![Participate in #Nakba71 Actions with USPCN May 15th is #NakbaDay, when Palestinians and our supporters across the world commemorate the Nakba (“Catastrophe” in Arabic) – the forced exile and ethnic […]](https://uspcn.ipower.com/wp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/deactivate-airbnb-620x300.jpg "#Nakba71 w/ USPCN: #deactivateAirbnb, Picket Israeli Consulate, Protest AIPAC")
Participate in #Nakba71 Actions with USPCN
May 15th is #NakbaDay, when Palestinians and our supporters across the world commemorate the Nakba (“Catastrophe” in Arabic) – the forced exile and ethnic cleansing by European Jewish militias (which eventually became the Israeli occupation forces) of over 750,000 Palestinians in 1947-48. These refugees, and those from the 1967 Israeli occupation of the rest of historical Palestine, plus all their descendants, now number close to seven million.
#NakbaDay is the day when our movement makes it clear that there can be no resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli or Arab-Israeli conflict without the full implementation of the Right of Return for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants, to the homes and lands they were violently expelled from in 1947-8 and again in 1967.
It is the day we affirm that there cannot be peace without the Right of Return, and that this right is not only an individual one, but a collective one that belongs to the Palestinian people as a whole and cannot be bargained away by Israel, the U.S., the European Union, or the Palestinian Authority itself.
It is the day that we look to the Gaza Strip, under siege for 13 years, but still resisting every day. The #GreatReturnMarch, which launched on March 30th (Land Day), 2018, and has continued every Friday since, has seen tens of thousands of Gazans cumulatively marching to expressly demand the Right of Return. Not only have hundreds of Palestinians been massacred during these marches, but the Israeli military also continues to regularly drop missiles and bombs on Gaza, as we saw last week, when dozens more were killed. But the Gazans fight back under a unified resistance, never capitulating.
It is the day that we examine the leaked summary of Kushner and Trump’s Deal of the Century, and we recognize not only how ridiculous it is, but how confident we are that our people, and the people of the world, have already rejected any notion that Israel can annex the illegal settlements of the West Bank.
And it is the day that, despite the ultra-right-wing, racist leadership of both the Israeli and U.S. governments, we stand proud of our brave people throughout historical Palestine, the U.S., and the rest of the world, standing stongly against the enemies of freedom, justice, and equality – organizing BDS campaigns, defending our right to boycott, and resisting by any and all other means necessary.
Israel and the U.S. may believe that they can act with impunity in Palestine, but 71 years and more of resistance should make it clear that we will never stop organizing and fighting until the end of the occupation and colonization of all Palestinian and Arab lands, until all our refugees and their descendants return to historical Palestine, and until we have freedom and total liberation from zionism, racism, and U.S. imperialism.
USPCN
May 14th, 2019
Please participate in the following actions for #NakbaDay and beyond:
Stand for Justice and #deactivateAirbnb on Nakba Day, May 15th!
Airbnb recently reversed its decision to de-list properties in Occupied Palestine, and is now choosing to continue listing apartments for rent in illegal Israeli settlements. These properties are built on stolen Palestinian land and are considered war crimes under international law. By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb is directly promoting discrimination, oppression, and injustice against an entire people.
Take Action:
- Deactivate your Airbnb account on May 15th by following this link.
- Take a screenshot of your deactivated account page.
- Attach the screenshot to a tweet and join an international Twitter storm from 1 to 3 PM Eastern Time, 8 to 10 PM Palestine Time on Wednesday, May 15th. Tweet using the hashtag #deactivateAirbnb and tag @Airbnb.
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Nakba Day of Action May 15th in Chicago
On Wednesday, May 15 (Nakba Day), 2019, clergy, people of faith, and laity will gather together across the street from the Israeli consulate (500 W. Madison Street, downtown Chicago) from 9:30 to 10:30 AM to embody solidarity with Palestinians.
We are calling all faith leaders in Chicago to join us for prayer, and to demand the Israeli government end the brutal occupation and grant Palestinians the space and right for their own self-determination.
Our time of gathering will be to lift up the voices of the Palestinian Christians and to either deliver or read the Kairos petition. Sign it here!
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AIPAC is Not Welcome in Chicago – protest May 30th
Join the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine (Al-Nahda Community Center, American Muslims for Palestine, Palestinian American Community Center, Palestinian American Council, Students for Justice in Palestine [SJP]-Chicago, and U.S. Palestinian Community Network [USPCN]) and Jewish Voice for Peace as we protest the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)-Chicago Annual Event Thursday, May 30th, 2019, at 5 PM at the Hyatt Regency – downtown Chicago at 151 E. Wacker Drive.
AIPAC, a major arm of the Israel Lobby, is the main advocate in the U.S. for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine and other human rights violations against the Palestinian people, but its most recent and unequivocal support for Netanyahu’s ultra-right government has reinforced its reputation as a racist, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim force influencing the U.S. Congress.
AIPAC also plays a major role in building Congressional support for Trump and Kushner’s ridiculous Deal of the Century “peace plan,” for Trump’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, respectively, and for anti-BDS legislation on both federal and state levels – statutes used to silence critics of Israeli policies by putting Israel first and free speech and the right to boycott last.
Recently, U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Black Somali Muslim refugee, publicly criticized AIPAC, raising awareness of the negative influence it has on the U.S. government. Because of her bravery in challenging AIPAC, and by extension, Israel, she was falsely accused of anti-Semitism, and continues to face vicious, racist, and Islamophobic backlash, including death threats.
AIPAC is a supporter of the rabidly racist administrations in both Israel and the U.S. It aids in the violations of Palestinian human, civil, and national rights (both here and in Palestine), and we are going to make clear to AIPAC and its supporters on May 30th that they are not welcome in our city!
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