upward and onward

I get so angry hearing and reading about what's happening in Palestine right now. I don't even know what to do and it all feels hopeless 😔

The situation around Sheikh Jarrah should make everyone angry. For those of you who might not know what’ going on here’s a brief breakdown:

Indigenous Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, for a very long time, have been fighting lengthy legal battles in Israeli courts against eviction orders which aim to replace these indigenous people with illegal Israeli settlers. 

On May 7th, the illegal Israeli settlers along with courts (an apparatus of Israel’s apartheid regime) have started a campaign to illegally take over the home’s of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. These families were given until today (May 10th, 2021) to “reach an agreement” with the occupiers. This obviously prompted protests. The IDF has also brutally responded to these protests. Now the world is watching and global protests have started happening.

Some important things to note:

-Sheikh Jarrah belongs to the Palestinian families. It is part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and therefore any Israeli settler presence in it amounts to a war crime under international law. 

-There has been a mountain of UN Security Council resolutions demanding that Israel withdraw from East Jerusalem which Israel continues to ignore.

-This is ethnic cleansing

I know you feel hopeless but here’s what we can do:

-Support BDS (Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions) movements (What”s BDS?) Boycott Israeli products from their colonial settlements

-Understand whats happening in Palestine and the crimes of apartheid/persecution being committed by Israel. (Check out this great report by HRW on the situation) After getting an understanding. SPREAD AWARENESS. Especially in the US. This is key to combatting Evangelical propaganda and Israeli lobbyists. Do this through social media.

-Contact your local reps and pressure them to stop giving Israel military funding or any form of financial support. Fight against zionist lobbyists such as AIPAC or Christians United for Israel.

-Donate if you can. Here’s a few links. If you can add more (reputable) donation links to this, I ask that you please do. 

International Medical Corps

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

Grassroots Al-Quds

I found this great twitter thread of donation links

Here is another

This is a start and we can honestly make change happen. I personally believe social media outrage coupled with supporting the BDS movement is a great way for you to help even by sitting at home. 

Most of all, it’s important to spread awareness.