FW: [USC Midwest Region] URGENT: National Day of Action for Gaza - Thursday, July 24

[Andrea Whitmore]

Friends, below is an urgent request from Cindy Corrie.

If you haven't called the White House (so easy to do) or emailed or called your two senators and your congressional rep, why not? If you don't know who your reps are, here's the link:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/US-Congress.shtml

The White House comment line is staffed by volunteers who DO NOT make policy. They will not argue with you. They will take your comment and mark it down for POTUS. Here's the number: Comments: 202-456-1111 They have never even asked my name, though I volunteer it.

CJME, our Kansas City rally photos have already been posted, as requested in Cindy's and the US Campaign email. Scroll to official photographer Jo McNiven https://www.facebook.com/groups/cjmenet/  Good work, all.

But we need to make those calls. Don't wait for July 24. More people will die before then.

Andy

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 11:44:45 -0400
From: membe...@endtheoccupation.org
To: uscampaign+_midwest...@org-lists.salsalabs.com
Subject: [USC Midwest Region] National Day of Action for Gaza - Thursday, July 24

Friends, please encourage groups with which you are involved to endorse this National Day of Action Thursday (see below).  Also, sign up with your group's Thursday action (see below).  The group of cosponsors that put this together really hoped to see an emphasis on U.S. government, but being visible Thursday in any way is important!  

We are told by staffers that Congress and the State Department are getting many more calls from those supportive of the IDF action than those opposed and CNN is reporting support in the U.S. for Israel's operation at 57% with 34% opposed.  So we need to be more active and visible.

Please forward this call to other groups and individuals who may endorse and participate. 

Thanks!
Cindy

URGENT CALL FOR A NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION THURSDAY, JULY 24

END THE ASSAULT ON GAZA AND LIFT THE BLOCKADE

Please join us this Thursday, July 24, in this urgent call to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza and end the 7-year siege that has made life there so miserable. In this latest round of violence, over 600 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured. According to the UN, 72 percent of those are civilians, including over 80 children. One hundred thousand are displaced and living in makeshift shelters; electricity has been reduced to four hours a day for 80% of the population; water has been cut off to hundreds of thousands; sewage is flowing into the sea; hospitals have been bombed and there are shortages of everything from food to medicines. We must act now!

We encourage you, both organizations and individuals, to hold actions and events in your communities this Thursday, July 24. We are grateful for all the actions that have taken place and that will continue, but doing something together on one day can help demonstrate the breadth of our movement and of our concern. Whether you can get out a crowd or just a few people, please do something!

Here are some possibilities:

-- Visit your local Congressional office and invite the media to join you in asking questions of your elected officials/staff; you might also consider a call-in, preferably in a public place, to your representatives, the White House and State Department.

-- Hold a rally or vigil in a visible public space, and invite local news media. Commemorate the dead, reading their names.

-- Visit the offices of a corporation profiteering from and/or complicit in Israel’s war and occupation; bring them a letter explaining why you are there. 

-- Go to the office of your mainstream media and demand balanced coverage; organize a letter writing campaign with examples of bad/misleading coverage.

-- Be in a public place asking people to sign a petition, either your own or one from another organization.

-- Organize acts of civil disobedience to reflect the urgency of the situation and attract media attention.

-- Use social media to target U.S. politicians, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and the mainstream media.

As you act Thursday, think how you can begin or expand a campaign in your community's institutions to boycott and/or divest from corporations profiting from and/or complicit in Israel’s war and occupation. Consider boycotting Sabra and Sodastream products. Many US corporations are directly involved in the recent conflict, including Caterpillar, Boeing, HP, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, GE, and Raytheon. Please check to determine if your school, church, work place, and other community institutions may be invested in them. 

Have your organization endorse the National Day of Action here: http://tinyurl.com/mrwr2gc

Add your Thursday local action to the list here:  http://tinyurl.com/n3kdqd8

Post your photos, videos, and reports from actions here: http://theworldstandswithpalestine.tumblr.com/ 

Signed [list in formation)

Adalah-NY

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee 

CODEPINK

Friends of Sabeel--North America

Global Exchange

International Socialist Organization

Jewish Voice for Peace

Just Foreign Policy

Peace Action

Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Attachments area

Preview attachment the names of the dead.pdf

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Register! The Mainstreaming of BDS & Continuing Struggle for Palestinian Rights

Ramah Kudaimi

Membership and Outreach Coordinator 

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

202-332-0994

@US_Campaign

***** You have been listed as a primary contact for a US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation member group. If you have any questions or concerns about the regional listservs, or feel you have been added by mistake, please contact membe...@endtheoccupation.org.