DONE: No Votes for Genocide Pledge + Nakba Day Rally Prep

[chima (Harpreet Chima)]

@Bozzii and I put this together yesterday. May 15th is Nakba Day, so we thought it would be a good day to launch the No Votes for Genocide campaign. But to do that, we have a bunch of stuff we need to finish. If you have time, please pitch in so we can get off to a good start.

Task Assignments

Please add your name in the table by clicking on the emoji on the top right of the table when you hover over the table.

Task	Deadline Date	Assigned To	In Progress	Complete	Review by OP
NoVotesForGenocide.com	May 12	@chima
Edit Pledge Language (see Google Doc)		@hipgnosis	X	X
Language for Thank You page/email reply after they sign		@Bozzii	X	X
Predrafted captions/tweets for sharing
Route for march	May 13	@hipgnosis	X	X
Speaker list	May 13
Pledge Sign Up Sheets for Rally and Future Events	May 14	@chima
Small flyer with pledge, QR code, link to WCU website	May 14	@chima
Outreach Materials for Rally and Future Events	May 14	@Bozzii	X
Half-page flyers with information on Current events in Palestine	May 14	@Bozzii	X
Half-page flyers with information on Josh’s voting record	May 14
May 9th post caption	May 8
May 13th post caption	May 12
Draft email - Nakba Day Rally + help launch NVFG Pledge	May 8
Draft email - pledge and Nakba Day reminder	May 12

Task Details

No Votes for Genocide Pledge

NoVotesForGenocide.com (Deadline May 12)

• Edit Pledge Language (see Google Doc)
  • This language will be on top of the website and on our flyers/printed materials.
• Language for Thank You page/email reply after they sign (see Google Doc)
  • After someone adds their name, they will be redirected to a “Thank You” page that can include text + links to share the pledge on Facebook/Twitter/Email. In the text, include the following:
    • Share with friends/family
    • Invite to join WCU
    • Say they will updated about actions
• Pre-drafted captions/tweets for sharing (see Google Doc)
  • If someone clicks on the Share on Social Media buttons, it will pre-fill their post with text. The text should state they just signed onto the pledge.

Nakba Day Rally at Weber Ave on May 15th

Importance of Nakba Day: The Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the ethnic cleansing and forcible expulsion of Palestinians from their indigenous land following the creation of the state of Israel. On May 15, 1948, succeeding the expiration of the British Mandate, the Israeli military and paramilitary groups conducted violent campaigns against the Palestinian people, leading to the expulsion of at least 750,000 people, 15,000 innocent lives murdered, nearly 530 villages and cities destroyed, and 78% of the land stolen. Though this was not the first nor the last time Israel used such barbaric force against the Palestinians, the Nakba marked a devastating point in their history. May 15–Nakba Day–is a day of remembrance of the atrocities Israel has committed against the Palestinian people.

Plan Rally (see Google Doc)

• Route for march (should go down Weber Ave) (Deadline: May 13)
• Speaker list (Deadline: May 13)

Pledge Sign Up Sheets for Rally and Future Events (Deadline: May 14)

• These sheets will be the primary way we collect signatures in person.

• Include: pledge, name, zip code, phone, email, “Help Do Outreach” checkbox and QR codes linking to pledge and WCU registration

• Small flier with pledge, QR code, link to WCU website

Outreach Materials for Rally and Future Events (Deadline May 14)

• Half-page flyers with information on (see Google Doc):
  • [-] Current events in Palestine
  • Josh’s voting record update language on IG post here

Rally Social Media Posts

• May 9th post caption (Deadline May 8) (see Google Doc)
• May 13th post caption (Deadline May 12) (see Google Doc)

Emails to WCU List (members + volunteers)

• Draft email asking people to attend Nakba Day Rally + help launch NVFG Pledge (Deadline May 8) (see Google Doc)
• Draft email asking people to pledge, share with friends/family, and Nakba Day reminder (Deadline May 12) (see Google Doc)

[HipGnosis]

I did some language edits and left a couple comments

I also propose this route if we decide not to go by Harder’s office.
It is about 30 minutes walk, and goes by city hall, the court house, and the franchise tax board, as well as several prominent businesses and banks.
This route is also a long 3 large streets providing maximum visibility.

[chima (Harpreet Chima)]

We don’t have signs as a part of our checklist here, but maybe we think about at least having a banner.

[Bozzii (Basma A.)]

Sorry for that last update I said the wrong date. We’re changing the date of the Nakba Day Rally from the 15th to the Saturday May 18

[Bozzii (Basma A.)]

I am for this proposed route. Do we want to start in front of the Central library?

[HipGnosis]

I had the route behind and end on the steps of city hall which is good for pictures and speeches.

But I was wondering if 30 mins is too short? Long is the event supposed to be and how much of it is supposed to be taken up by the march?

[Bozzii (Basma A.)]

Do we want to print the banner like last time or do we want to paint it on a canvas?

[chima (Harpreet Chima)]

Since we have a week, we can get something printed

[chima (Harpreet Chima)]

Recap

We missed all deadlines. We should only include hard deadlines for future events, such as the events themselves.

Website Update

The No Votes for Genocide Petition is hosted on our WordPress. The NoVotesForGenocide.com domain forwards to https://workingclassunity.com/novotesforgenocide/. Once the navigation bar is up, hopefully it will encourage visitors to explore the rest of the website (and to join).

I modified the petition text by cutting it in half and placing the second half at the bottom of the form. The form should be visible on mobile devices without scrolling to increase follow through rates. The top half can still be more concise, imo. The bottom half can include information from the half-page explainers or current events. Since it is hosted on our WordPress, it will be easy to give a Member the ability to log in and edit the page vs having a separate html page hosted on Digital Ocean.

Pledge Sign Up Sheets

We printed these at FedEx. Thanks to @PeterKraljev for helping me cut them in half since FedEx didn’t have the necessary machine. We should aim to print all our materials at the union shop in the future so it looks more professional than this.

I put this together last minute; it needs a redesign, so I’ll leave this item unchecked for now.

Outreach Materials for Rally and Future Events

@Bozzii has been working on the explainers here. We should start formatting them into half-page flyers.

Rally Social Media Posts

We had two posts with the same language.

FREE PALESTINE RALLY - SATURDAY 2-4PM

During the Democratic Party primaries, we tried to send a message by voting uncommitted or refusing to support politicians who would not stand up for Palestine, but the message did not reach our elected officials. We then witnessed the brutal suppression of student protests by educational institutions that claim to champion progress and inclusion. Now, Democrats and the Biden administration are working with Republicans to sanction the International Criminal Court for daring to hold Israel accountable for its actions.

President Biden once declared Israel’s invasion into Rafah a red line, yet he approved another $1 billion weapon shipment to Israel even as they bombed families living in tents. In Biden’s eyes, it seems Israel can never truly cross his red line.

We have our own red lines and, unlike our politicians, we must punish those who cross them.

The Democratic Party, from its highest echelons to its local politicians, has turned a deaf ear to our cries for peace and justice. The time has come for us to impose consequences by wielding our power as voters.

Join us in a new movement to withhold votes from the Democratic Party until our demands are met. Pledge not to vote for President Joe Biden, Representative Josh Harder, or any candidates endorsed by them until:

• Other candidates publicly reject endorsements from Joe Biden and Josh Harder.
• Rep. Harder sponsors Representative Tlaib’s Ceasefire Now Resolution.
• Rep. Harder commits to voting against any military or financial aid to Israel and pursues sanctions against Israel.
• Rep. Harder denounces and rejects AIPAC.
• Rep. Harder holds the Biden Administration accountable for shielding Israel from international accountability.

Rally on the 25th

Thank you to @PeterKraljev and @Bozzii for attending! We had about 20 people participate. Halfway through the rally, we moved to the shade and discussed ways to pressure Josh Harder. Ideas included targeting voters, camping at his office, and placing flyers with images of Gaza around his office.

We also discussed our No Votes for Genocide Pledge and canvassing locations. Suggestions included the San Joaquin County Fair this weekend and Weberstown Mall on the 15th. We will contact everyone hopefully by tomorrow with updates about canvassing on those weekends.

Misc Descriptions

NoVotesForGenocide.com is registered on Cloudflare on a info@workingclassunity.com account. In Cloudflare, I set up a 301 redirect rule to forward the domain. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirection. Other options include a 302 redirect is a temporary redirection, so it is important to choose the correct one (there are other options as well).

[HipGnosis]

Soft deadlines are definitely demotivating when we fail to achieve them