The horrors on the ground in Palestine/Israel are devastating and increasing by the moment. The Israeli government is encouraging and enabling the imminent settler theft of homes in Sheikh Jarrah, bulldozing homes in Silwan, storming Al Aqsa mosque to attack Palestinians at prayer, and protecting rioting mobs of settlers as they accost Palestinians. And today, the IDF launched a barrage of airstrikes into Gaza, killing at least 20 people, including 9 children. The bombing is ongoing—the government stated that it would continue for “days, not hours.” My heart is shattering.
We need to meet this moment together with everything we have, in alignment with the steadfast resistance of our Palestinian comrades. This is why JVP exists.
Mohammed el-Kurd, a key leader on the ground in Sheikh Jarrah, says it clearly:
“You can help us by placing political pressure, boycotting, divesting, being with us in person or protesting abroad. You can help us by understanding that Sheikh Jarrah is a microcosm of Israeli settler-colonialism in Palestine.”
We’re working closely with our Palestinian partners and cementing plans to apply strategic pressure in the coming days. Today, you can make an impact by pressuring Secretary of State Tony Blinken to act now in support of Palestinian human rights. Our coalition petition has collected almost 165,000 signatures, but we need to be even louder.
Tell Blinken: The State Department must end Israel’s illegal evictions of Palestinians and the demolition of their homes. If you’ve already signed this petition, please share widely with your networks.
The petition will be delivered in-person tomorrow, May 11, at 9am PT/12pm ET. Along with our partners, we’ve created a social media toolkit to amplify the petition delivery and our message: Blinken MUST intervene to stop Israel’s illegal expulsion of Palestinians from their homes. Please lift your voice with us tomorrow morning.
As Mariam Barghouti and Noura Erakat wrote in the Washington Post today:
“There’s no denying the reality: This is Zionist settler colonialism, where if one settler does not take our homes, another settler will. When will the world open its eyes to this injustice and respond appropriately? We do not need more empty both sides-isms, we need solidarity to overcome apartheid.“
As this crisis unfolds, we will send regular emails with updates, opportunities to learn more, and most importantly, strategic actions we can take. This moment demands our solidarity, courage, and action—thank you for meeting it with us.
In solidarity,
Stefanie Fox
Executive Director
P.S. For fuller analysis and additional actions to take, read my first member newsletter.
