Help Palestinian Farmers While Supporting Our Work
Dear Nick,
This past Tuesday as Americans went to the polls and re-elected President Obama, Israeli occupation forces kept busy by demolishing Palestinian buildings and cisterns in the villages of al-Deirat and Jawaya in the south Hebron Hills area of the West Bank.
The video of the destruction shows Caterpillar and Hyundai bulldozers tearing down a two-story home belonging to Mohammad Musa Mohammad Abu Aram and a rainwater cisternbelonging to Mahmud Ahmed Nasser Nawaja as Palestinian villagers watched.
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Above: Watch as Israeli occupation forces destroy Palestinian homes.
| According to theUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel has demolished 484 Palestinian owned structures in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2012. More than 600 Palestinians were displaced due to these demolitions, including 304 children.
These Palestinian families have had their lives disrupted by Israeli actions that are supported by U.S. policies and funded with our tax dollars. Yet when the presidential candidates were debating foreign policy less than three weeks ago, there was zero discussion abouthome demolitions, expanding settlements, the continuing occupation of Palestinian lands, or the entrenchment of apartheid policiestoward Palestinians.
We have had many victories this past year to celebrate in our efforts to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel to support human rights, international law, and equality. This includes the removal of Caterpillar Corporation from an international list of socially responsible companies, prompting financial giant TIAA-CREF to divest $72.9 million in Caterpillar stock.
But as we continue in our efforts, we are also aware of the immediate impact U.S. supportfor Israeli occupation and colonization is having on Palestinians as the destruction of their homes, olive trees, and land continues.
That is why for each $25 you donate toward our work to change U.S. policy, we will plant one olive tree for a Palestinian farming family.Donate $100 and we will plant five trees.
With your support in 2011, we were able to plant 2,051 olive trees for Palestinian farmers. This year we hope to replant another 2,000 trees.
Your contribution will help provide immediate relief to Palestinian families who have lost their livelihoods, strengthen our boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns, and enable us to mobilize thousands more Americans to oppose unconditional U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel.
The election season highlighted again how disconnected most U.S. politicians are from the reality of Israel's military occupation. Help us continue building our movement to change U.S. policy to support peace, justice, and equality.
Sincerely,
 
Ramah Kudaimi
Membership and Outreach Coordinator
PS- Consider shopping at our Palestinian fair trade store for olive oil, organic soaps, and gift baskets that make wonderful gifts for the holidays. And let your followers on Twitterand friends on Facebook know they too can plant trees for Palestinian farming families.
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