing. I didn't think this video would hit such a massive chord, but I think it's just important to be creative because we, the human mind, normalise everything. It's the same message, but from a new angle, new perspective because everybody has a different perspective,” Rahss said.

The activist stressed that his approach is rooted in the belief that taking risks is often necessary to deliver powerful messages.

“A lot of times we try to recreate what we see, but sometimes it's better, even if you're a bit unsure, to just do your own thing, however you feel about it. And just think: what is something you'd like to see that's not being done? So just try to think about what you can do within your own framework and just be creative,” he said.

A heavy censorship

Rahss emphasised the importance of taking risks to deliver powerful messages, encouraging others to think outside the box in their advocacy efforts.

Despite facing censorship, including the deletion of several TikTok videos, Rahss remains undeterred and committed to spreading his message.

"There's heavy censorship, especially on anything related to Palestine," he said, adding that more content is in the works despite these challenges.