Solidarity Day in Boston Meets with Positive Public Response

Every year on November 29 the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine holds a demonstration to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Why November 29? It was on November 29, 1947 that the General Assembly passed Resolution 181, with the intention of partitioning Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish State. What followed was the tragedy of the Nakba, in which some 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes.

In 1977 the UN General Assembly set aside November 29 as a day of solidarity with Palestinians to remind the world that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination was still unmet.

Today, with the Trump administration giving Israel the green light to accelerate its settlement expansion, the fulfillment of that right appears further away than ever, and the ‘two state solution’ envisaged by Resolution 181 appears defunct.

But judging from the overwhelmingly positive reaction we received as we took a stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the heart of Boston’s shopping district this November 29, people on the street are increasingly out of step with elective representatives who continue to turn a blind eye to the terrible injustices Palestinians are forced to endure.

Our solidarity message to Palestine: the American people are waking up!

Nancy Murray

The Alliance's Bi-Monthly Fact

Israel’s 2014 bombardment of the Gaza Strip destroyed and damaged more than 50% of the water infrastructure, critically affecting hospitals.

In two days last week, Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip with more than 20 Israeli airstrikes and 10 artillery shellings—

• killing 34 people, including 8 children and a family of eight 

• wounding 51 children and 60 adults.

Since March 2018 in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces—

• killed 328 Palestinians, including 46 children 

• wounded 19,043 persons, including 4,901 children.

Now, due to Israel forbidding repair of the water infrastructure, the massively overcrowded hospitals must reduce the cleaning and sterilizing of medical equipment and facilities. Hospitals are cleaned when necessary. Staff can only wash their hands when it’s essential, not regularly when going from one patient to another. 

Source: Al Mezan, Rand

An Alliance banner. Designed by Paul Normandia of Red Sun Press

Anti-BDS Bills Again Get Massachusetts State House Hearing

Will the Commonwealth resist the steamroller effort to induce states across the country to pass anti-BDS legislation or issue anti-BDS executive orders?

To date 27 states have taken that step. On November 19, scores of Massachusetts residents wearing ‘Freedom to Boycott’ stickers showed their determination to prevent Massachusetts from becoming number 28.

The Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine is one of the groups that organized the resistance to the deceptively named ‘Act Prohibiting Discrimination in State Contracts’ (H.2719) and a companion bill (H.2722) that would penalize supporters of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

H.2719 is identical word for word to a former bill, H.1685, which was resoundingly defeated after a hearing two years ago in which testimony was given by many of the more than 100 organizations across the state that had joined together in a ‘Freedom to Boycott Coalition.’

This 2019 attempt to undermine First Amendment freedoms and the right to engage in boycott activity in support of Palestinian rights was vigorously countered by dozens of testifiers from all walks of life who opposed the bill on constitutional grounds, as well as on political, human rights, religious, spiritual, economic, and practical grounds. Some spoke movingly of what they had personally witnessed during visits to Palestine.

Since the first hearing two years ago, three federal court rulings have blocked similar anti-BDS laws in Kansas, Arizona and Texas on First Amendment grounds. And the tide appears to be changing in terms of public opinion.

According to a Brookings poll conducted this September, 62% of Republicans, 80% of Democrats and 76% of Independents agree with this statement: “We should oppose laws that penalize people who boycott Israel because these laws infringe on the Constitutional right to free speech and peaceful protest.”

By next February we should know if members of the State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee got this surprisingly non partisan message.

Below the photo is a portion of a report by the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings. Oct 2019

Anti-apartheid activist Caroline Hunter, who just returned from Palestine, arrives at the State House for the Nov. 19 hearing with a group of Freedom to Boycott activists. They testified that boycotts of Israel are not discrimination but are constitutionally protected speech intended to change Israel’s behavior. Mark Golden photo

A Radio Star Visits Palestine and Talks about Water and more

Watch this 5 1/2 minute video.