Free Palestine: Permanent Ceasefire Now
We want to be abundantly clear: the Israeli occupation of Palestine is a genocide. We are not witnessing a “war” or “conflict”. The occupation of Palestine and Gaza is a continuation of Western settler colonialism. We believe that it is important to delineate between anti-zionism and anti-semitism.
As Jewish Voice for Peace defines it, “anti-zionism is opposing the political ideology of Zionism, which resulted in the expulsion of 750,000 Indigenous Palestinians from their land and homes. It means standing against the creation of a nation-state with exclusive rights for Jewish people above others on the land. Anti-Zionism supports liberation and justice for the Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homes and land. Anti-Zionists believe in a future where all people on the land live in freedom, safety, and equality. Anti-Semitism is discrimination, targeting, violence, and dehumanizing stereotypes directed at Jews because they are Jewish.” (2023) Propaganda campaigns are equating anti-zionism with anti-semitism, and those two things are not the same.
As a youth organization and as humans, we are horrified by the loss of life through violence, starvation, and nation-state politics. Roughly half of the population of Gaza is under 18. The indiscriminate bombings, intentional misdirection of refugees, the blockade of humanitarian aid, and flour massacres are each horrific on their own, and in concert can only be understood as genocide.
Youth OUTright stands in solidarity with Palestinians. As oppressed people, we recognize the abuse of power, the loss of life, and the generations of violence inflicted upon the Palestinian people and name it for what it is: Genocide.
We’re approaching eight months of Israel’s siege on Palestine. We acknowledge that as an organization, we could have spoken up and used our platform to express solidarity sooner. We didn’t. As Executive Director, I take responsibility for holding off on crafting a statement ahead of our organizational winter solstice break. We apologize for the delay in our messaging. Here is how we’ve committed to doing better:
Work to decenter the owner class in our communications while challenging our scarcity mindsets.
Create space for pause and reflection, despite the constant white supremacist and capitalist pressure towards urgency.
Continue to honor how all oppressed peoples' liberation is interlinked and interdependent.
Although a statement hadn’t been made until now, our staff and youth have discussed the genocide in Palestine during weekly programs and in staff meetings. A few examples of discussions youth are having are: Palestinian direct action, Palestinian liberation as a component of racial justice, and how Israel utilizes “pinkwashing” to garner queer support.
There has also been profound grief expressed around the young Palestinian lives that have been lost. Youth are sharing that they feel left out of the struggle and they are interested in organizing and receiving education on injustices around the world. We will continue to have conversations, offer educational programs, and build empowering spaces for youth to act in solidarity with Palestinians and oppressed peoples everywhere.