Ink Stains of Liberation

Tattooing Palestine’s Resistance in NYC

By Peyton Weeks

Inside a small tattoo studio, the atmosphere is filled with creativity and purpose.
An artist, dressed in all black attire, a blue bandana, and adorned with tattoos, leans over a client, their hands moving with care and precision as they bring a design to life on the client's skin. In this intimate moment, art and activism are blended together with each stroke of the needle, a testament to the artist’s unwavering dedication to their craft and their cause.
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza has encouraged individuals and
communities worldwide to rally together to provide direct support through mutual aid initiatives. Rethinking traditional charity models, these grassroots efforts prioritize solidarity and empowerment, channeling resources directly to individuals and families in need.
From fundraising campaigns, to artwork, to direct assistance networks like Gaza
Mutual Aid and Operation Olive Branch, people are mobilizing to offer financial aid, essential supplies, and solidarity to those affected by the crisis. In New York City a self- proclaimed “punk” tattoo artist is using their art and small business to do their part.

Meet Nassim (Sema) Dayoub, a queer, non-binary, Arabian, tattoo artist whose
work serves as a canvas for cultural expression and political resistance. Through intricate and empowering designs, they shed light on the resistance in Palestine while raising funds for mutual aid initiatives, challenging perceptions and advocating for justice.

Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Dayoub, 30, has been talking about Palestine for
as long as they can remember. “My family is Syrian and white and Palestine was kind of always something we talked about in the home with like my arab family um and how my mom is part of this like arab christian community now.” These constant conversations with their family and involvement in their community laid the foundation for them as an activist and someone who believes in helping others in need.
Dayoub discovered their love for art and drawing around the age of 6 or 7. As a
queer person growing up they found that drawing and painting were the most authentic ways to express themselves. As a child they loved to go to museums and look at art. Eventually they often found themselves admiring the tattoos of the adults around them.
“When I was super young I would draw all over my arms and legs.” Around
middle and high school Dayoub started to involve themselves in the local punk scene in Pittsburg. In the punk scene they saw many different people with all kinds of tattoos and they fell in love with the culture and aesthetic. Dayoub credits the punk scenes for being their introduction to radical activism and art. Being involved in a community where people were using music and other forms of art to bring important issues to light inspired Dayoub to aspire to do the same, building on top of the foundation that was laid by their parents.
Having been a tattoo artist for 8 years Dayoub has been putting all that
inspiration into action since the start of their career. Currently working out of Flower World Tattoo shop located in Brooklyn, New York Dayoub has been using their tattoos designs inspired by Palestinian culture and activism to fundraise money for mutual aid initiatives.
They have been supporting various mutual aid groups even longer than they have
been tattooing and believe that it is a more direct way to help those in need rather than donating to larger organizations. With pre designed flash tattoos priced at around $95and custom design prices starting at about $150 per hour they have raised thousands of dollars over the years for mutual aid. Dayoub believes there is something extra added to the overall message because these tattoos are on people’s bodies forever.
“I mean it's like double because it's like the current material support in that
moment like you're sending like three hundred dollars to like a lot of people, and i'm like a lot of people, but also like you have this commitment like on your body where you see it as like a reminder daily of what’s important and who this work is for.”
Outside of tattooing Dayoub is the lead vocalist in a punk band titled “Pure
Terror”. With all of the band's members being queer and of Arab or Palestinian descent Dayoub says that their lyrics often talk about current political issues and their experiences in an oppressive society, mirroring the bands at punk shows they admired as a young adult. Pure Terror also donates a portion of their ticket sales to mutual aid in Gaza, showing Dayoub’s commitment to this cause in multiple areas of their life.
Dayoub believes their work will not end until “the people of Palestine are happy
and free of the occupation.” They strongly encourage other people and small businesses to use their work to amplify and assist causes that are important to them because it helps all of us in the long run “people just have to do it you know. I don't know I feel like there's a lot of like fear around like scarcity mindset in the states and under capitalism that it's like you can't afford to like do something like that like give away like half of your income or whatever but it's like something that truly is beneficial to all of us in the long run and it's like there will be a time where like you need to tap into those resources and it's like you've already like created this like network of people that are supporting each other I feel like if there's any person that has like a hustle and they want to start doing mutual aid work I would encourage them to do it.”

You can find more information about Nassim Dayoub by clicking the link to
their website here: https://nassimdayoub.com/ and by following their Instagram here: Sema میسان (@sema.tattoo) • Instagram photos and videosInstagram · sema.tattoo 27.8K+followers