Why are we protesting?
Apartheid is defined as a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race and is a crime against humanity under international law. Within the years of 2021 and 2022 the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both classified the treatment of Palesntinans by Israelis as apartheid. Since the establishment of Israel as a state in 1948, the Israeli government has used discriminatory laws to systematically dispossess Palestinians of their land and homes in order to privilege Jewish Israelis. This discrimination has also included the repression of dissent, which has included the killing and injuries to peaceful Palestinian protesters.
Genocide is referred to as the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group. Israel has bombed the Gaza strip with 6,000 bombs over the span of a week, for context that is almost as much as the US military bombed Afghanistan in a year in 2019. Bombing has targeted hospitals and residences, killing entire families. Knowing this, the Israeli government has still refused a ceasefire.
Israel is a genocidal, apartheid state and has been enacting human rights violations in the killing of Palestians and the theft of their homes and communities.
Our Demands:
- An immediate ceasefire and end to collective punishment
- Humanitarian aid
- Equal rights for Palestinians
Action #1: Sign the open letter
We are calling on all of our North Carolina elected leaders to demand an immediate ceasefire. Silence is not an option.
Sign the open letter from our local coalition demanding a ceasefire and make your voice heard in the push for peace an liberation in Palestine.
Action #2: Show up to the next city council meeting
Wilmington City Council meets next on Jan 23, 2024. We plan to use the public comment period to demand a ceasefire resolution and present our petition to the council. The more people we can have in support, the better!
Action #3: Join the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.
Israel is occupying and colonising Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
Compelling huge, complicit companies, through strategic and context-sensitive boycott and divestment campaigns, to end their complicity in Israeli apartheid and war crimes against Palestinians sends a very powerful message to hundreds of other complicit companies that “your time will come, so get out before it’s too late!”
For more info, check out the BDS Movement website
