OKB wants journalists, doctors and civilians in Gaza to win TIME 2023 Person of the Year

As per its annual tradition, Time Magazine’s announcement of its 2023 Person of the Year is around the corner. During Monday’s broadcast of NBC’s Today Show, nine contenders for the award were disclosed for having "had the most influence on the world throughout the previous twelve months”.

From Mattel’s Barbie following its 2023 blockbuster feature adaptation to the President of China Xi Jinping and 2017 runner-up for the title marking his return to the list, anticipation for the winner’s name is high. However, not everyone is a fan of Time’s candidates.

Pakistani actor Osman Khalid Butt took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his disapproval of the list and insisted upon the true deservers of the prize. “Time’s Person of the Year should have been Palestinian journalists, doctors and civilians who’ve shown incredible courage, grace and resilience in the face of a genocide,” the actor declared.

Osman highlighted the recipient of the 2022 award, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and raised concerns about the selective nature of the award's acknowledgement in support of Ukraine, without a corresponding gesture for Palestine. He asked, “If 2022 could go to Zelensky and the ‘spirit of Ukraine’, what of the spirit of Palestine?”

In 2022, Zelenskyy garnered recognition as a figure of inspiration and hope, particularly in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The president was lauded for a display of effective leadership amid the crisis. As per Time reporter Simon Shuster, "Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious."

Since Israel initiated an aggressive military operative in Gaza and the West Bank following the October 7 Hamas attack, celebrities have been actively speaking up for freedom in Palestine. A consistently vocal critic of Israel’s barbarity, Osman has been using his social media to amplify Palestinian voices and counter Zionist narratives.

Quoting a post on X that stated, "You say Zionist like it’s an insult!," Osman said, "Because it is, you imbecile. It is a colonialist, racist movement responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians." In response to Piers Morgan sharing an image depicting the extent of destruction in Palestine, wherein he added, "Israel deliberately bombing Gaza's largest refugee camp, even if a Hamas commander was there, is outrageous and indefensible," Osman said, "Welcome to the right side of history."

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