Linking Palestine Solidarity to Arizona Boycott

[nova luna]

Dear Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace Community,

Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace (PJJP) activists are taking lead
from Palestinian-led organizations, such as US Palestinian Community
Network and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural
Boycott of Israel, in connecting Palestine solidarity work to the
support of communities in Arizona. It is becoming increasingly clear
that the struggle against Arizona’s recent xenophobic and racist
legislation--SB 1070 and SB 2281--is fundamentally linked to the
struggle for justice in Palestine.

We believe that groups working in solidarity with Palestine should
move forward in this crucial time to show their support for the
Arizona boycott, while at the same time supporting Palestinian and
Arab organizations already working on issues of immigration, racial
profiling and Islamophobia in the U.S. We believe that supporting the
boycott of Arizona is linked to the Palestinian call for Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel because of the clear
parallels in struggle. These include:*

o The use of legal and extra-legal racial profiling to
inhibit and limit movement (Arizona’s SB 1070)
o The silencing of indigenous history and voices (Arizona’s
SB 2281)
o The militarizing of immigration enforcement
o The use of border walls to regulate the movements of
indigenous and immigrant people
o The fact that the Israeli company Elbit Systems built both
the wall along U.S.-Mexico border and the Israeli apartheid wall
o The use of identification papers as a tool for policing
and monitoring communities
o Widespread support to use boycott campaigns as a key
tactic of resistance


Palestine Solidarity work exists within a global context. We as
activists must engage this broader framework in our individual
movements, which will then feed each other’s work and bring us closer
to reaching our collective goals.

One way that PJJP members are bringing home these connections is by
organizing locally around two pro-immigration rallies happening next
week. We invite the extended PJJP community to join us for these
critical moments of solidarity. The first event is a demonstration
outside of the Arizona Diamondbacks - Philadelphia Phillies baseball
game on July 27th at 6pm. Second is a “Welcome Immigrants” rally on
July 29th from 11am-1pm to support immigrants in Philadelphia.

Locations and more details are below. Please contact Nova for more
information: nlmcg...@gmail.com

In Solidarity,

Bench Ansfield
Mendal Polish
Nova McGiffert
Susan Landau
Timothy Colman
Leila MacBeth


Please Support these upcoming events:
Tuesday July 27th, Philadelphia communities will rally outside the
Phillies vs. Arizona Diamondback game to call attention to the
contributions of immigrants to our national pastime. There are over
1500 foreign born players in the major leagues, lucky enough to come
to the US on work visas, and we will have giant banners listing all of
these players. At the rally we will encourage fans to honor the
contributions of all immigrants, and take a stand against anti-
immigrant policies in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Join us at the 3rd
base entrance at 11th at Pattison at 6pm on Tuesday July 27th.

Also, on Thursday July 29th, join us for "Welcome New Immigrants, With
Love Philadelphia." On the day Arizona's anti-immigrant legislation is
set to take effect, we will gather at Welcome Park in Philadelphia to
call for policies that welcome everyone to the City of Brotherly
Love. Join us to support pro-immigrant policies at the city, state,
and federal level. Following the rally, we will march around the
block to the US Customs House, and unroll a giant welcome mat. Join
us at 11 am at Welcome Park, on South 2nd street, between Chestnut and
Walnut, right next to the Ritz.

*Research gathered from the "Open Letter in Support o the Boycott of
Arizona by the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of
Israel"