Democratic National Convention 2020: Will the Democratic Party Stand of the Right Side of History
In 1997, Nelson Mandela called on those who had been active in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa to support those suffering injustice in the Middle East with the famous acknowledgment that “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” Over two decades later, we in the United States see that our leaders across the political spectrum need to once again hear Mr. Mandela’s call to action. To this end, the Palestine Advocacy Project will put out this message during the 2020 Democratic National Convention in a series of ads on TheHill.com, featuring Mandela’s words and the question “will Democrats stand on the right side of history?”
Why Did We Put a Billboard in NH On the Eve of the First Primary in 2020
GAZA is in Crisis2020 is the year the United Nations says Gaza will be unlivable (UN Report). Over a decade of siege and bombardment has destroyed civilian infrastructure, crippled the economy and sent thousands of civilians to an untimely death, all with the blessing and financial backing of the United States.
Honoring the First Responders of Gaza
At the “Great March of Return” (the 2018 Gaza border protests1 of Palestinians demonstrating for their human rights), the Palestinian nurse/medic Razan al-Najjar, 21, had joined other medics braving Israeli sniper fire to rescue and treat unarmed protesters when she was fatally shot in the chest by an Israeli soldier. She was wearing a white coat and her arms were raised to show she was unarmed2. From 30 May through 2 June, Israel has shot 29 medics at the Gaza border, killing two3.
On January 31st, Ahed Tamimi turned 17 in an Israeli military prison.
She is from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh and, beginning when she was 7 years old, has peacefully protested the seizure of her village land and water source by the nearby Israeli settlement of Halamish.
Like Nelson Mandela was for South Africa during that country’s apartheid regime, Ahed is a symbol of Palestinian courage and resistance in the face of the brutal 50-year occupation of Palestinian land and the apartheid regime of the Israeli government.
Israeli Leaders in Their Own Words Campaign
Palestine Advocacy Project’s “Israeli Leaders in their Own Words” campaign uses the precise quotations of Israel’s US-backed senior political leadership in prominent public places, including nine university newspapers across the United States. These mind-blowing quotations are racist, inflammatory and, in many cases, overtly violent. The media promoting this campaign directs to a webpage, www.palestineadvocacyproject.org/quotes, with additional quotations from Israeli leaders. We ask whether the United States should be giving nearly $4 billion a year to extremists brimming with hatred and bigotry?
Palestine Advocacy Project’s first Poetry Campaign features excerpts from seven powerful poems by Mahmoud Darwish, including:
National Campaign
Palestine Advocacy Project Goes National
1 month
7 cities
52 buses
60 subway stations
3 billboard trucks
1 newspaper
2 billboards
Netanyahu’s Welcome
The ads, which educate Americans about the impact of Israel’s assault on Gaza last summer, emphasize Congress’s use of American tax dollars to support the Israeli military. A mobile billboard will address Netanyahu when he speaks on Capitol Hill and a large banner in the Convention Center Metro station will greet people attending the Annual Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC).
Read More
Local Campaigns
