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Dear John,
From The Hague to Chicago, the events of the past week give us hope.
One week ago, the International Court of Justice ruling [[link removed]] found that Israel’s acts in Gaza could plausibly be considered genocide.
A final ruling will take years, but the interim ruling sends a strong signal to the Israeli government - and its backers in the U.S. And the ruling comes with requirements for the Israeli government that are binding under international law. [[link removed]]
Meanwhile, a U.S. court found that the U.S. is providing “unflagging support” [[link removed]] for a plausible genocide in Gaza.
And just this week, the Chicago City Council became the latest major city to pass a resolution calling for ceasefire [[link removed]] , joining San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, and others. To get a ceasefire resolution started in your city, start here. [[link removed]]
The atrocities are not over. The U.S. has withdrawn funding for UNRWA [[link removed]] , the main aid agency in Gaza. Rumors are that the Senate will vote next week on a funding bill to include more weapons for Israel [[link removed]] (and harmful border spending). The original proposal called for $14 billion in weapons aid to Israel [[link removed]] to support its siege of Gaza. All this comes under the cloud of wider war breaking out in the region [[link removed]] .
This is why it’s so critical that movements, activists, and lawyers - and you - continue to push back on an international scale, the local scale, and everywhere in between.
In solidarity,
Lindsay and Alliyah
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TRADEOFF: GENOCIDE VS. HEALTHCARE
The Senate is expected to vote next week on a war funding package, to include military aid to Israel for its building genocide in Gaza. The Biden Administration previously requested $14 billion in military aid for Israel. We can do better.
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New York protesters calling for a ceasefire in October. Photo courtesy of Flickr. [[link removed]]
CHICAGO IS THE NEWEST CEASEFIRE CITY
Victory! On January 31, my hometown of Chicago passed a resolution [[link removed]] calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, making it the largest U.S. city to do so. The newly elected mayor Brandon Johnson cast the tie-breaking vote, 24-23, amidst pressure from activist demonstrations and public school walk-outs [[link removed]] . This action by the Chicago City Council trails behind dozens of cities across the nation [[link removed]] , from Bellingham, WA [[link removed]] to Atlanta, GA, already passing ceasefire resolutions.
The pressure is on. All eyes are on Washington to enact on these resolutions and transform them into a policy that – once and for all – ends the violence and genocide in Gaza.
—Alliyah
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C hildren speak at the opening of an UNRWA school in Gaza in 2013. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons [[link removed](8634194165).jpg] .
RESTORE GAZA AID
Even as Gaza is on the brink of mass starvation [[link removed]] , the U.S. this week led a group of countries in suspending funds for UNRWA [[link removed]] , the main aid agency in Gaza. More sober governments have continued to fund the agency’s life-saving work [[link removed]] following Israeli accusations that 12 UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The Biden administration should reinstate that funding immediately. Until they do, you can call or write them [[link removed]] , and you can donate directly to UNWRA. [[link removed]]
Donate to UNRWA [[link removed]]
"...we vote with hope, we vote with solidarity, we vote to help people feel heard in a world of silence."
— Chicago Alderman Daniel La Spata, co-sponsor of the Chicago ceasefire resolution [[link removed]]
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NOW READ THIS
ICJ Ruling on Israel Crimes "Poses the Greatest Political Dilemma for the Biden Presidency" [[link removed]]
Phyllis Bennis, In These Times
Budget Deal Ensures Bombs Will Keep Dropping While Fewer Human Needs Are Met [[link removed]]
Lindsay Koshgarian, Truthout
Pentagon Pollution Is a Global Embarrassment [[link removed]]
Alliyah Lusuegro, The Progressive
Israel Is a Top Student of U.S. Imperialism [[link removed]]
Azadeh Shahshahani & Khury Petersen-Smith, In These Times
The Only Solution to the Violence in Yemen and the Red Sea is a Cease-Fire in Gaza [[link removed]]
Phyllis Bennis, In These Times
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