John,

This weekend, my team and the Working Families Party held a national call with state and local elected officials who are speaking up in support of a ceasefire.

During the call, we heard from a pediatrician who advises the only pediatric cancer department in the Gaza Strip, and a nurse practitioner who spoke about the 183 babies born in Gaza every day—many of whom are premature and need intensive care but cannot access it. She explained that “there is no work in a NICU that can go on without electricity.”

Now more than ever Palestinian voices must be heard. The national call features a Palestinian American family whose parents are trapped in Gaza right now, devastated and abandoned by the U.S. government. We also heard from Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who shared residents’ stories of those trapped in Gaza, those who have been dehumanized by the Israeli military, and those forced to flee their ancestral homelands. As Mayor Hammoud said on the call:

“What we cannot bear any longer is the utter silence, an erasure of our voices. We have radio silence from all those whom we’ve elected who promised … to carry our values and our principles and the policies that we care for—but to this point in time have not had the courage to stand forward and call for a ceasefire, and actually work toward a just solution for the Palestinian people…. It’s time for us to find our spines; it’s time for us to step up and step forward and demand a ceasefire from all of the electeds across this nation.”

Yesterday, Israel’s military bombed refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, continuing to slaughter Palestinian civilians at horrifying speed and scale.

In three weeks, Israel’s government has killed over 8,500 Palestinian civilians, including more than 3,000 children—and the bombardment and blockade have not stopped.

Please click here to listen to our national call for a ceasefire and take action now.

Leaders with the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace also joined to talk about how you can help save lives.

This week, Congress is voting on sending billions of dollars to Israel’s military. We must keep building and demonstrating support for a ceasefire.

Please listen to the national call for a ceasefire now. Collectively we can speak truth, move mountains, and save lives.

In solidarity,

Rashida

P.S. Grassroots groups are planning a big march in Washington, DC for a ceasefire and Palestinian freedom this Saturday, November 4. Check out more information on Saturday’s march and find if buses are traveling from your city. If you can’t join the national march, find a solidarity rally or march near you to save lives.