BREAKING: Protest led by National Movement Leaders to Oppose Military Funding Package to Israel

Over 80 Executive Directors of the U.S.’ leading social justice organizations, including Tarso Luís Ramos from PRA, united in Washington DC’s Capitol Rotunda this morning, calling urgently for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

We are called by our mission, by our programs, by our colleagues, and by our conscience to go beyond what is normally within our capacity to protect the lives of millions of people being displaced, bombed, and deprived of food and water in Gaza, as well as those fleeing repression and violence in other countries and seeking asylum here. 

This direct action calls on our elected leaders to refuse the $106 billion spending package that would spend $14.3 billion for more firepower for Israel and $8 billion to heighten militarization on the U.S. Southern Border.

We, as a country, cannot afford to buy these bombs without cashing in our civil liberties and our humanity in the process.

Our movement leaders risked arrest to demand action, especially now as the administration is negotiating for more firepower for Israel in exchange for draconian immigration policies implemented on the U.S. Southern Border.



Protect immigrant and asylee rights, end military aid to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza: peopledemand.org/take-action  

Statements From Action Leaders

"We stand together, linked arm and arm, to say no to more weapons for Israel's genocide in Gaza, no more money to imprison children and families seeking safety at our border, no more money to destroy lives. The Democratic leadership and the Biden Administration are failing the people." 

– Sandra Tamari, Executive Director of Adalah Justice Project

“I am so proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders of dozens of powerful organizations, and the millions of Americans they represent to call for a permanent ceasefire now, and a restoration of human rights and dignity at the Southern Border and in Gaza. I am here because my government is using my taxpayer dollars to carry out a genocide against people who look just like me in Gaza and to keep immigrant families that look just like mine out of this country.

As civic leaders in the United States, we have a moral responsibility to speak out against senseless militarism and advocate for desperately needed investments in housing, healthcare, and education here at home. We are here to stand up for innocent Palestinians, immigrants, and for the vast majority of the American people who are demanding an end to the bloodshed. 

We need a permanent ceasefire today and to begin the hard work of repairing the damage our billions of dollars in military aid has done to the Palestinian people.”

– Saqib Bhatti, Co-Executive Director of Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE)

"For a vibrant, healthy democracy to prosper, civil society plays a critical role in keeping those with governing power accountable to the needs of the people.  Right now individuals and organizations are being censored, silenced, penalized, and defunded for taking a moral and political stance to call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. By penalizing those who speak out against genocide; academia, philanthropy, and the media are creating a pathway for the undercutting of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism.

It is essential for a real democracy to ensure enough funding for the basic needs and livelihoods of its people, especially housing, healthcare, care of children and elders, access to healthy food and water. Instead of investing in the needs of our communities, the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration are negotiating a $106 billion package to move even more funds to war and weapons that are destroying homes, cultural institutions, food and health infrastructure in Gaza, while also locking in more funds to further criminalize migrants at the US Mexico border. The genocide in Gaza must end, and it is beyond shameful that elected officials are using this moment to advance policies that will harm even more communities.” 

– Cindy Wiesner, Executive Director of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance 

“We are mourning our Palestinian kin being massacred as we watch in horror from our phones, and as the survivors continue to live through a U.S.-backed genocide. Our broad coalition will not sit idly by as Joe Biden uses migrant communities as a bargaining chip to keep fueling Israel's bombing of Gaza. We are strong and we won’t back down.”  

— Ahmad Abuznaid, Executive Director of U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights

Sponsoring organizations: Action Center on Race and Economy, Adalah Justice Project, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Participating organizations: 350.org; Amistad Law Project; Athena Coalition; CAIR Philadelphia; CAIR San Francisco Bay Area; Center for Popular Democracy; Climate Organizing Hub; Communities United for Status & Protection; Community Labor United; Detention Watch Network; Detroit Action; Fight for the Future; Florida Rising; Florida Palestine Network; Funding Freedom; Grassroots International; HEAL Food Alliance; Highlander Research & Education Center; Jewish Voice for Peace Action; Jews For Racial & Economic Justice; Justice Is Global; Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice; LeftRoots; MediaJustice; Minnesota Environmental Justice Table; Movement Law Lab; MPower Change; Muslim Counterpublics Lab; Muslims for Just Futures; Nasty Woman Cosmetics; Native Organizers Alliance; New Justice Project; New York Communities for Change; One Fair Wage; OPEIU Local 12; Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition; Political Research Associates; POWER Interfaith; Progressive Maryland; Puget Sound Sage; Reclaim Philadelphia; Resource Generation; Right to the City Alliance; Rising Majority; Showing Up for Racial Justice; State Power Caucus; Survivors Know; TakeAction Minnesota; The New Justice Project MN; The Organizing Center; Upturn; We the People Michigan.

Resources and Readings on the Role of Christian Zionism in the Current Conflict

End Times Antisemitism: Christian Zionism, Christian Nationalism, and the Threat to Democracy - Today, we see explicitly Christian Zionist organizations and megachurch pastors working with high administration officials such as Mike Pompeo, to justify expanding support for a right-wing, authoritarian Israeli government as the fulfillment of prophecy. - Read more here.

"Anti-Zionism = Antisemitism" isn't just wrong, it's the problem - Socrates taught us that the fundamental principle of thinking is making distinctions. Once you stop making distinctions, thought comes screeching to a halt and the process of demagoguery begins. Read more here.

Progressive Movements Cannot Afford to Ignore the Role of Christian Zionism in the Dispossession of Palestinians - Christian Zionism is by far the largest movement supporting authoritarian policies in the Israeli government outside of Israel, and an essential bloc within the larger U.S. Christian Right. Read more here.

Your support enables PRA to monitor the latest developments on the U.S. Right with an eye towards keeping our movements safe and strategic in our changing world.