The Gaza neighborhood of one of AFSC’s staff members. Our staff are among the many Palestinians who have returned to what is left of their homes and communities. Photo: AFSC/Gaza
Hi Friend,
Thank you to everyone who donated to our humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza. Over the past 17 months, your support has made it possible for us to deliver food, water, hygiene kits, and other life-saving aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Now we are preparing for the next phase of our emergency response. Read more about our efforts from AFSC’s Kerri Kennedy.
Last year, AFSC and detained immigrants filed a lawsuit challenging an ICE ban on virtual court appearances. Earlier this month, a court ruled in our favor. The judge found that preventing people detained in Pennsylvania from remotely attending New Jersey criminal court proceedings violated their constitutional rights. Read more in the New Jersey Monitor.
Our communities are safest when we spend our tax dollars on health care, housing, and other programs that benefit all people—not on weapons and war. But every year, the U.S. spends $1.1 trillion—more than half of our federal discretionary budget—on war and militarism. And today, Congress is proposing yet another massive budget increase for the Pentagon while these vital programs face drastic cuts.
Last year, AFSC brought together peacebuilders from 13 African countries in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss strategies for protecting civic space. In many places, governments have cracked down not only on protesters in the streets, but on any organizations doing social change work deemed political. The convening is one way that AFSC is helping human rights defenders in Africa work together to hold governments accountable for abuses. Read more.
From the U.S. to South Africa to Palestine, anti-apartheid movements have mobilized communities to oppose legal systems of racial injustice and oppression. Join our monthly Apartheid-Free Communities webinar to learn more. We’ll hear from anti-apartheid activists and liberation theologians Rev. Wendell Griffen and Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak as well as Palestinian activist Ms. Shadia Qubti. Register today.
Special thanks to our monthly donors, our Partners for Peace, for their ongoing support to make all our work possible.
