Justice and Human Rights United States Project #12995

U.S. Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities

by Rebuilding Alliance

Summary

Our U.S. Movement is gaining the attention of Congress with encouraging results. Case by case, Rebuilding Alliance's advocacy team held >550 briefings with House and Senate offices to prevent demolitions in the West Bank & Jerusalem and to protect civil society. Constituents, key to the calls, gain access. More Congr. offices are intervening, forwarding letters to safeguard Palestinian homes & schools. More Palestinian neighborhoods and families are asking us to intervene - help us ramp up.

$320,000
total goal

$139,157
remaining

1,253
donors

19
monthly donors

5
fundraisers

9
years

Challenge

Over 10,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem are at risk of losing their homes. In the West Bank, 16,000 Palestinian families have demolition orders, with many military orders giving only 96 hrs before demolition & no notice for confiscations. As settlement expansion increases, Palestinian communities face violence & land theft. The targeting of Palestinian civil society orgs by Israel, night raids, and arrests of children are serious concerns. U.S. Congress does intervene when constituents ask.

Solution

What does it take to do a Contact Congress Campaign for Palestinian rights? A focused, pressing need from families. A letter from their lawyer to forward through Congress. Expert speakers from Palestine, Israel, and the U.S. to each speak in a 30 minute Zoom-briefing. Constituents who email and call Congress - and if one constituent sends the scheduling request and hosts the briefing, all the better. Rebuilding Alliance's advocacy team pulls this together. Help us hold 3 campaigns at a time.

Long-Term Impact

Rebuilding Alliance began Contact Congress requests in 2008 when we brought Al Aqaba Village's Mayor to Congress. Everyone emailed their Senators & Reps, who called the State Dept. & the Israeli Embassy to keep his village standing. Until recently, their West Bank village was thriving- they even issued their own building permits, no demolition orders. Now, they too are being targeted. Congress safeguarding both Israelis _and_ Palestinians brings security for everyone and opens a door for peace.