SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2024
Weekend Reading
Dear Friend,
Thank you to everyone who contacted Congress to call for an immediate cease-fire for Gaza! Israeli troops are now attacking Rafah, which hosts over 1 million displaced Palestinians and serves as the center of all humanitarian aid. Escalating attacks on Rafah will lead to the deaths of many more civilians who have nowhere else to go. They will also disrupt the life-saving work of humanitarian organizations in the area, including AFSC.
Please tell Congress: Demand an immediate cease-fire and oppose new Israeli military aid to save lives in Gaza! [link removed]
Here are this week's picks to inform and support your activism:
Send love to Gaza: [link removed] This Valentine’s Day, AFSC and people across the country are sending messages of love and solidarity to Palestinians in Gaza. Please join us! It’s easy to take part. Download our “To Gaza, with Love” graphics, take a picture, and share it on social media. We also have Zoom backgrounds and graphics for your social media profile photo.
In an Atlanta first, a community land trust buys apartments: [link removed] Last year, AFSC and partners formed the People’s Community Land Trust to provide affordable housing to more low-income residents in Atlanta. While most land-trust housing models have focused on home ownership, the trust plans to provide affordable housing for renters, too. Recently, our community land trust purchased a nine-unit apartment building, where we plan to lower rents for all tenants. (Atlanta Civic Circle)
Tell Congress: Keep families out of poverty and expand the child tax credit: [link removed] Thanks to all who have contacted Congress to expand the child tax credit! The U.S. House recently voted to approve a bipartisan tax package that would partially expand the CTC again. The change would benefit as many as 16 million children in low-income households and lift an estimated 400,000 children out of poverty. As the bill moves to the Senate, we must keep up the momentum and see this legislation passed into law.
Another migrant dies near open-air detention sites in San Ysidro: [link removed] For months, AFSC and partners have protested Border Patrol’s open-air detention sites, where migrants have been held for days without access to basic services. Last week, a migrant died near one of those sites—the third migrant death in the area since Oct. 11.
The Bayard Rustin Legacy Forum (Feb. 24, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT). [link removed] AFSC is sponsoring a virtual symposium on the legacy of Quaker civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. It is presented by the BlackQuaker Project and Swarthmore College’s Department of Peace and Conflict Studies. You'll hear from BlackQuaker Project founder Hal Weaver; Palestinian-American Quaker scholar-activist Sa’ed Atshan; Terrence Wiley, Haverford College Africana and Religious Studies scholar; and Laura Brownlee, administrator of Friends Council on National Legislation. We recommend viewing the 2023 biopic "Rustin" [link removed] on Netflix before the event.
Final days of supporter drive: [link removed] Thank you to everyone who has donated to help end violence, inequality, and oppression. If you have not yet joined our community of passionate 2024 supporters, please make your gift before our supporter drive ends on Feb. 15!
Special thanks to our monthly donors, our Partners for Peace, for their ongoing support to make all our work possible.
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