THIS WEEK:

MARKING PAINFUL ANNIVERSARIES

This week marks fifty-seven years since the Six-Day War of 1967, and eight months since Israel began it's most recent destructive campaign against Gaza.

The 1967 war resulted in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Even before 1967, most Palestinians lived under military rule, and many continue to do so today.

Gaza, a small area full of refugees from the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) that occurred as Israel became a state, became home to more refugees in 1967. Today, the refugees of Gaza have become refugees once again. They search for a safe zone that doesn't exist, as the United States continues to provide weapons to Israel in spite of President Biden's insistence that an attack on Rafah is a "red line."

There are serious concerns that the United States is supporting genocide, with more than half of Gazans likely to experience famine by July, while the Israeli military supports Israeli settlers as they attack humanitarian aid convoys. This week, the co-founder of Human Rights Watch, Aryeh Neier, told the BBC that he believes Israel is committing genocide.

In the West Bank, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October of last year. In February, Alice Panepinto and Triestino Mariniello documented in Al-Jazeera that Israel was encouraging settler violence to help facilitate it's long-standing policy of displacement and ethnic cleansing.

As we mark the painful anniversaries of the '67 war and the eight-month current war in Gaza, we urge you to join our community during these upcoming events as we continue to engage with all that is happening, learn about Palestine, and advocate for a just peace.

Movement Mag Launch & Fundraiser

Saturday, June 8, 5:00-9:00 PM

Olympia Ballroom

116 Legion Way SE, Olympia

Palestine Action of South Sound (PASS) invites you to the Olympia Ballroom Saturday evening for a night of festivities! From 5:00-9:00 PM, the family-friendly, public event will be jam-packed with activities, performances, speeches, and food. A fee of $10-$15 at the door will be appreciated, but no one will be turned away for lack of money. For your health and the health of those around you, masks are encouraged.

Please RSVP here.

Inspired by a sold-out benefit concert for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, headlined by Bikini Kill at the Olympia Film Society (OFS) in January, the PASS Outreach​​​​​​​ and Education Committee released a zine entitled Movement Mag in conjunction with a Kimya Dawson OFS event in February.​​​​ Movement Mag brings together different voices and perspectives within the local movement for Palestine, documents the process of movement building, collectivizes learning, and provides a space for deep engagement and reflection.

The first issue of Movement Mag was a call into the void to see who was out there thinking about Palestine. With the launch of the second issue at Saturday's event, Movement Mag is saying, "We found each other and are now asking:

1. Where are we at?
2. How did we get here?
3. Where are we going?
4. How do we get there?"

On Saturday, you’ll have an opportunity to connect with caring members of the community, and to have a direct impact in Gaza by purchasing the second edition of Movement Mag or making direct contributions for Gaza relief. Join us at the party!



Please RSVP here.

IN COURT

“Defense for Children International - Palestine v. Biden”

Oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals

for the Ninth Circuit

Monday, June 10, 9:00 a.m. PST

Location: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Courtroom 1, 3rd Floor

James Browning Courthouse, San Francisco, CA 94103

The argument will be streamed live on the court’s website.

This case was filed in November against President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin. It challenges their failure to prevent and their complicity in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The case asks the court to order the Biden administration to cease military support for Israel’s assault on Gaza and to comply with its legal obligations. 

After a January hearing, the district court found a plausible case of genocide and urged the Biden administration to reexamine its “unflagging support” for Israel’s siege of Gaza. However, the district court dismissed the lawsuit saying that it "lacked jurisdiction over the administration's conduct of foreign relations." The Palestinian Plaintiffs have filed an appeal, supported by eight amicus briefs. Oral arguments will take place Monday before a three-judge panel and will be argued by Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Watch on the court’s website.

PEACE VIGILS CONTINUE EVERY FRIDAY

4:30-6:00 PM

Percival Landing in Downtown Olympia

4th &Water Street

As Israel continues its genocide of the Palestinian people and its invasion of Rafah, join us every Friday in downtown Olympia as we gather to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to occupation, saving Gaza's children, and for peace.

Thanks to the Olympia Fellowship Of Reconciliation for supporting and joining our efforts to demand a permanent peace in Gaza. Thank you to everyone for continuing to respect the peaceful and welcoming atmosphere that the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) has maintained at these weekly vigils for decades.

TAKE ACTION FOR PALESTINE!

Contact Our Elected Officials Today!

We must keep up the pressure.

For information and regular updates from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, go to https://www.ochaopt.org/.

CONTINUE YOUR CALLS AND EMAILS TO THE WHITE HOUSE, emphasizing the need for a permanent and sustainable ceasefire, release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and unfettered access to aid for Gaza.

Call or write now! Your Senators and Representative need to hear from you.

• Demand a permanent ceasefire.

• Demand release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and of Palestinian prisoners illegally held by Israel.

• Demand that no further U.S. funding be provided for Israel's bombing, commission of war crimes, and actions against civilians in Gaza.

• Demand protection for the civilians of Gaza and the West Bank, for whom Israel holds responsibility - as stipulated by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

• Demand that humanitarian and life-saving aid needed by the civilian population of Gaza is provided and accessible.

Look up your Senators and Representative here and write your own message.

If you are residents of Washington State, the D.C. phone numbers

for Senators Cantwell and Murray are below:

(202) 224-3441(Cantwell)

(202) 224-2621(Murray)

For those in Olympia, our representative is Marilyn Strickland.

Her D.C. phone number is (202) 225-9740.

Email Rep. Strickland here.

Your support makes our work possible!

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Donations by check can be mailed to the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice, 203 East 4th Ave, Suite 402, Olympia, WA 98501.