Ceasefire In Gaza Now!
Photo Credit: Priya Prabhakar
At [people. power. media], we work towards building community power for housing and land use. In coalition with other grassroots organizations in San Francisco, we organize against the forced displacement of low-income and communities of color to ensure everyone has the right to live safely in their homes without fear of being uprooted. As organizers in the San Francisco Bay Area, we honor the unceded land of the Ramatyush Ohlone by understanding how the collective struggle for self-determination is rooted in the centuries-long resistances to settler-colonialism by Indigenous peoples and all others who have suffered from extractive exploitation and forced landlessness.
[people. power. media] believes that our communities’ struggles for self-determination is inextricably linked to this moment– to the Palestinian movement for freedom from Israeli occupation and an end to the ongoing genocide against Palestinian people. It has been incredibly painful to witness the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, along with the cycles of violence upon civilians bred by the Israeli occupation, supported and funded by the United States government and tax dollars.
As an independent media organization committed to amplifying perspectives of marginalized communities, we unequivocally condemn the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists speaking truth to power, along with the dangerous disinformation coming from mainstream media. We condemn the violence and all the lives lost in Palestine and Israel and call for an end to mass killings and displacement. Thousands of those include children who should have had the opportunity to grow up and live robust, full lives without the fear of warfare. We call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the ongoing genocide, an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza, a release of all political prisoners and civilian hostages, an end to Israeli occupation, and towards a liberated Palestine.
[people. power. media] urges people and organizations to support the Congressional Resolution that calls for "an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine".
To take action, visit bit.ly/StopGazaGenocide and bit.ly/stopfuelingviolence, two action toolkits provided by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace. Action items include joining your local protest, emailing and calling Congress to support the Ceasefire Resolution and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza immediately, and donating to Gazan relief efforts.
Support Organizations in the Bay Area. These organizations are also amplifying on-the-ground journalists in Gaza:
Arab Resource and Organizing Center (@aroc_bayarea): AROC serves poor and working-class Arabs and Muslims across the San Francisco Bay Area, while organizing to overturn racism, forced migration, and militarism. Recognizing the diversity of experiences within our community, AROC utilizes a multi-pronged strategy providing a centralized space for social services meeting material needs, developing analysis, creating strategy, and leading grassroots campaigns for systemic changes that make tangible impacts in the lives of working-class SWANA communities.
Palestinian Youth Movement (@palestinianyouthmovement): The Palestinian Youth Movement (“PYM”) is a transnational, independent, grassroots movement of young Palestinians in Palestine and in exile worldwide as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonization and occupation of our homeland. Our belonging to Palestine and our aspirations for justice and liberation motivate us to assume an active role as a young generation in our national struggle for the liberation of our homeland and people. Irrespective of our different political, cultural, and social backgrounds, we strive to revive a tradition of pluralistic commitment toward our cause to ensure a better future, characterized by freedom and justice on a social and political level, for ourselves and subsequent generations.
Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvpbayarea): Jewish Voice for Peace is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. We’re organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.
Take Action:
Donate to Gazan Relief:
Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance (@mecaforpeace): The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income-generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action.
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (@thepcrf): Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), founded in 1991 by concerned humanitarians in the USA, provides free medical care to thousands of injured and ill children yearly who lack local access to care within the local health care system. Over the years, we've sent over 2,000 affected children abroad for free medical care, sent thousands of international doctors and nurses to provide tens of thousands of children free medical care in local hospitals, and provided tens of thousands of children humanitarian aid and support they otherwise would not get.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (@medicalaidpal): MAP's vision is a future where all Palestinians can access an effective, sustainable and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realization of their rights to health and dignity.