Al-Awda New York, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition is a member organization of NY4Palestine, a coalition that includes Students for Justice in Palestine, Within Our Lifetime: United for Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey Chapter, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in New York, and the Muslim American Society (MAS) NY. The following statement is urging action on Land Day, March 30, for the Great March of Return and the ongoing struggle to implement Palestinians’ right to return:
Land Day, March 30, 2020
Elevate the Palestinian Right of Return, Honor the Martyrs of the Great March of Return
NY4Palestine joins the Gaza initiated Palestinian call for global cyber action to center the Palestinian right to return, honor the martyrs of the Return March , and commemorate the Day of the Land by:
- Taking a photo of yourself with the name/photo of martyrs of the #GreatMarchofReturn and/or with a Palestinian flag.
- Include a caption on why you support the right of Palestinians to return home, and use any of these hashtags: #PalestineLandDay #GreatReturnMarch #ReturnWithinOurLifetime
- Posting it on social media or websites and tagging 3 people to do the same!
Two years ago on March 30, 2018, as they marked the Day of the Land, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza gathered near the illegal Israeli separation barricade to demand safe passage and return to their homes and lands. In response Israel set up snipers along the barricade who murdered Palestinian medics, journalists, men, women, and children- in between raining tear gas, drones, and toxic chemicals on the people and fields. Despite this brutal Israeli violence, every Friday for two years, Palestinians continued to demonstrate for the right to return home through rallies, song, dance, art, and communal action.
As Palestinians must halt their rallies and the world takes to social distancing, we honor and echo their call to commemorate the anniversary of #LandDay and the #GreatMarchofReturn by honoring those who were martyred while trying to return and by re-committing ourselves to prioritizing the implementation of the basic right of Palestinians to return- safely and immediately- to their original homes and lands.
This year Palestinians in Gaza are forced into further isolation by the coronavirus pandemic compounded by an unabating Israeli siege which blocks access to and production of medical equipment and which has bombed Palestinian hospitals, water plants and much of Gaza’s infrastructure. Palestinians like all oppressed people are disproportionately impacted by disaster. The latest graphics show that the most impoverished neighborhoods in New York are seeing the highest infection rates. While hospitals in NYC are desperately are short on basic life-saving equipment the U.S. continues has to spend $3.8 billion/year on military funding for Israeli colonization of Palestine- further jeopardizing the lives of the people in the US who are in need of those funds, while materially supporting illegal Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestine. We thus demand an immediate end to all U.S. military funding to Israel, we demand the immediate release of prisoners held in Israeli and U.S. jails, and we call on the US, the World Health Organization, and all international bodies to act to force Israel to immediately end its barbaric siege of Gaza.
For examples and link to photos and information about the martyrs see:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13EmnsAeAyYEXIbTuJNt801opBq86r7IifQfpLJb7q-4/
#ReturnWithinOurLifetime #GRM2020 #GreatReturnMarch2020 #ResistanceUntilReturn #WithinOurLifetime #FreePalestine #مقاومة_حتى_العودة # فلسطين_حرة#
NY4Palestine is a coalition of the following organizations: