Dear John,

We are so grateful to the AFSC community for the generous response to our Compassion in Action Matching Gift Challenge this month. We are well on our way to securing a $500,000 match, with returns received by mail still being counted. That’s $1 million that will be helping communities around the world meet urgent needs and do transformative work for peace and justice. Thank you!

Here are this week's picks to inform and support your activism:

AFSC responds to the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin: Rittenhouse, a white teenager, killed two people during protests of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The case reminds us once again that there is no justice in a criminal legal system designed to uphold white supremacy.

Tell elected officials: End the death penalty!: This week, the governor of Oklahoma granted clemency to Julius Jones—just hours before he was scheduled to be executed. The decision came after public pressure and statewide protests, including student-led walkouts. But in Mississippi, the state carried out the death sentence of David Cox. It’s time for the U.S. to abolish this immoral practice once and for all.

Opposing Israel’s attacks on Palestinian rights organizations: Last month, Israel declared key Palestinian rights groups “terrorist organizations.” The designation aims to smear organizations that have exposed the government’s human rights abuses. And it must be reversed. Learn more about our work to protect Palestinian civil society—and how you can take action.

Groups urge Manchin to support child tax credit, Build Back Better Act: The Build Back Better Act was approved by the House. Now the Senate must pass the bill while preserving essential programs and ensuring a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants. This week, AFSC staff and other West Virginians visited the office of Sen. Joe Manchin, a key vote on this bill. They brought a quilt featuring the stories of people who have benefited from the expanded child care tax credit. Read more. (Metro News, Charleston Gazette-Mail)

Say NO to Pillsbury products!: As you get ready for the holidays, make sure Pillsbury products aren’t on your shopping list. General Mills makes many of these products in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory. And the corporation needs to get the message: Stop manufacturing on stolen land!

Looking for books on peace and justice?: AFSC Archivist Don Davis recommends a few good books that draw from AFSC's work over the past century.