Together in Community, Solidarity, and Action

On top of a vibrant yellow background with green plants overlaid, four people of varying races and genders lay hugging each other. All are wearing blue toned clothes and looking straight on at the viewer. The style is illustration.
Transforming Open Through Feminism – “Support is Everything” by Ipsita Divedia

Our hearts are breaking, but our commitment to justice and action does not waver.

At WDN, our work on Palestine-Israel is deep-rooted. Many of our members have spent much of their lives grappling with their understanding of this ongoing cycle and working together to bring more justice to the region. In 2009 WDN members traveled to Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead. In 2012, we were part of a women’s leadership mission with a congressional delegation to Palestine-Israel. And now, we are watching a humanitarian crisis unfold while our political leaders do more of the same.

We cannot repeat the same harmful patterns of the past and expect a different result. We must confront the necessary truth at this moment: there is no path to a future of safety and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians without accountability and an end to Israel’s occupation and apartheid system that is causing so much pain.

As decisions are being made in real-time by political leaders who are using this moment to cut off 2.2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza from food, water, fuel, and electricity, we cannot remain silent. Here in our own backyard, this relentless cycle of violence is fueling a sharp rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia, including most recently the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Chicago who was targeted for being Muslim.

At WDN, it is precisely in difficult times such as these that we transform our pain into collective action. We did so last year in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision. We did so in 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. We did so in 2016 in the aftermath of the U.S. election. And we do so now.

Violence only begets more violence. We are joining our leaders and partners who are calling for an immediate ceasefire and mobilizing resources to ensure they have the strength and capacity to lead the work ahead.

This is a moment that calls on our collective courage, moral consistency, and clarity. Our community is hurting, and must channel our collective voice, activism, and resources to advance freedom, safety and dignity for all people–beginning with the call for ceasefire. Take action with us today.

Join Us in Mobilizing Resources to Meet This Moment

We have been working in collaboration with our peers and grantee partners in the field to identify the most immediate resources needed. From on-the-ground organizing to critical advocacy efforts and fighting disinformation, we are committing immediate funding to a slate of progressive U.S.-based Palestinian-led, Jewish-led and BIPOC-led groups who are organizing in solidarity with one another.

WDN is committing at least $460,000 in resources to support frontline organizing with these partners:

  • Rising Majority: A multiracial coalition building a shared cross-movement, multi-decade strategy and vision in response to the urgency of this political moment.
  • IfNotNow: A progressive organization of American Jews organizing their community to end U.S. support for Israel’s occupation and demand equality, justice, and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis.  
  • Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU): Focused on the disinformation and narrative strategy for Palestinian human rights (and this issue at large).
  • Just Vision (JV): Filling the narrative gap in the media and storytelling through smart reporting, award-winning films, and media strategies. WDN provided seed funding for Just Vision’s Hebrew-language news outlet, Local Call, and members have been executive producers for films that JV produced. 
  • American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC): Works to defend and promote human rights, civil rights, and liberties of Arab Americans. This is critical given the rise in Islamophobic attacks.
  • Adalah Justice Project: Palestinian-led advocacy organization based in the U.S. that builds cross-movement coalitions to achieve collective liberation.
  • Diaspora Alliance: An international organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism and its instrumentalization by promoting the values of a multiracial democracy.
  • Jewish Voice for Peace: The largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle.
  • US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: A cross-racial movement-led organization working to strengthen advocacy for Palestine in the broader progressive field.

This initial slate has been selected and vetted by our team amongst recommendations shared by our grantees, members, and movement partners. We prioritized US-based frontline organizations where our resources can be most catalytic at this moment. We are also working to identify c4 needs for the critical advocacy work to end this crisis. 

Raise Your Voice to Call for an Immediate Ceasefire

Your voice is needed right now. Israel has declared total war on Gaza, and has cut its supply of food, electricity, and water. Contact your Members of Congress and join an action near you.

Read/Watch/Listen: Resources to Deepen Your Learning

Many have been actively engaged in organizing for Middle East peace for decades, and some of us are new to this issue. And all of us have a role to play in understanding the root causes of this crisis. Here are several resources for up-to-date information and additional learning:

Together we are building a community rooted in love for justice and in a vision of a world where everyone can experience the safety, dignity, and freedom we all deserve.

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