The on going genocide & political accountability
Some basic facts
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Over the last 40 days, Israel has killed over 11,450 Palestinians with murderous
airstrikes. With the mass bombings of residential areas and the intentional
targeting of hospitals and clinics, the US-backed Israeli military has killed over
4,700 children. It is estimated that some 3,640 people are trapped under the rubble.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that as many as 1,770 are children.
Read that again: nearly 1,800 children are buried under broken concrete and twisted
rebar. Many Palestinians are being forced, by gunpoint, to leave behind their homes
in northern Gaza and march down the road en masse as Israel executes its next face
of ethnic genocide and forced population transport. Those walking have reported
watching stray dogs eat the bodies of dead Palestinians trapped in these remains.
While thousands are staying behind in northern Gaza, their parents, brothers, and
sisters — if still alive — would have to face the Israeli military and the prospect
of being gunned down as they looked at these children. Even if they could reach the
mounds of rubble left behind after an air strike, they would have to dig through the
carnage with their bare hands because there isn't electricity for power tools or the
fuel to run the equipment.
There are some 1.6 million Gazans displaced with no place to go. As of November 6th,
the Ministry of Public Works and Housing has reported that Israel's bombing campaign
has destroyed over 10,000 buildings, including more than 41,000 housing units. An
additional 222,000 housing units have suffered partial damage. Israel has ruined 45%
of Gaza's housing. These numbers are on the rise with each passing moment.
Those with injuries and health issues have very few options, as Israel has also laid
waste to the health sector: they have attacked 135 health facilities, putting out of
commission some 25 hospitals and 52 healthcare centers. They have destroyed nearly
60 ambulances - almost two a day. The Israeli war machine has also destroyed 77
churches and mosques.
The Palestinians who manage to make it to a hospital are lucky. But even if they do,
the remaining hospitals are also operating under an Israeli military siege. They
also don't have fuel. Medical supplies are exhausted — despite what US and Israeli
propaganda
would lead you to believe. They are under constant bombardments, and Israeli snipers
have been shooting workers through the windows. Doctors and nurses are exhausted —
physically and emotionally — beyond comprehension.
What does this mean for you? You have to do more than protest. Politicians, contrary to what might be commonly believed, can co-opt public protests as an opportunity to demonstrate their tolerance and understanding of diverse perspectives, potentially broadening their appeal to constituents. For protests to have a lasting impact beyond the immediate display of dissent, they must be coupled with tangible actions of accountability. The legacy NGOs in the United States, Canada, and the UK must follow up on their public demonstrations with strategic measures such as pledging to withhold votes and/or donations from politicians who do not meet this moment of life and death. If you have a public protest without any intention of having real consequences for elected officials, you didn't have a protest. You had a large marketing and brand-building event for your NGO.
Organizations raising money on behalf of Palestinians languishing under Israeli
apartheid and ethnic cleansing are morally obligated to actively campaign against
the politicians that have supported Palestinian genocide and prevent their
re-election. They are ethically mandated to mobilize their bases and get their
members to refuse to contribute financially to the political parties that championed
the death of Palestinians. These concrete actions ensure that the message of the
protests translates into political consequences, forcing politicians to act in real,
meaningful ways.
This, of course, is an uncomfortable message for a lot of folks. It's not
mainstream, partly because the larger peace and justice organizations seek proximity
to power, rather than challenging those in power. These NGOs building relationships
with the powerful liberal elite undermines the very movements of liberation they
claim to support. Pursuing funding and grants tethers these organizations to the
whims of donors and the political elite, entangling them in a web of conditional
alliances. This proximity to power may offer short-term benefits and the allure of
influence; it also compromises their stance against the systems of oppression and
domination they ostensibly oppose. In seeking the security of financial support from
large donors and access to political actors, these NGOs are complicit in sustaining
the status quo and, at a minimum, inadvertently eroding the foundations of the
movements of liberation they claim to be a part of for organizational
survival.
This is precisely why the Good Shepherd Collective runs on individual donors, such
as yourself, giving 10,
20, 30, and 50 dollars a month. It provides us with the liberty to speak
hard truths to power. It puts us in a position to offer up essential criticisms
without worrying about our funding resources. We need people like you to invest in
small, independent grassroots formations in Palestine. Donate
today to support this work.
But one thing remains. Regardless of whether or not you agree with this assessment
of the NGO industry and political organizing or the value of withholding votes and
financial support to politicians, the very real question remains: how will you hold
the people accountable that are responsible for aiding the genocide of the
Palestinian people? In the absence of tangible action items by legacy NGOs, individuals and our communities must step up to leverage our own power. Below are some of our resources, but if you have an idea for an advocacy effort in your own community and need assistance executing it, feel free to reach out to us.
Here are three important reports and documents that we've written in collaboration
with local Palestinian partners and anti-zionist activists abroad.
Please continue to spread the #DefundRacism
report on Regavim, one of the Israeli settler organizations exploiting
international charitable giving to force Palestinians off their lands.
Here is an important report
from the West Bank we did in coordination with Youth
of Sumud that outlines how the zionist militias are violently expelling
marginalized communities from their lands.
And just as important, it is a
guide for solidarity activists on how they can support Palestinians in the anti
zionist struggle for liberation, written in collaboration with the brilliant
author Em Cohen.
Remember to take this pledge that you will withold your vote and your financial contributions to the individuals and parties that are supporting Israeli genocide. If you are from the United States or Canda, sign here.
Please continue to support this work by making a tangible
contribution today.
In solidarity,
Cody
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