Nakba Day Killings: One More Reason to Boycott Bibi

Dear Milena,

Above: Protesters gather along the Lebanese-Israeli border in Maroun al-Ras, Lebanon, to mark the anniversary of the Nakba. Photo: Mahmoud Ramsey. (click image to enlarge).

On Sunday Israel killed at least 12 unarmed Palestinian refugees and injured hundreds more. The refugees were commemorating the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe," as Palestinians call their dispossession and expulsion by Israel before, during, and ever since its founding in 1948.

These Palestinian refugees, inspired by the "Arab Spring" to act as their own agentsfor achieving their fundamental human rights, sought to exercise their internationally recognized -- but long-denied -- right of return to their homes.

Israel's lethal response with live ammunition provides a stark reminder of the extent to which it will go to maintain its apartheid policies against Palestinians.

While Israel allows Jewish people from anywhere in the world automatically to attain citizenship, it forcibly forbids the return of Palestinian refugees whom it exiled from their homes. Such a policy -- discrimination based on religious or ethnic differences -- is the very definition of apartheid.
Israel's latest atrocity adds one more reason why our petition to Members of Congress -- to boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu's upcoming address to a joint meeting of Congress on May 24 -- is important. Thank you for signing!

Thanks to you, we've almost reached two thirds of our goal of 10,000 signatures, after which we'll deliver your signature to House Speaker John Boehner, who invited Netanyahu to speak.

Our message is starting to be heard. There's evidence that if Bibi comes to Congress to deliver more of the same tired arguments -- about why Israel should continue its apartheid rule over Palestinians -- then perhaps his reception won't be so warm.

Last Friday, the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv cited U.S. sources stating that if Bibi's speech doesn't contain "real content," then "he would bebetter off canceling italtogether... a speech before Congress is not a ritualistic matter -- he must lay out his vision for peace."[1]

While in Washington, DC, Netanyahu also will be speaking to the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest and most influential lobby supporting Israeli occupation and apartheidagainst Palestinians.

To coincide with AIPAC's conference, the US Campaign Steering Committee, Advisory Board and staff are gearing up to participate in the discourse-challenging panels and workshops of "Move Over AIPAC," a US Campaign-endorsed event, May 21-24.

Learn more about this seminal event, organized by US Campaign member group CODEPINK, and how you can get involved in efforts to challenge U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid. Join us as we continue our work to change U.S. policy to support freedom,justice and equality as we help to Move Over AIPAC.

We hope to see you in Washington, DC this weekend!

In solidarity,
Josh Ruebner
National Advocacy Director


PS -- We do all of our work to challenge U.S. policy with just 0.4% of AIPAC's budget. If it were an even struggle, then we'd be sure to win. Help make that possible by sending your generous, tax-deductible contribution to us today. Thank you!
[1] Thanks to Israeli human rights activist Didi Remez for thetranslation of this article.