The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) is a grassroots, independent movement that organizes Palestinian and Arab youth to struggle for Palestinian liberation. PYM draws from Palestinian revolutionary history, where the participation of youth in the national struggle has been central in leading and sustaining our struggle. We believe that Palestinian youth have a right and responsibility, even in the far diaspora, to be active participants in working to liberate our people and land from the river to the sea.

The PYM was formed in response to the Oslo Accords which sought to change the fundamental character of our struggle through forging a tie between Western imperialism, Zionism, and the Palestinian Authority. Our organization emerges from the understanding that the Oslo process significantly weakened the ties between the diaspora, our homeland, and our national struggle; and between the Arab masses and popular resistance. By rejecting Oslo and the Palestinian Authority which facilitates Zionist land theft, we also commit to building a new generation of Palestinian and Arab youth in the diaspora: one that is unwavering in our commitment to national liberation and return.

The PYM exists in 3 countries (the United States, Canada, and Britain), with local chapters in over 15 cities. We are a movement that aims to unite in the principles of full liberation and the right to return, against normalization or capitulation, and Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine. We believe that in order to be victorious, the movement for Palestinian liberation must be united, organized, politically clear, and must work to build power. As such, the PYM is a vehicle for commitment, political cohesion, and sacrifice to organize our people against the forces of Zionism.

We see the diaspora as an important arena in our struggle for national liberation, but know that liberation will be achieved through the project of confronting Zionism across the region, and the sumud or steadfastness of our people back home. But we also know that crucial to our liberation is the diaspora’s ability to build strong communities capable of advancing our struggle and creating political crisis for Zionism and imperialism in the diaspora.