In solidarity with Palestinian civil society’s nonviolent struggle for equality, human rights, and self-determination, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) adopted a resolution at its national convention in 2017 in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In 2019, DSA reaffirmed its commitment to the BDS movement by voting to establish a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and Palestine Solidarity National Working Group.
Our working group organizes primarily around the 3 demands of the Palestinian BDS call — (1) an end to Israel’s continued occupation and colonization of historic Palestine, (2) equal rights for Palestinians, and (3) the right of millions of Palestinian refugees to finally return to their homes, as stipulated by UN Resolution 194, after decades of forced exile.
To these ends, we organize DSA members to engage in BDS and other Palestine Solidarity campaigns and direct actions in their respective communities. In addition, we aim to recruit Palestinian, Black, Indigenous, and other POCs into our fledgling working group — and DSA at large — as we build the infrastructure to launch BDS campaigns across the nation.
Further, we educate DSA members and endorsed candidates through teach-ins, publications, events, the creation and dissemination of various resources, about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, Zionism’s settler-colonialist and imperialist roots, Israeli apartheid, and Palestine’s interconnections with a myriad of anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist struggles in America and elsewhere.
We fiercely believe in socialist values of freedom, justice, and equality for all, as well as the interconnectedness of our struggles under capitalism. This interconnectedness is tragically apparent in Palestine, where the U.S. state invests an annual $3.8 billion investment into Israeli apartheid instead of securing housing and healthcare for its own citizens. The future we seek demands an end to apartheid. It demands an end to racism. It demands an end to imperialism. And finally, it demands a free Palestine, from the river to the sea.
If you are interested in getting involved, fill out this application to join our Working Group today.
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