| Gaza: Getting heard in the battle for public opinion. |
The attacks on Gaza have been condemned in the world court of public opinion. However, one "veto" has permitted this war to go on despite world-wide outrage. The portrayal of the attacks on Gaza here in the United States is twisted by misinformation and deceit. And despite a world of support, Palestinians have continued to suffer because of the lack of outrage right here in the U.S.A. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) continues to be the only national Arab-American organization working to change this on the national, international and local levels and we need your help - this is, and continues to be, an uphill battle. Yes, the list below makes this e-mail long, but if we want to see real change a list of advocacy work has to be much longer and it has to be consistent. We need your help to make this a reality. There is so much we want to accomplish and in the coming weeks we will be launching a report on the Gaza attacks which will be distributed to the media, Congress and officials in the Obama Administration. ADC has been working around the clock to address the attacks on Gaza and to continue to do this work and develop, print and distribute a comprehensive report to media and policy makers, for example we need to raise at least $30,000. We need your help with this extra-budgetary expense, and we need it now. ADC is your organization; it is your voice. You have a chance to make it louder. Donate now! Below is a summary of the work we have been doing to make sure your voice is heard: It is in time of crisis that one discovers the difference between those who only talk and those capable of taking action January 25 -ADC is organizing an evening of poetry, music, and art dedicated to Gaza entitled, "Gaza on My Mind" which is being sponsored with the DC Peace Mural Exhibition. January 21 -ADC is coordinating a National Call-in Day on President-elect Obama's first day in office asking him to act on his promise of hope and change and help our nation live up to its promise by taking the necessary proactive steps for peace and justice to prevail in the Middle East. January 18 -ADC is Cosponsoring a Martin Luther King celebration: "The Continuation of Hope and Real Change." This is sponsored with national and local interfaith groups. January 16 - ADC organized a coalition protest in front of the Washington Post. January 16 - ADC in an open letter called on the civil and human rights community in the United States to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968 and stand up for the integrity of human rights as the innocents continue to fall in Gaza. January 15 - ADC organized a poetry event at a completely packed ADC National Headquarters. The event, "Gaza: The Spoken Truth," can be heard here: http://www.adc.org/mp3/gaza. January 14 - ADC participated in a conference call with the State Department and demanded an end to the attacks and accountability for Israel. January 14 - ADC met with one of the most senior members of the US Senate, providing the official with a detailed first-hand account of the massacres in Gaza. January 13 - ADC spearheaded a national fasting day for Gaza. Participants were asked to fast and donate the cost of one day of food to charities supporting Gaza relief, thousands across the country joined-in the call to fast and make donations to help the innocent victims in Gaza. In conjunction with the fasting day, the ADC-DC Chapter organized a "solidarity with Gaza" fundraising dinner to benefit Gaza relief. January 12 - ADC declared this Monday as a day of solidarity with the Palestinian People in Gaza. We asked members and friends across the country to wear Kufiyahs, thousands across the country participated, and Kufiyahs were spotted across major metro areas across the USA. January 10 - ADC participated in a discussion on US Foreign Policy on BBC and NPR Radio. January 9 - ADC participated in a conference call meeting with other national organizations including the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, United for Peace and Justice, Jewish Voices for Peace, and Peace Action to coordinate a national media campaign which was launched later in the week. January 9 - ADC called for a week of concentrated Media advocacy. We were able to track thousands of letters and emails sent by our members as a result. January 8 - ADC organized a workshop: training on nonviolence demonstrations and actions conducted by Non-violence International and held at ADC National Headquarters. January 8 - ADC issued an early morning statement calling for an international investigation into Israel's attack on a UN refugee food aid convoy which resulted in the killing of three UN aid workers in Gaza. You can read the statement here. http://www.adc.org/index.php? January 6 - ADC was the first organization to issue a statement calling for an international inquiry into Israel's shelling of a United Nation's school in Gaza which resulted in the killing of over 40 civilians. You can read the statement here. http://www.adc.org/index.php? January 6 - ADC organized an Emergency Town Hall Meeting at our National Headquarters for members of the Arab American community and their friends to discuss our initial responses to the Attacks on Gaza, how to improve our efficiency and effectiveness, and how to implement ideas from the community. January 5 - ADC was the first organization to issue a statement on Israel's use of White Phosphorus on Gaza's civilian population. You can read the press release here. http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ January 2 - ADC mobilized its Washington, DC, members in joining another protest in front of the Israeli Embassy. January 2- ADC authored an Op-Ed article published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. You can read that Op-Ed here. http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ December 31 - ADC was the first organization to organize a protest in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. December 31 - ADC developed and launched an online crisis resource center on its website http://www.adc.org . This new online tool, designed to serve as a primary source of information, incorporates several resources on the Gaza attacks with continuing updated numbers, statistics, and action items. December 30 - ADC mobilized its Washington, DC, members and joined a protest in front of the State Department in Washington, DC. December 30 - ADC authored an Op-Ed article published in the Chicago Tribune. You can read that Op-Ed here http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ December 29 - ADC mobilized its Washington, DC, members and participated with other organizations in an Emergency Action to stop the attacks on Gaza in front of Barack Obama's transition team headquarters in Washington DC. December 29 - ADC responded to media inquiries and issued a press release to a multitude of media outlets condemning the Israeli assault on Gaza. ADC was represented three times on live television broadcasts in Arabic and English language stations. You can see the press release here http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ December 29 - ADC held an emergency conference call meeting with chapters across the country to discuss a national strategy and action plan to respond to the developing disaster in Gaza. December 27 - The morning of Israel's first attacks on Gaza. ADC acted quickly and was the first organization to send letters to the President and the State Department. ADC was also the first organization to issue an Action Alert calling upon you, our members and supporters to contact your representatives and President-Elect Obama about the tragedy in Gaza. Our statistics indicate that thousands of members and friends took action and did so promptly. You can see that Action Alert here and continue to contact your representatives: http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ December 21 - Six days before Israel's attacks on Gaza. ADC authored an Op-Ed article published in the Boston Globe about the risks and disaster that was unfolding in Gaza. You can see that Op-Ed here: http://capwiz.com/adc/utr/1/ ADC Chapters: Because ADC is a national grassroots organization, spearheaded by a national headquarters in Washington and supported by countless members and volunteers across the country, ADC has proved itself as the only Arab-American organization with the ability and capacity to advocate on behalf of the victims of this attack in every corner of the USA. Some examples of ADC's vibrant volunteer-based chapters at work across the country are below. We want to thank the hundreds of volunteers across our nation for making our voice heard loud and clear: ADC-San Diego: In the media: http://www.dailynewstribune. ADC-Michigan: In the media: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs. ADC-Greater Chicago: The Greater Chicago Chapter has been playing a major leadership role in bringing community organizations in a coalition to work together in solidarity with Gaza and protest Israeli massacres and actions against the Palestinian people. Different forms of major events were organized including daily protests, meeting Congressional representatives, reaching out to the media, and vigils. ADC-Massachusetts: In the media: http://www.dailynewstribune. ADC-New York: ADC and other NYC-based organizations held town-hall meetings, protests at the UN, Israeli consulate, governor's mansion, and federal buildings. The largest demonstration was held in front of the UN Headquarters and attracted over 15,000 people. ADC-New Orleans: The chapter helped organize protests in downtown New Orleans in front of the Federal Building. They also held a solidarity event with the interfaith community in a local church. The last event was held on Jan 14th at the Times Picayune Building - Federal Building which resulted in a meeting with the editorial board of the newspaper. ADC-Houston: The ADC chapter, along with local organizations, was able to raise funds and purchased an advertisement campaign in the Houston Chronicle, one of the nation's largest papers. You can see the full-page ad here: http://adc.org/images/ ADC-Baltimore: In the media http://wjz.com/local/gaza.2. ADC-Omaha: In the media http://www.kptm.com/Global/ Other ADC Chapters organized and participated in major protests and rallies in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Richmond, Southern Florida, Louisville, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Baton Rouge among other cities. It is in time of crisis that one discovers the difference between those who only talk and those capable of taking action |
Gaza: Getting heard in the battle for public opinion
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