How to Not Get Singled Out
September 27th, 2011
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Whether it was the 1984 assassination of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee leader Alex Odeh in Orange County, California, where just last week 10 students were convicted for exercising their freedom of speech, or the harassment of Hatem Abudayyeh and the Chicago \ community, intimidation and political persecution were and are at work in small and large cities across the country.
We all know what it's like to speak out in our community and feel alone, singled out by those who oppose us. We face well-staffed and well-bankrolled organizations, which openly declare, in tips and tutorials they publish, that smear tactics are an important tool in facing the facts of Israel's oppression of Palestinians.
But I just returned from the US Campaign's 10th Annual National Organizers' Conference and witnessed and heard firsthand how our communities are becoming more interconnected, and those who believe in racism, segregation, and occupation are becoming more desperate, more frantic. It has become increasingly important that we share resources, strategies, and wisdom in our various campaigns.
| That is why I'm writing you today, to ask you to make a donation to the work of the US Campaign. |
As a coalition of nearly 400 organizations and growing, the US Campaign plays an important role in supporting our movement. In 2011 alone, among its contributions, the US Campaign:
brought 100 organizations together to thank Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for canceling a much-publicized visit to Israel,LINK
hosted a conference call attended by dozens of member organizations to discuss the Palestinian Authority's push for membership at the UN, and produced an FAQ on the subject, and
helped organize a grassroots training in DC, with member groups Interfaith Peace-Builders and the American Friends Services Committee, which brought together organizations and young activists from across the country to attend workshops where groups exchange knowledge and skill sets. And just to ensure that others who couldn't make it to DC wouldn't miss out, the US Campaign live-streamed the panels on their website, complete with question-asking opportunities!
A year ago, my Palestinian cousin in Louisiana surprised me, not just with her southern twang but with the news that she keeps up with the movement by reading the US Campaign's Occupation End Notes! Little do most folks know that she's one of more than 50,000 people who receive its biweekly by email!
With plans this and next year to boost the resources they provide and connections they make among member groups, as well as new plans to support individuals pursuing accountability at a local municipal level, your contribution of time or money is evermore important to the US Campaign's future.
Make your contribution today, so that tomorrow our work can remind you that this movement isn't just in your city or your town, it's in hundreds of them across America!
Yours in solidarity,
Andrew Kadi,
Steering Committee Member
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation