<[link removed]> <[link removed]>Tell the Biden Admin to demand the release of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya! 

<[link removed]>ACT NOW! <[link removed]>

Dear John,

I know a lot of you are worried about what might happen in 2025, whether it be the escalating wars around the world or because President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to turn the world upside down. His cabinet nominees are not promising for our vision of peace and justice, and a lot of people are rightly afraid for what might come to pass under another four years of his leadership. 

I would be lying to you if I said I knew how this year will play out, but I do feel confident that there are things we can do to make a better world no matter who is in charge. I wanted to share five things we can do in 2025 that have nothing to do with Trump or the war machine. These are five things that will actively build the world we want to see every single day. These are things that the war machine is unable to stop.

💬 Say the names and share the stories of Palestinians in Gaza as much as possible. 

Whether it’s the non-profit kill bill or the massive crackdowns on protests, we’ve seen first-hand how desperately they want us to shut up about Gaza. But they can’t stop us from learning the names of the martyrs, and we are in a long process of growing the movement for peace. The stories of individual Palestinians hold weight; they affirm not only Palestinian humanity but also our own,illuminating that we are able to care for someone we’ve never even met. These stories also have the ability to change minds, so we must tell them. 

They can’t stop us from sharing the story of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, who could have left Gaza at any point, but instead stayed at Kamal AdwanHospital to take care of his patients. He sacrificed himself to keep other people alive for as long as he physically could, until he was kidnapped by the Israeli military after they burned Kamal Adwan hospital to the ground. Israel is threatened by every Palestinian doctor that bravely and honorably puts their life on the line for their patients. That’s why they kidnap, imprison, or kill them. We can respond by letting the world know their names, their faces, and their love. We can respond by demanding Dr. Abu Safiya’s immediate release <[link removed]>

Whether it's Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya’s story, Dr. Refaat Alareer’s story, or Reem’s story,they all have the potential to move someone who needs to be moved. The movement for Palestine has shifted public opinion in the US for decades – we need stories to make the tide stronger. We need stories to connect to our humanity. 

🗣️ Talk about the contradictions as much as possible, with everyone you know.

Last weekend, it was reported that homelessness in the United States has hit an all-time high. More adults and children are homeless than ever before. Around the world, life is getting increasingly precarious for people on the margins, and the margins just keep getting wider. Unless you’re surrounded by billionaires – you can probably find common ground with those around you on how life ought to be better for us all. Sometimes it just takes one thing to change someone’s mind. One instance of hypocrisy in the current political system, one contradiction – use it to bring people in! And let me assure you… there are quite a few contradictions for peace activists like yourself to use. 

Elon Musk, one of Trump’s nominees for the “Department of Government Efficiency,” is railing on government spending despite being a beneficiary of huge government contracts. Is he serious about cutting back spending, or is he just positioning himself to protect his company’s contracts? 

If people in power are serious about budget cuts, the one trillion dollar Pentagon budget would be a great place to start. But cutting so-called “defense” spending alone isn’t doing anything to address the homelessness crisis or anything people struggle with – if we want people housed, with access to healthcare, education and food, we need to invest that money into the people. 

❤️ Fight the urge to be anti-social. 

Let’s call it peace activist calisthenics – can everyone here make a commitment to go outside or talk to one new person every single day? Even if it’s just telling a cashier at a coffee shop you like their hair tie. Or responding to a stranger on social media who shared their writing that you really enjoyed. There are a million ways to fight the anti-social urge, and one way is realizing that urge is usually not your fault if you experience it. 

We live in the most stratified version of our society that has ever existed. Public space is depleting, the news is making people scared to go into cities, and the Right constantly uses constant tactics of fear mongering to make us afraid of one another. They do this on purpose – because we are powerless when we do not know one another. In a political climate where we feel powerless, this is one way to take our power back. And I don’t mean this in an abstract way – when anyone gets targeted by repressive forces, they will be less effective if the person is known, known well, and cared for by the people around them. 

Making a commitment to talk to people you run into is just one option. You can also make the commitment to just be more involved generally. Join your neighborhood group, your religious community events, anything! It doesn’t even need to be overtly political. Be with people, and be with them as much as possible. This is crucial to forming a community of trust that will protect us and inspire us. 

Whatever your calisthenics will be, make a commitment today to do something to go against the anti-social current.

✌️Be your politics.

Think of the world you want to live in. If it’s peaceful, just, kind, resilient, and hopeful – those are the things we need to practice every day. The incoming administration doesn’t just represent a political ideology, it’s also a tangible political practice. It’s one that is unjust, unforgiving, unkind, and harsh. We need to be the antithesis of that at our core and in the way that we treat people both inside and outside of the movement. “Being our politics” is how we create a warm and enticing political home for people who might be lost or looking for a place to go. Being our politics is how we grow the movement. Whatever you resent about the other side of the ideological spectrum – represent the opposite. Be generous, loving, honest, and fair. Just as the Right benefits from us being anti-social, it also benefits from us failing to live our values as peace-loving people. 

Check out our resources for cultivating community and a local peace economy! <[link removed]>

☺️ Keep doing the things that make you happy. We need it for the long haul. 

I know there’s a ton to keep track of. Paying bills on time, getting school work done, making time for family, and managing the everyday stresses of life can overwhelm us. But this fight for a better world is due to get more turbulent in the coming months. Even if it’s just setting aside two committed hours out of the week to make time for whatever gives you life – writing, reading, painting, exercise, cooking an intricate meal – make time for what makes you happy. Being emotionally drained causes the burnout that kills movements, and we need every single one of you for the long haul. We can’t do it without you. 

Last year was hard on my heart, but as I was sitting on the quad of my alma mater in Chicago, supporting the student encampment, I thought to myself how oddly lucky I am to be alive right now. The universe, for whatever reason or by any power in which you all might believe in or not, trusts us to take care of each other, and hopefully have the right response to the horrors going on in the world. In the midst of such sorrow, injustice and violence – the universe plopped us all in this moment and asked how we would respond to it. I witnessed so many of you live your politics, bring new people into the movement, and recount the stories of Palestine’s martyrs. So many of you responded to the ongoing genocide with courage, steadfastness, dedication and hope. 

In 2025, how will we respond to injustice, violence, and war mongering? Our fear and hopelessness are Donald Trump’s biggest tools – we don’t need to give them to him. 

💌 And if you happen to be looking for a secret 6th thing you can do in 2025... it’s support CODEPINK’s work for peace.  

<[link removed]>Support our work in 2025 <[link removed]>

With endless love and hope,
Danaka and the entire CODEPINK team

P.S. Join me in conversation with Chris Smalls and Steven Donziger <[link removed]>about funding the people’s needs, not the war machine on Jan 14!





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