upEND Demands Ceasefire and a Free Palestine

October 23, 2023

“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.”

  – James Baldwin

 

 

We are deeply saddened, troubled, and outraged as the situation in Palestine becomes worse by the hour. As abolitionists, we know that our goals cannot be achieved without international solidarity in the struggle for liberation. The world we dream of and work for is borderless and ensures freedom and liberation for all. We join an ever louder chorus of voices all over the globe decrying the active genocide in Palestine and demanding:

  1. An immediate ceasefire
  2. Immediate resources and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people
  3. An end to the occupation of Palestine 

 

We fully support Palestinian’s right to self-determination and a free Palestine. In doing so, we believe it is essential to name this conflict’s roots accurately and why it persists. We know that the very beginnings of this conflict were birthed in state violence, imperialism, and settler colonialism, the very same conditions that oppress people all over the globe. 

We fully reject any false equivalency that equates support for the liberation of Palestinians with the subjugation of Jewish people. We have seen the collective grief, trauma, and history of Jewish people being weaponized to advance the interests of the nation-state of Israel’s insistence upon dominance, power, and greed. It is critical to name the state of Israel as separate and distinct from the Jewish people. 

Worldwide, we are collectively experiencing grief, fear, and trauma as the interests of settler colonialism and nation-states are centered above what the masses want, what we all deserve: liberation. Liberation for Palestinians. Liberation for all, the world over, who find their freedom dreams choked and held hostage by state violence, by the interests of the few to the detriment of the masses. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and the masses all over the world who are rising up, demanding freedom for Palestine and ultimately, for us all.