Open Letter for Palestine to San Diego Officials
may 21, 2021
We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, call on you––our public officials–– to take urgent action in regards to Palestinian rights. For too long, Palestinians have faced the brutality of military occupation, the theft of their land and livelihood, and the denial of their basic rights at the hands of Israel.
In the month of May alone, the world has borne witness to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in real time. In the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, the Israeli state and settlers have been colluding to violently displace Palestinian families from their homes. In Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli police and military forces assaulted Palestinian worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan with hand grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets. As we write, Israeli airstrikes have killed over 200 Palestinian civilians and injured over 1,600 in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s perpetuation of ethnic cleansing campaigns and crimes of apartheid are directly enabled by the U.S. government’s $3.8 billion of military funding annually. No one can deny these realities. Those who choose to justify this violence are standing on the wrong side of history. It is well within your power and responsibility to take action today and to join us in writing a more just future.
We call on our public officials across San Diego County to immediately heed the following demands from San Diego’s Palestinian community joined by a broad base of supporters, including good government, civil rights, advocacy, direct service organizations, and your constituents throughout San Diego County who put you in office.
We call on you to:
(1) Issue a public statement condemning Israel’s occupation of Palestine and apartheid laws. Uplift Palestinian rights, namely their basic rights to education, healthcare, movement, and above all- the rights of Palestinian refugees to return and live dignified in their homeland.
(2) Pledge to end any and all local police training programs with the Israeli military because they lead to the excessive militarization of our streets and police brutality against our communities of color.
(3) Support federal resolutions and bills that condition and end U.S. military funding to Israel, including Rep. Betty McCollum’s House Resolution 2590, better known as the Palestine Children and Families Act - Federal and ACOI bill.
The time to act is now. We demand that you publicly respond to our open letter by Wednesday, June 2, 2021.
Signed,
Palestinian Youth Movement - San Diego
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) San Diego Chapter
American Muslims For Palestine - San Diego
Islamic Center of San Diego
KARAMA
Majdal: Arab Community Center of San Diego
Middle East Rights Association (MERA)
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition) - San Diego
African Coalition Workforce
AMALY
Anakbayan San Diego
Asian Solidarity Collective
Black Lives Matter - San Diego
BIPOC Educators Association of North County San Diego
Borderclick
Borderlands for Equity
Center for Interdisciplinary Environmental Justice (CIEJ)
Colectivo Zapatista
Detention Resistance
Escondido Young Democrats
The Feminist Front
Free Them All San Diego
Jewish Voice for Peace San Diego
League of Young Communists USA
Los Geys de Esco
March for Black Womxn San Diego
Muslim American Society - MAS PACE
Muslim Student Association - MSA West
Party for Socialism & Liberation - San Diego
Philippines-U.S. Solidarity Organization of San Diego (PUSO San Diego)
Plan of Action in a Changing Era
San Diego Progressive Democratic Club
San Diego State University-Community Based Block (SDSU-CBB)
San Diego State University-Students for Justice in Palestine (SDSU-SJP)
San Diego Tenants Union
San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition
San Diego Veterans For Peace
Showing Up for Racial Justice San Diego (SURJ-SD)
Socialist Alternative San Diego
Somali Bantu community of San Diego
Students for Justice in Palestine at Chapman University
Sunrise Movement San Diego
United Against Police Terror San Diego
US-Mexico Border Program at the American Friends Service Committee, San Diego
Union del Barrio
United Women's East African Support Team (UWEAST)
We All We Got San Diego Mutual Aid
Youth Will
[last updated June 8, 2021, 8 PM]Contact: pym.sandiego@gmail.com