SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021
Weekend Reading

Dear John,

Thank you to everyone who made a gift to our fiscal year-end campaign! Your generosity will help us meet urgent needs—and support communities around the world working for a more, just peaceful future!

And thanks to all who signed our petition with Daily Kos, urging President Biden to halt all deportations to Haiti and protect asylum seekers. If you haven’t already, add your name today. [link removed]

Here are this week’s picks to inform and support your activism.

5 things to know about U.S. funding for Israel’s “Iron Dome”: Last week, the U.S. House approved $1 billion in military financing for Israel—in addition to the billions of dollars already provided this year. We know funding more militarization won’t bring safety. Instead, the U.S. must invest in peaceful alternatives and work to end the Israeli occupation, writes AFSC’s Mike Merryman-Lotze. [link removed]

Immigration is a Black issue: The Biden administration’s treatment of Haitian refugees is one of many examples of anti-Black racism in our immigration system. It’s time we end this injustice, writes AFSC’s Peniel Ibe. [link removed]

Social justice activists learn how to take on corporations: AFSC’s Economic Activism Summer School trained activists on how to plan campaigns to pressure companies to change policies that violate human rights. One participant said, “Knowing that there are so many of us tackling different parts of the beasts of militarization, incarceration, borders, surveillance, exploitation, and more, makes me feel like beating all of these systems of oppression is possible.” [link removed]

Border Patrol’s ‘prevention through deterrence’ strategy is deadly by design: In the mid-’90s, the Border Patrol has forced migrants to take dangerous routes to reach the U.S. Since then, thousands have died crossing hostile terrain. Today, the Biden administration must change course to save lives and protect human rights, writes AFSC’s Pedro Rios. (San Diego Union-Tribune) [link removed]

New poll shows majority of U.S. favors diplomatic approach with North Korea and China: The poll, commissioned by AFSC and conducted by Ipsos, examined public opinion toward peace and humanitarian issues with North Korea and China. “Americans are tired of war and a militarized foreign policy. It’s clear the majority of the U.S. public understands the value of diplomacy,” says AFSC’s Daniel Jasper. [link removed]

Register: Policing and the “war on terror” (Oct. 14, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT): The post-9/11 “war on terror” targeted and criminalized Muslim and immigrant communities. It also created new policing tools and strategies that are increasingly being used on other communities of color and protesters. Sign up for this month’s “Community Safety Beyond Policing” webinar to learn more. [link removed]

Be well and take care

DONATE: [link removed]


American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States

Facebook: [link removed]
Twitter: [link removed]
Instagram: [link removed]
AFSC blog: [link removed]

unsubscribe: [link removed]