CPA Joins Call to End Genocide in Gaza
With heavy hearts, CPA shares the grief and horror at the heartbreaking violence unfolding in Gaza and Israel – including the bombing of the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza that killed at least 500 people, many of them children on Tuesday. Over the weekend, we marched alongside AROC, our allies, and thousands of others– and call on all people of conscience to join us in demanding an immediate ceasefire, end to US military aid to Israel, and end to genocide in Gaza.
As members of the Asian diaspora, many of our families have experienced the devastation of war or genocide due to imperialism and military force. From CPA’s deep roots in international solidarity and anti-war movements– we know our fights for immigrants and working-class people to heal and live in our full dignity here in the U.S., is intrinsically tied with the freedom and dignity of people across the world, including in Palestine. We can only be free when we are all free.
At CPA, we believe that true accountability and healing comes from addressing the root causes of violence, not from more violence or carceral solutions. We condemn media portrayals that value some lives and losses over others and dangerously feed into Islamophobia. Just outside of Chicago this week, a 6-year old Muslim Palestinian American boy was stabbed to death for simply being who he is. As Chinese Americans, we recognize this pain- when racist narratives generalize communities and incite fear, it leads to violent impacts on innocent people. We must stop the dangerous rhetoric stemming from Islamophobia and Antisemitism before more lives are harmed.
Instead of weaponizing grief to justify more harm and violence, for the past two years, we’ve been learning with our members about alternate ways to restore from harm and repair relationships. After our teach-in on Palestine with our allies Arab Resource & Organizing Center, one of our members reflected:
“I heard a lot of news coverage about this [conflict], but it was really profound to hear directly from Palestinians on their culture and history. I could really feel how hard it is for them to survive, not knowing what will happen next from moment to moment. This conflict has been around for so long. It’s not easy to overcome conflicts, it takes a lot of caring across communities to do something about it. This is why our restorative justice classes are so important!”
Today, hundreds of young people- including CPA youth members- across the nation are walking out of their classrooms to protest the U.S.’s aid to this genocide. We have always known from history that when people come together, we can make change- even in the most difficult times. CPA will continue to hold and make space for learning, grieving and acting together.
Take Action Today!
- Call your representatives through the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
- Take action (call, email, attend protests) through Jewish Voice for Peace
- Join or organize a student walkout in solidarity with the people of Gaza: toolkit by Arab Resource & Organizing Center.
Learn from our allies:
- AROC: The Fight Against Israeli Apartheid is a Fight for Freedom for Us All
- APEN: Solidarity and Kinship Toward a Free Palestine
- Jewish Voice for Peace
- Rising Majority: Ceasefire Now, Stop the Genocide
For more background on how we got to this moment:
- Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba in Truthout: What Preceded the Killings in Israel and Gaza was not “Peace” — it was Apartheid.
- End Israeli Apartheid to Give Peace a Chance- article by Max Elbaum, OG and anti-war activist
- Decolonize Palestine
華人進步會共同呼籲 終止在巴勒斯坦進行種族滅絕
華人進步會（CPA）懷著沉重的心情，為著在加沙和以色列一發不可收拾的暴力感到悲痛和恐懼，其中包括週二發生的加沙阿赫利醫院爆炸事件，造成至少 500 人死亡，其中許多是兒童。上週末，我們與 AROC、其他盟友，以及其餘成千上萬人一起遊行，呼籲所有有良知的人與我們一起要求立即停火、結束美國給予以色列的軍事援助，以及結束在加沙進行的種族滅絕。
身為亞洲僑民的一份子，我們許多家庭都經歷過由戰爭或種族滅絕所帶來的破壞，深受帝國主義和軍事力量的傷害。CPA 紮根於國際團結和反戰運動之中，因為在美國的移民和工薪階級能否得到療癒並有尊嚴地過活，與世界各地人民對自由和尊嚴的嚮往息息相關，其中也包括巴勒斯坦人。只有當所有人都擁有自由，我們才能自由。
CPA 相信，真正的承擔和治癒來自解決暴力的根源，而不是更多的暴力或懲罰性措施。 我們譴責媒體只重視某些人的生命和損失，而忽略其他人，因其危險地助長了對伊斯蘭的恐懼。就在本週，在芝加哥的郊區，一名 6 歲的巴勒斯坦裔穆斯林男孩被刺死，而他的死因就只是他與生俱來的身分。身為華裔美國人，我們感同身受。當帶有種族主義的論述將一個一個社區妖魔化並煽動恐懼時，無辜的人民就會遭受暴力攻擊。我們必須遏止所有源自伊斯蘭恐懼症和反猶太主義的危險論述，以免更多生命受到傷害。
與其利用悲痛為更多的傷害和暴力正名，我們在過去兩年裡與會員一起學習，如何透過非主流的方法療癒傷痛，同時修復關係裡的裂痕。最近，於我們和盟友 — 阿拉伯資源和組織中心 — 就巴勒斯坦問題舉辦的工作坊後，一位會員反思：
「我聽到很多關於這場[衝突]的新聞報道，但直接從巴勒斯坦人的口中，聽他們講述自身的文化和歷史，這次經驗十分深刻。我能體會到生存之於他們是何等的困難，因下一刻隨時會遇到不測。這場衝突已經持續這麼久了，要克服衝突並不容易，要依賴各個社區內大量的熱心人士促成改變。這就是為什麼我們的復和正義課程如此重要！」
今天，全國數以百計的年輕人 — 包括 CPA 青年會員 — 會一起走出教室，抗議美國援助這場種族滅絕。歷史告訴我們，當人民團結起來時，我們就能做出改變 — 即使在最困難的時期。CPA 將繼續提供空間，與大家一同學習、一同悲傷、一同集體行動起來。