Dear Friend,

Gaza is being starved. And, just now, President Biden signed the budget that includes a ban on U.S. funding of UNRWA for one year – pushing two million men, women, and children closer to man-made famine.

You know how important UNRWA is to distributing aid to Palestinians. Without UNRWA, Gaza's humanitarian crisis will worsen. Earlier this week, the final six appropriation bills were rolled into one massive $1.2 trillion funding package. This huge funding bill included a ban on any direct U.S. funding of UNRWA until March 2025, and additional restrictions on aid to Palestinians. And yes, unconscionably, the same bill includes billions in military funds for Israel.

While some officials in Washington, completely out of touch with where the American people are, continue their failed policies, support for a lasting ceasefire and relief for Palestinians is growing across the country. On Thursday, Governor Newsom of California joined the call for a ceasefire in an open letter to the state’s “Muslim, Palestinian American, and Arab American communities.” Earlier this week, Sacramento became the 100th city to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to AAI’s tracking. This important milestone was covered in an article by The Nation.

In that Nation piece, Jim reminded us how local pressure for a ceasefire is being felt nationwide, "There’s a brewing discontent. Many of these resolutions specifically call on members of Congress to get off the fence and call for a cease-fire. People are saying to their elected leaders in Washington, ‘You aren’t moving, so we will.’ And I would advise members of Congress to listen.”

Jim was also interviewed in an article for Al Jazeera where he spoke on why the 'uncommitted' vote is growing nationwide and exposing vulnerability in Biden's reelection. Jim also spoke about why Gaza has become such a key electoral issue for not just Arab American voters but Black, Latino, Asian, and young people.

Last week, the Department of Education published a Dear Colleague letter addressing the exponential rise in civil rights complaints they’ve received regarding discrimination “against Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian students in schools.” The letter was a welcomed, and regrettably needed, reminder to schools that receive federal funding. Federally funded schools are obligated to provide a learning environment free from discrimination for all students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – including Arab American students. You can learn more about Title VI protections and how to file a discrimination complaint with the DOE  on our blog. AAI has been assisting students who wish to file complaints. If you are unsure whether to file a complaint, have questions about the process, or would like assistance from AAI staff, please reach out at [email protected].  

AAI’s Policy Counsel Margaret Lowry joined fellow civil rights organizations for a meeting with the Department of Justice to discuss the state of voting rights. Attendees raised the importance of protecting voting rights highlighting the need to address issues like restrictive voter ID laws and gerrymandering to ensure fair and equal participation for all citizens. AAI continues to advocate for comprehensive legislation aimed at safeguarding access to the ballot box.

And, keeping with our prioritization of data equity and demographic analysis, Margaret was also selected as a member of the Census Information Center (CIC) Steering Committee. As a reminder, the Census Bureau has designated AAI as its only CIC dedicated to analyzing data on the Arab American community. As such, we offer updated demographics on the Arab American community, custom research requests, and access to Census Bureau data tools and trainings. Recently, we’ve responded to a significant number of media requests regarding our community in relation to their reporting on Gaza and how the events in Palestine are impacting Arab American communities. This data is critical to informing public opinion and giving important context. You can find our newly updated demographic pages here, as well as updated YallaVote resources here.

Despite articles describing Biden's private frustration with Netanyahu and Sen. Chuck Schumer's speech last week calling on Netanyahu to step down, this administration and Congressional leadership continue to enable Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza. This couldn't be clearer than with the cut to UNRWA funding, the only lifeline for millions of Palestinians.

We will keep fighting and we are so grateful you are with us. We only wish the news was better and there was an end in sight to the atrocities our government is enabling.

Regards,

Team AAI

Arab American Institute Foundation
1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601
Washington, DC 20006
United States