DEAR FRIENDS,
I imagine many of you reading this letter are feeling despair or even rage. This summer, the Israeli military’s brutal violence against Palestinians has been devastating and overwhelming.
But I want to share with you what I’m seeing. The part that you may not get to see, because it isn’t in the news: the sheer power of your collective action.
You — supporters of JVP Action — have met the moment in full force. From where I sit, I am seeing the thousands of calls you’re making to members of Congress. During one campaign, a staffer actually exasperatedly asked how many more calls they should expect, because we had their phone ringing off the hook! You’ve flooded Congressional inboxes with demands. You’ve shown up at town halls and stopped politicians on the sidewalk to demand they end U.S. funding to Israeli apartheid. You’ve taken to the streets to protest in front of Congressional offices. You have ensured that Congress must reckon with the harm it is causing through its complicity of Israeli violence and ethnic cleansing.
At JVP Action, our mandate is simple: build the grassroots power to end U.S. military funding to Israeli apartheid. That’s what we are working toward.
Getting there won’t be easy. The U.S. sends Israel at least $3.8 billion in military funding every year, yet politicians refuse to hold it accountable for how it uses these funds. And right-wing, anti-Palestinian groups are flooding congressional races and lobbying initiatives with massive amounts of money to defend this status quo. Groups like AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, and other anti-Palestinian entities are inundating Congressional primaries with money and undermining candidates who believe in Palestinians’ rights. These groups and their ilk are hoping that the eye-popping sums of money they are spending on candidates who support apartheid will intimidate us. But we will not be intimidated.
They are spending this kind of money because they are scared. They know that Palestinian rights are increasingly popular among democratic voters, so they are desperately trying to push back. We know that the power of a grassroots movement for unapologetically strong candidates can overcome the money of a corporate Super PAC. The victories of people like Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, and Ilhan Omar make that clear.
The road ahead is long, but as long as you’re with us, we are not going anywhere. We’ll be ready for the fights ahead.
Onward,
Beth Miller
Political Director
CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION FOR GAZA
In August, the Israeli military carried out another brutal military assault on Gaza. The Israeli government continues to carry out these war crimes and atrocities because it has always been able to do so with impunity — including from one of its biggest funders, the United States. Over a few days, we drove nearly 3,000 calls to Congress, jamming up the lines of several offices, and demanding our politicians condemn Israel’s violence, call for an immediate end to Israel’s siege of Gaza, and end U.S. military funding to Israeli apartheid.
CALLS TO CONGRESS
JVP members and supporters jammed up the phone lines of several offices, demanding our politicians condemn Israel’s violence, call for an immediate end to Israel’s siege of Gaza, and end U.S. military funding to Israeli apartheid.
BUILDING SUPPORT FOR H.R. 2590
Through our work with movement partners, we have continued building pressure and demanding that more members of Congress support the Palestinian Children & Families Act (H.R. 2590) led by Representative Betty McCollum (MN-04), which would ensure no U.S. military funds pay for the Israeli military detention of Palestinian children, demolition of Palestinian homes, or annexation of Palestinian land. This year, we got five new representatives to join as co-sponsors of the bill.
BILL CO-SPONSORS
Thirty-two members of Congress currently co-sponsor H.R. 2590. This year, we got 5 new representatives to join.
EMAILS AND CALLS
JVP Action members sent tens of thousands of emails and calls to Congress to pressure them to co-sponsor.
DEFENDING PALESTINIANS IN MASAFER YATTA
We worked closely with Representative Cori Bush (MO-01) in support of her “Dear Colleague” letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for the Israeli government to be held accountable for its planned forced expulsion of over 1,000 Palestinians from their land in Masafer Yatta.
REPRESENTATIVES
JVP Action worked with movement partners to ensure support from 14 representatives on the letter and the endorsement of over 60 civil society organizations.
EMAILS AND CALLS
JVP Action members sent thousands of emails and calls to Congress to pressure them to sign the letter.
BUILDING OUR BASE
2021 exposed the overwhelming people power of the Palestinian rights movement and the growing rift in the Democratic party between those who want to fight for Palestinian liberty and those who want to support apartheid. But it’s undeniable: Palestinian human rights are on the progressive agenda and it’s our job to keep bringing more people into this movement. JVP Action hosted a training series to lead grassroots fundraising initiatives, train and recruit volunteers, and demonstrate how to have difficult conversations with the people in their community to move them toward supporting Palestinian rights. 240 people registered to attend the training sessions.
VOLUNTEERS TRAINED
JVP Action trained a whopping 240 volunteers in best practices for legislative organizing for Palestinian freedom.
DISMANTLING AUTHORITARIAN AND APARTHEID REGIMES
The Biden administration, as well as many Democrats and Republicans, continue to carry on with Trump’s dangerous legacy of building business ties and weapons sales between authoritarian and apartheid regimes, while pretending these tactics will lead to “peace.” JVP Action was one of the core groups in the movement pushing against this status-quo, inspiring thousands of calls and emails to Congress. These actions led progressive legislators to reject the so-called “Israel Relations Normalization Act”, which is essentially a green light to the Israeli government to continue its human rights abuses and receive billions in support from the U.S.
RESPONDEES
1000+ responded to our call to reject supporting the continued authoritarian and apartheid Israeli state.
FINANCIALS
JVP ACTION IS MEETING THE POLITICAL MOMENT.
You made these victories possible. Without your commitment and support of JVP Action, we could not continue working towards Palestinian liberation and holding the Israeli government accountable for its human rights violations. Thank you for your courageous partnership!