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Build Palestinian Leadership in the U.S., Support Palestinian Political Prisoners, Donate to USPCN
In honor of the life of South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, forever the symbol of anti-Apartheid and anti-colonial struggle, the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) wishes Happy Holidays to all its friends and supporters across the U.S., and asks you to <a href=”http://uspcn.org/donate-to-support-uspcn/”>make a tax-deductible donation to help us strengthen our work.</a>
USPCN is a grassroots organization whose members and leadership are all Palestinian and Arab. The Palestinian nation is indivisible, so USPCN advocates for true representation in Palestinian politics for our people here, and we have spearheaded initiatives critical of the Palestinian Authority’s regular attempts to abandon Palestinian refugees and all of us who live outside of the West Bank. We play a leadership role in U.S. formations, including the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, the U.S. Social Forum, and the We Divest Coalition, and also build power for local communities.
USPCN sustains its work with donations from people like you, people who pay tribute to our own political prisoners like we do to Mandela. Over 5,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, even after a year that saw the largest political prisoners’ support movement since the days of the Irish H-Block hunger strikers. In 2013, along with the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, USPCN organized national support, including several call in days to the State Department and the White House on behalf of Arafat Jaradat, who was killed by the Israelis in prison, as well as numerous protests and rallies for the other Palestinian political prisoners who organized a series of historic hunger strikes that had the participation of many hundreds, including Khader Adnan and Samer Issawi, the latter who refused food for 278 days and finally was released to return home to our capital Jerusalem TODAY. We also helped organize a U.S. tour for Sahar Francis, Executive Director of the main prisoners’ support organization in Palestine, Addameer, who made important connections here with Black, Latino, and other activists from the anti-mass incarceration movement.
People like you also understand the importance of the Palestinian-led Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Our members have been active participants and leaders in a number of these efforts across the U.S., including the incredible victory by a coalition against Veolia, led by the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC). The PSC’s Palestinian caucus is our newest USPCN chapter. Other members, founders, and strong supporters of USPCN helped win two of the most recent BDS victories as well, the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association’s declaration of support for the academic boycott of Israel and the American Studies Association’s endorsement of the boycott.
And just yesterday, we launched a Christmas season mini-campaign to #BoycottSodaStream by asking people everywhere to bombard Amazon with “negative” reviews of Israeli company SodaStream’s products, describing its complicity in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
People like you also understand government repression, whether perpetrated by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, or the U.S. After organizing the two largest conferences for U.S. Palestinians in over 15 years, USPCN continued to build chapters, and organize activities and campaigns, across the country despite the fact that many of our Chicago members were facing a federal grand jury investigation.
Two months ago, USPCN co-founder and legendary Palestinian leader Rasmea Odeh was arrested on a bogus immigration charge. We immediately took up the responsibility of her political support, and not only pledge to continue defending her and the civil rights of activists, organizers, students, and other Palestinians and our supporters, but also promise to never surrender our national rights of self determination, Return, and independence from Israeli occupation and colonialism.
People like you know that these are difficult times in the U.S., with economic challenges compounded by the racist political, legal, and legislative attacks on Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. But we also know that the tide is turning, and it is turning because of the work of organizations like USPCN here, and because of our heroic family, friends, and countrywomen and men in Palestine. Continuous actions and a Day of Rage in the Naqab defeated the Prawer Plan back home, and at USPCN’s national meeting two months ago, we determined that our goal must also be continuous organizing and activism around SodaStream and political prisoners’ support.
All we’ve accomplished was done with a small budget and without staff, but that is unsustainable. We need your support to continue institutionalizing and to expand our chapters and our influence like we did this year. After 27 years in prison and massive sacrifices, Mandela saw his nation freed from Apartheid. With your help, we will see our own nation liberated from Israeli occupation and Apartheid as well! AMANDLA!