Dear Friend,

Last week, the United States stood alone on the world stage as our government vetoed recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations Security Council. The resolution, introduced by Algeria, received overwhelming support from the council, including from top U.S. allies like Japan, South Korea, and France.

It is clear the world is supportive of Palestinian statehood and citizens across the world can no longer stand by as Israel commits genocide in Gaza. We have seen countries including Slovenia, Spain, and Australia hint that they are prepared to recognize Palestinian statehood. After rhetorical support for a Palestinian state, the U.S.’s objection to Palestinian statehood before the UN and our unconditional support of Israel, even as it continues to disregard U.S. interests or laws, has the U.S. increasingly isolated in the world.

Recognizing a Palestinian state is the least the United States can do for Palestinians given the role the U.S. has played in enabling the occupation and despite what the U.S. representative said in their speech after the vote, the U.S. does not need, nor should we require, Israel’s support to recognize Palestine as a state.

Thousands of you responded to AAI’s immediate appeal calling on the U.S. to vote yes on Palestinian statehood. Despite the U.S. veto, you should know the world is with you in your belief that Palestinians too are deserving of freedom.

In response to ongoing neglect of Palestinian human rights and the implications of that policy on the rights of Arab Americans here at home, AAI has partnered with leading Arab American organizations to establish an Arab American agenda for justice [[link removed]] . We ask others, especially local Arab American organizations [[link removed]] , to join us in this call. You can endorse as an individual, as an organization, or as an ally.

As you know, last month, the OMB released new standards for the federal collection of race and ethnicity data. Maya explained the importance of the historic decision to include a new MENA category in a video on AAI's Instagram [[link removed]] .

AAI has been leading the fight for a MENA category for more than four decades and though this decision is welcome, we had some concerns [[link removed]] and will remain engaged with the relevant federal agencies to get it right. Given the last time the standards were updated was 27 years ago, the announcement was covered widely, and Maya spoke with many outlets about our community's perspective, including NPR [[link removed]] , the Washington Post [[link removed]] , CNN [[link removed]] , NBC [[link removed]] , Politico [[link removed]] , AP [[link removed]] , and Marketplace [[link removed]] .

Our work to close the gap in hate crime reporting continues. As hate crime incidents across the country rise, federal reporting on hate crime remains inadequate. A new bipartisan bill, the Improving Reporting to Report Hate Act (IRPHA) works to close these gaps by requiring law enforcement agencies to accurately report hate crime data to the FBI to be eligible for federal funding. Please join us in asking your representatives to cosponsor IRPHA today. Take action at this link [[link removed]] .

Last weekend, AAI co-sponsored Voices From the Holy Land Online Film Salon with the title " Destroying Healthcare: Israel's Attack on Hospitals in Gaza [[link removed]] . We were proud to attend this important event and discuss the health and hospital crisis facing the people of Gaza.

Finally, we want to express our solidarity with the students of over 50 universities, including Columbia, Barnard, Yale, Vanderbilt, Emory, Emerson, USC, University of Michigan, UPenn, GW, University of Delaware, and others who are protesting for their college to divest from Israel. The continued attack against the First Amendment rights of these students and students like Asna Tabassum, whose valedictorian commencement speech was cancelled at the University of Southern California because of her support for Palestinian human rights, must stop. College presidents and boards must do more to protect the anti-war student protestors speaking out in support of Palestinians, not unleash the brutal police violence we are seeing take place. Our students are the best of us, and we remain in awe of their courage.

Earlier this week, Jim shared with you how he was inspired to send shawarma and falafel sandwiches to students at Columbia. So many of you reached out to do something similar for the campus protests near you. At the request of many of you, we launched Feeding Students, Seeking Justice to organize and support food drop-offs to student encampments. This week, we sent sandwiches to the students including at Columbia and Barnard and the University of Delaware where students are protesting in front of the Biden School for Public Policy and Administration. In the coming week, we hope to send even more to students across the country.

Regards,

Team AAI

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