This article put into words much of what I’ve been feeling about the left’s reaction to what happened this weekend.
I’ll update this with more info, but I have to post this draft so I can make another thread 
@HipGnosis and I worked on a petition yesterday. It’s still a work in progress, especially the second half. If we have time, we can present it at the GM today.
Hi everyone,
I finished editing our statement from yesterday: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pHeFmSLjtlRwFisx39qoBO-KRq9R4Qdb3hInOpn8Fzs/edit?usp=sharing
If you have additional edits, please leave a suggestion here or in Google Docs.
As we discussed in the meeting, we need approval from 5 people to post this online (max 2 votes from steering).
Looks good. Still trying to think of a way to rephrase the “defending itself” line but I can’t think of anything. I’ll look around for inspiration
“i think it should be noted how all western nations are currently rallying around the idea that committing genocide is an act of national self-defense”
Got this from a tweet of all things but it’s poignant
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Do you mean the phrase “defend itself” specifically or the overall sentence? It was more of a comment about the line “Israel’s right to defend itself” but we can end at “… war against”
Yes, I mean the sentence itself, sorry I shouldve quoted the sentence.
"These are the people that Israel has declared “war” against, that the largest military in the Middle East needs to “defend itself” against. "
I like the sentiment I’m just wondering if we could rephrase it somehow.
How about
Israel, possessing the most formidable military force in the Middle East, has declared “war” on this population. Although the people in Gaza have little more than the rubble of their former homes to use as weapons against Israel, the United States and Israel are justifying genocide as a necessary act of self-defense.
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Hello everyone,
I read the WCU statement regarding the Oct 7th events in Gaza and Israel’s US backed response. It’s professional, accurate, and aligns with the mission statement and values that are the foundation of WCU. I move to publish. I look forward to reading it in the newsletter! Congratulations to everyone who worked on it 
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Alright folks,
We have a draft version up on the website along with the petition: A Plea For Palestine
Along with drafts of the social media images.
Once we get 4 more yes votes and the draft is finalized, I’ll update the graphics/petition to include the final language and we start sharing it then.
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Thoughts and prayers is a lil cringe but whatever
For the record,
@Adri_Martinez
@Joanna
@HipGnosis
voted yes in the WhatsApp Group.
I think it good to as well, so I am also voting yes as the fifth person.
I’ll update everything with the new language and post when everything is updated.
Link to petition directly: A Plea For Palestine
Link to our statement + petition: A Plea For Palestine
I brought up the idea of holding a rally at Harder’s office, but @anon26178869 rightfully brought up that we probably don’t have the solid numbers right now for it to be impactful.
So perhaps we need to do more of a media push to
- talk about what is happening in Gaza right now with more specifics + images that are harder to ignore than the words we typed out
- talk about Harder’s record on Palestine (he has a 0% rating according to a doc that members of DSA put together)
- Reach out to local orgs (churches or even liberal orgs) to organize a rally at Harder’s office
Harder’s Record on Palestine
| Anti-Palestinian Meeks/McCaul resolution | Palestinian rights resolution | Prohibit moving Jerusalem embassy | Pro-Israel resolution declaring it not a racist or apartheid nation |
Strengthen Abarham Accords with Special Envoy position | Support Abraham Accords | Iron Dome funding | Unconditional aid to Israel | Supporting 2016 MOU with Israel | Anti-BDS | Pro-Israel resolution criticizing UN’s position | Anti-Palestinian state | Jayapal civilian protection letter | JVP- endorsed |
J Street- endorsed |
DMFI- endorsed |
AIPAC- endorsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | Not sponsoring | Yea | Yea | Yea | Yea | Yea | Yea | Yea | Yea | Not elected | Not elected | Non-Signatory | Yes | Yes |
I know many of us are already at near capacity with just the tenant work, but I find it difficult to not keep trying different things to do something. What does everyone else think?
I definitely would like to do other things on top of the petition.
“1. talk about what is happening in Gaza right now with more specifics + images that are harder to ignore than the words we typed out”
-Yeah, I’m totally down for working on more posts to keep the community informed on how things are developing. It seems like every time I jump on Twitter something new is happening, and a lot of stuff just doesn’t get covered by the mainstream media. Or, when it is, it’s done in a really biased way. But we should exercise caution with the images that we post because a lot of platforms are censoring and locking people out of accounts for posting pictures of the human casualties.
-We could provide details on what U.S. military aid to Israel looks like (Ex: artillery shells, precision-guided missiles, fighter jets, etc.).
“2. talk about Harder’s record on Palestine (he has a 0% rating according to a doc that members of DSA put together)”
-Source: https://twitter.com/aaronnarraph/status/1713211382781415558
-We can also talk about the money he’s taken from AIPAC, the Pro-Israel lobbying group.
-Biden has a pretty crummy record too.
“3. Reach out to local orgs (churches or even liberal orgs) to organize a rally at Harder’s office”
-Sandra mentioned, at the Cultural Corn Day event, that Stockton Area Atheists and Freethinkers (SAAF) might be a good group to reach out to. They are having a Pints and Politics event at Valley Brew on Wednesday at 5:30pm. It might be a good time to introduce ourselves and talk about the events unfolding in Israel/Palestine.
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A friend recommended we reach out to this organization: https://www.facebook.com/people/Sacramento-Regional-Coalition-for-Palestinian-Rights/
Just a quick update over the past couple of days:
There was an article today about Blinken’s efforts to get support from other Middle Eastern countries and it did not seem to go very well. None of the other leaders seem willing to take Israel’s side, especially as they continue bombing Gaza (Egypt doesn’t want to deal with refugees; Jordan doesn’t want to deal with unrest from their own people). It seems like everyone, including the US, wants to avoid things escalating into a broader conflict, but Israel continues to act belligerent.
Also the below statement makes it sound like Blinken is okay with continued bombing or even a ground invasion, as long as people are “safe,” but Israel bombed a hospital today and killed 500+ people, so not sure what “safe” means to them.
The bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City is getting a ton of pushback internationally (see this thread). Maybe that pushback is enough to stop the ground invasion into Gaza. Plus, Israel keeps delaying it on their own; they are delaying it for Biden’s visit as well. It seems like no one, including Israel, knows what their long-term end game here is.
Israel is blaming Hamas for the explosion at the hospital, but both Biden and Blinken blamed “the explosion” for the deaths at the hospital so it seems like they are not as confident as Israel it was Hamas. Other governments don’t seem to believe Israel’s story either.
It’s not stopping the Biden Administration form potentially asking for $100 BILLION in funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and our own southern border.
Got a response from Harder’s office. Looks like we at least made his team have to draft a response. It’s mostly nothing speak besides stating he supports a “two-state solution,” which is just another way of saying you don’t give a fuck and want to not talk about the issue.
We will have to ask if he supports rolling back the settlements then.
That’s why finding a path to peace in the Middle East is so important to me, and it’s why I’m a strong supporter of a two-state solution.
We should write a response to everyone who signed it.
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History calls all of us to act on behalf of the Palestinians dying in the US facilitated genocide. If WCU wants to make Free Palestine a second campaign then I would vote yes to this motion.
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