Why should you be concerned?
Israel has long promoted itself as the only democracy in the Middle East—Is that really true?
Not for the millions of Palestinian people who live under Israeli occupation. Israeli oppression of Palestinians has been long-standing, going back more than 75 years. In 1948, Israel subjected the indigenous population of Palestine to ethnic cleansing, driving some 750,000 people from their homes. In 1967, Israel conquered the rest of Palestine, bringing more than a million Palestinians under Israeli control.
In recent years, Israel has confiscated more and more Palestinian-owned land in the occupied territory (OPT), moved in hundreds of thousands more Israeli settlers, and pushed Palestinians out.
Every year Palestinians are killed and maimed by the Israeli military. In 2022, more Palestinians were killed in the OPT than in any year since the UN began keeping statistics—and more Palestinians were being held without charge than in any year since 2008.
The current government in Israel is the most right-wing, racist government in its history. This new government is undermining much of what remains of Israeli democracy, sparking months of widespread protests by Israeli civilians and worldwide condemnation. The situation for Palestinians has been especially grim.
As killings of Palestinians increase, there has been growing impunity for the killers.
The Israeli government has approved thousands of new settlement units, as settlers have been carrying out what the world press has called “pogroms” in Palestinian villages.
The Biden administration has voiced its concern in response to the settlement expansion. But Washington needs to do much more: It needs to cut off all military aid to Israel. It needs to support United Nations resolutions that actually punish Israel for its violations of international and humanitarian law.
What You Can Do
- Write to the US State Department and demand that our government cut aid and impose
- sanctions on Israel.
- Ask your Congress member to support H.R. 3103, prohibiting the use of U.S. aid to abuse imprisoned Palestinian children or to violate international law.
- Oppose state and federal legislation that punishes individuals, organizations, and businesses that exercise their Constitutional right to boycott Israel.
- Encourage American institutions to divest from supporting Israeli oppression.
- Learn about and support the international campaign to boycott Israel and the settlements until they stop Israeli apartheid policies. https://bdsmovement.net/