Philly Remembers Al-Nakba... 60 Days for 60 Years

We meet every Monday, 6:30pm at the A-Space - 4722 Baltimore Ave

Since the Palestinian elections of 2006, many of us have watched with great dismay the latest methods of Israeli oppression. Currently, Palestinians in Gaza are being deprived of food, fuel, medicines and other basic necessities by an economic embargo (collective punishment) imposed by Israel and backed by the U.S. Meanwhile, more Israeli settlements, roads, walls, and checkpoints are being set up in the West Bank each day. Very few people believe any progress will come out of the recent "peace talks." Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities here in the U.S. are being subjected to a war of racist repression and also need our support.

In the war precipitating Israel's founding, close to 700,000 Palestinian people (half the native population of historic Palestine) were forcibly expelled from their land to make way for the Israeli state. In this planned process of violence and removal, 531 villages were destroyed. With the 60th anniversary of al-Nakba -- the Palestinian catastrophe -- coming up on May 15, 2008, a group of local Philadelphia-area activists has formed a committee to organize a series of events and activities to celebrate 60 years of Palestinian resistance. We have adopted the name al-Nakba Coalition.

The struggle for justice for Palestinians is part of the larger struggle for grassroots justice the world over. We think it's important to connect injustices here in Philadelphia to those in Palestine and are excited to stretch the limits of solidarity in the 60 days before May 15. The millions of Philadelphia tax dollars going to support the illegal and unjust occupation of Palestine by Israel is literally at the expense of quality education and accessible healthcare for Philadelphians. In the globalized world, war and human rights violations abroad are intimately linked to injustice at home. Together we can expose these connections.

• We demand that the U.S. stop all tax-funded aid to Israel. We feel this money could be better spent on public education, healthcare, neighborhood-led community revitalization, affordable housing, and environmental restoration here at home.

• We demand that Israel stops its siege of Gaza and lifts its blockade to allow for the free flow of material aid and energy to the Palestinians in Gaza. According to international law, collective punishment is a crime.

• We condemn all illegitimate Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine and demand immediate demolition of the apartheid wall. Both settlements and the wall violate the rights of Palestinians through illegal land confiscation, home demolitions, and restriction of movement.

• We are appalled at the distortions and lies that the pro-Israel lobby has promulgated through corporate media. This has led to widespread Islamophobia and ignorance in the US concerning the true details of the conflict.

• We are opposed to racism in all its forms, including anti-semitism, and insist that the Israeli government’s policies toward the Palestinian people manifest both racism and state terrorism.

• We demand that Israel recognize all Palestinians’ Right of Return, as guaranteed in UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

• We stand in solidarity with all Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and self determination.