Dear Friend,
Like you, I, and all of us at AAI, have been devastated by the unfolding genocide taking place in Gaza and by the acquiescence of our own government to the crimes being committed by Israel against a trapped Palestinian population. Last weekend, to mobilize support for ending the violence, we joined with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to convene an Emergency Summit on Gaza.
Held in Chicago, the summit brought together national organizations and individuals across ethnic, racial, religious, and political lines. We were joined by: the U.S. Palestinian Council, Churches for Middle East Peace, Faith for Black Lives, Fellowship of Reconciliation, IfNotNow, JVP Action, Muslim Civic Coalition, Progressive Democrats of America, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, Tsuru for Solidarity, and hundreds of other local organizations from across the country - all of whom endorsed our three summit demands:
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We urge the US to lead the international community and facilitate unimpeded UN-supervised humanitarian aid in Gaza. This includes but is not limited to the immediate delivery of lifesaving aid, the reconstruction, restabilization, and return of Palestinians displaced from their homes and neighborhoods.
As I said before the summit, “In this moment of crisis, I am honored to be working again with Rev. Jesse Jackson fighting for justice, at home and abroad. And we are proud to be partnering with Rainbow PUSH and this coalition of diverse constituencies who have come together to demand a ceasefire, freedom for those unjustly held, aid and reconstruction for Palestinians, and an end to U.S. unconditional military aid to Israel. Our government’s acquiescence to Israel’s actions has made us accomplices in the unfolding genocide in Gaza. It must stop.”
During the two-day summit, we heard from several extraordinary leaders including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dr. Cornel West, Rev. Jamal Bryant, Nina Turner, Peter Beinart, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Rev. Wes Michaelson, and Marc Lamont Hill. We were also joined by a number of members of Congress including Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL) and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL).
Despite severe snow warnings that shut down Chicago transport, we were joined in person by a few hundred Chicago activists and thousands who watched the proceedings online.
The summit included six major sessions that addressed the following topics:
- the release of a special poll commissioned by RainbowPUSH and the Arab American Institute. The poll’s principle findings were: there is growing sympathy for Palestinians resulting in majorities seeking balance in U.S. policies toward the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; majorities also want U.S. military aid to Israel to be conditional on their protection of civilian life; by a two to one margin, voters are more supportive of elected officials who support a ceasefire; and in response to almost every question it was younger voters and non-white voters who were the most pro-Palestinian, pro-ceasefire, and pro-conditioning U.S. military aid to Israel.
- the Summit’s opening session was with Rev. Fredrick Douglass Haynes and myself. Convened over MLK weekend, we connected Dr. King’s message of peaceful resistance against oppression with Rev. Jackson’s five-decade-long struggle to elevate the equation that “security for Israel and justice for Palestinians are two sides of the same coin.”
- we then convened a roundtable discussion with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith leaders. The spontaneous outpouring of support for ending the assault on Gaza has surprised many and so we discussed how so many diverse communities have been moved to speak out and how best to build on this foundation to expand the coalition in the interests of peace with justice. This conversation included remarks by Eva Borgwardt, Nina Turner, Wes Granberg-Michaelson, and Rabbi Brandt Rosen.
- we heard from representatives of major relief and rights organizations about the challenges they face on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank. We heard from representatives from UNWRA, PCRF, Human Rights Watch, and an Illinois state representative who was in the West Bank last summer during Israeli settler raids.
- with Peter Beinart and Marc Lamont Hill, we discussed efforts to silence debate about Israeli policies by firing, smearing, and blacklisting those who dare to criticize Israel’s behaviors or elevate Palestinian human rights.
- Rev. Dwight McKee and Dr. Cornel West addressed the moral crisis in leadership in America and how this has resulted in our government's acquiescence to the horrible crimes being committed by Israel against Palestinians.
- there was a panel of Chicagoland activists who discussed local efforts underway to elevate the issues of ceasefire and justice for Palestinians - on the city council, with Members of Congress, and the state legislature.
- the final day focused on what could be done to secure a permanent ceasefire from pressuring Congress and the White House to mobilizing religious leaders and institutions, organized labor, and mass mobilizations.
The summit closed with Maya and I summarizing the two-day event. You can watch that here.
We left the summit energized and resolved to grow our coalition to broaden and deepen the coalition to support our demands for a ceasefire, increased aid for Palestinians, and conditioning aid to Israel. In the weeks ahead we will send you action items to build this effort. Please stay with us by acting on these alerts and, if you can, by supporting the Institute’s program to bring peace and justice to the Palestinian people.
-Jim
Arab American Institute Foundation
1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601
Washington, DC 20006
United States
