Solidarity Delegation to Palestine – Summer 2009

Sarah, Katrina and Karen are all home safe and sound.

Thank you all for your support. We will post a more detailed report soon.

BLOG: Click here to read updates from the delegation

About the Delegation:

Extending solidarity to the Palestinian people is now more important than ever. Since 1948, Palestinians have faced land confiscation, home demolitions, arbitrary detention and harassment, and a daily threat of violence from Israeli soldiers. In December 2008, Israel began a 3-week assault on Gaza that killed 1400 people including at least 900 civilians. The attack also destroyed homes and infrastructure that people in Gaza depend on for survival.

American citizens have a responsibility to speak out against these atrocities because the U.S. supports the Israeli occupation with $3.1 billion in military aid every year. Recently President Obama called for a two-state solution and an end to the expansion of Israeli settlements on

Palestinian land. This is a good sign, but now is the time to demand real justice for Palestinians including the right of return for refugees and an end to Zionist policies of war and aggression. In practice, it would require an end to U.S. military aid for Israel – something the Anti-War Committee has been fighting for since our group began in 1998.

This is why two members of the Anti-War Committee will participate in a solidarity delegation to Palestine in August 2009. Hosted by the Palestinian Women’s Committee in Ramallah, they will travel to various cities including Jenin, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. The group will meet with human rights groups, union members, prisoners’ rights advocates, and refugees. Delegates will witness living conditions under military occupation and extend our solidarity to Palestinian activists, organizers and community leaders.

When they return, they are excited to share the stories of Palestinians who struggle for justice every day in the face of tremendous repression.