PALESTINIAN CIVIL & HUMAN RIGHTS
CALLING FOR CEASEFIRE
CAPA strongly condemns Israel’s ongoing, genocidal assault on Gaza which, since October 2023:
May have killed several times the 39,000+ whose bodies have been recoverable from beneath Gazan rubble;
has orphaned 17,000 children
has maimed 85,000 civilians still trapped in the conflict zone without medical care,
and includes, perhaps most terribly, a U.S.-Israeli campaign of deliberate starvation set to astronomically raise the already grim death toll.
We believe this aggression must be seen in the context of seven decades of brutal repression of the Palestinian people, as must the October 7th surprise attack led by military elements of Gaza’s Hamas government. We demand an immediate cessation of U.S. military aid to Israel pending a resolution of Israel’s longstanding campaigns of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.
We lament the real atrocities committed by Gazans, including Hamas militants, on October 7th. Although tales specifically of beheadings and of systematic rape/torture have been discredited as racist propaganda by outlets such as Electronic Intifada and the Grayzone, killings of unarmed civilians, even if enacted at lower numbers than officially reported, remain a crime; as do civilian abductions.
Consequently, CAPA staunchly opposes U.S./Israeli efforts at regime change in Gaza. Eliminating Hamas from Gaza is an impossible goal short of ethnically cleansing the region, as too many Israeli officials have indeed promised to do: but it is also an utterly unconscionable goal. If Israel has a right to defend itself, Palestine has that same right, although all parties must respect civilian lives. As part of a lasting ceasefire, all surviving Israeli hostages must be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held without charge in quadruple figures since before Oct 7. Israeli officials must be held accountable for war crimes just as members of Gaza’s Hamas government must be: We applaud the ICC’s independence in issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu.
We see, as an immediate goal, a permanent ceasefire to be followed by the international campaign of relief, reconstruction and peacekeeping necessary to make Gaza livable once more for its inhabitants with the same human rights and benefits for all Palestinians and Israelis – an end to apartheid.
Israel must be prevented from expanding the war to countries like Lebanon and Iran. We must work for some resolution of the circumstances which began long before the Oct 7 attack, that are not merely unsustainable and unconscionable, but arguably unsurvivable as a destabilizing provocation in a perilous nuclear age.
Once the Palestinian people are able to start rebuilding their livelihoods, health and homes, their lives – negotiations and elections can occur as they, as a people, have the right to democratic self-determination.
OUR GOALS
Current Israeli government policies act on the principle that only people of Jewish heritage should inhabit historical Palestine. The Israeli state explicitly seeks to establish and maintain a Jewish identity, both in what is now Israel proper and in the UN-designated Palestinian territories. This creates a system where Palestinians, whether Muslim, Christian, or non-secular, are living under apartheid.
CAPA’s Palestine Campaign seeks to educate and advocate on behalf of Palestinian civil and human rights. Imagine facing militarized checkpoints on the way to work, denial of water access, having your home bulldozed, legalized second-class treatment, even being denied access to vaccines. The U.S. actively supports the Israeli government’s actions, despite the fact that, for example, in November 2020, 163 nations in the UN General Assembly voted to end Israel’s occupation of UN recognized Palestinian lands.
The Palestine Campaign will expose these issues and mobilize to ensure Palestinians are treated fairly and democratically. We will educate on topics such as the oppression of Palestinian-Israeli citizens, and advocate on topics such as medical apartheid in Palestine and our own constitutional right to advocate on these issues in the U.S. Our first goal is to secure the passage of Representative Betty McCollum’s bill, Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act– HR2590, to ensure the U.S. is not funding the ongoing illegal detention of Palestinian children by the Israeli government.
We welcome activists at all levels of advocacy: brand new, been organizing for years, etc.! If you would like to get involved in this work, please contact capa@chipeaceaction.org!
Israel was established in 1948 as a Jewish nation. However, the state was built on historic Palestine, where millions were already living. This caused a mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes.
Today, Israel commits a trove of human rights abuses, including illegal settlements on Palestinian land, bulldozing homes, segregated highways, restrictions on water and electricity, ID systems that give Palestinians less rights than Israelis.
In the 6th grade, I was not allowed to exist as Palestinian. Today, my culture is still a threat to many.
The following is a blog post from Liz Bajjalieh, current Peace Action national staff member and former Student Network Director at Chicago Area Peace Action
Even as a little girl I couldn’t escape it: what it means to be silenced. Navigating the United States when you’re a Palestinian of the Diaspora is a difficult, complex experience. My first time I learned I was Palestinian was in the 6th grade, when my elementary school had a “culture day,” in which students could go on a stage in front of the school and talk about their ancestral heritage.
Continue Reading…….
CONTACT US
If you would like more information about CAPA, or would like to volunteer or intern for CAPA, please contact us by email or phone.