With 2.3 million people trapped in Gaza, under fire from Israel’s relentless bombing–including suffocating illegal white phosphorus, peace activists worldwide are demanding a ceasefire to stop the unfolding human catastrophe and lift the blockade barring food, medicine, water and electricity to the Palestinians in Gaza. 

After 75 years of occupation–and the recent Hamas attacks in Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Tel Aviv to profess ironclad support and billions of dollars more for apartheid Israel as it imposes lethal collective punishment–a violation of international law–on the people of Gaza, 50% of whom are children.

Our guests will offer a counter-narrative that affirms the Palestinian desire for liberation, addresses the root causes of the violence and issues a call to action.

Special Guest Co-Host:

Nour is CODEPINK's Palestine and Iran Campaigner. She graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies in June 2022. Nour has been advocating for Palestinian liberation for over 5 years, including organizing within her university. She also organizes around related issues, such as abolition. 

Featured Guests:

Hassan El-Tayyab is the Legislative Director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Hassan leads FCNL’s work calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the bloodshed in the Middle East. In addition to advocating for Palestinian human rights, Hassan works to end U.S. military complicity in the Saudi-led war on Yemen and advance diplomacy with Iran. Prior to joining FCNL, Hassan served as the co-director of the national advocacy group Just Foreign Policy, where he worked to reassert Congressional war authority and promote human rights in the Middle East and Latin America. His passion for foreign affairs is rooted in his desire to make life safer for people in the Middle East, including his extended family in Jordan, Palestine, and Yemen.

Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian American activist and civil rights attorney who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization using non-violent protests and international pressure to support Palestinians.  A former candidate for US Congress representing Michigan’s 10th congressional district, Huwaida specializes in international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as domestic US civil rights litigation. A Hebrew-speaking Palestinian Christian, Huwaida spent time living on an Israeli kibbutz before rejecting coexistence efforts in favor of advocating for Palestinian resistance. The daughter of two Palestinian Christian parents — her mother came from Beit Sahour in the West Bank, and her father was a Palestinian citizen of Israel — she was born in Detroit shortly after her parents immigrated to the United States. She majored in Arabic studies, Judaic studies and political science at the University of Michigan.

Noura Khouri is Palestinian from the Bay Area/Ohlone land and has worked for the past two decades as a human rights activist, campaign strategist and community organizer. She lived in Palestine and Egypt, prior to which she co-led the Middle East Peace Program for the American Friends Service Committee. Noura currently works as a preschool teacher, and serves as an Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition, National Committee Member, Green Party, Intl Committee Delegate and is part of Beloved Community Circles - where she conspires to destroy walls, and build bridges of solidarity at the intersections of labor, faith and social justice.

Take Action!

CODEPINK calls on the US to call for an immediate ceasefire and to cease all military aid to Israel and support Palestinian’s legal right to return to their homelands. Help us move towards peace by adding your name to the petition!

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Finally, if you missed our last meeting, you can view it here on YouTube. View the entire CODEPINK Congress archives here.

Onward toward peace and justice,
Nour, Medea and Marcy and the entire CODEPINK team