April 10, 2024 (Español)

Since our founding in 1982, EBSC has dedicated itself to serving people from around the world fleeing violence often fueled by U.S. military intervention. Our history1 and values2 inform the work we do every day as we witness the intergenerational trauma caused by these conflicts and do whatever we can to help people gain legal status, safety, and support. Our work is rooted in revolutionary love3 as articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1967 speech4 condemning the Vietnam War, where he spoke out about our own government being the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” Civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander5 describes this love as the making of “connections between liberation struggles” around the world. 

We write this statement now to express our ongoing solidarity with Palestinians and all others who are facing unimaginable violence and displacement fueled by U.S. military and economic support.

EBSC holds a vision of human dignity and peace where all children grow up with access to basic needs and without the sound of bombs overhead and where people have the right to stay in their own countries or migrate if they so choose.

Palestinians comprise the largest stateless community worldwide; approximately 5.9 million6 registered Palestinian refugees live across the Middle East. Eighty-five percent7 of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced, many repeatedly over the course of the past few months. EBSC calls on the U.S. government to end its decades-long support for Israel’s occupation and blockade of the Palestinian territories, which Human Rights Watch8 and Amnesty International,9 as well as leading Israeli human rights groups,10 have denounced as apartheid. 

Palestinians deserve safety, freedom, and self-determination.

The number of deaths from Israel’s assault on Gaza in the past six months alone has exceeded 32,600 Palestinians.11 We have been heartbroken by the ongoing decimation of life, land, sacred cultural sites, and overall livelihoods; situations of severe food shortages; and Israel’s continued defiance of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order for “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians from the risk of genocide.12 We call on the Biden administration to observe international and U.S. laws and stop supplying Israel with weapons as it commits humanitarian crimes in Gaza.13

In solidarity with many others around the world, EBSC calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza; safe access to food, water, medicine, and fuel as humanitarian assistance; the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons; and an end to extrajudicial killings in the occupied West Bank.14 

We draw a clear distinction between individuals and the governments and institutions that too often divide us. We affirm that the threat to any life, Palestinian and Israeli alike, is unjustifiable. The tragedies that have unfolded on and since October 7th do not exist in isolation; this is a multigenerational struggle that must be understood in its historical context15 and will have repercussions for generations to come. We hold that the government of Israel does not represent all Jewish people and that criticism of Israel’s current invasion of Gaza is not inherently anti-Semitic.16 

Jewish people and organizations have been important partners and allies of EBSC from the beginning of the Sanctuary Movement.17  This statement is itself an act of solidarity between Jews and non-Jews on our staff and board, all of whom are calling for an end to the violence and who see Palestinian and Jewish safety and liberation as inherently interconnected.18 

Palestinian liberation is also deeply connected to other global struggles against imperialism and colonization, including in Haiti19 and in Latin America, where Israel has a long history of supporting U.S. imperialism.20 These are root causes of the violence that many of our clients are fleeing to this day. 

We uplift the concept of transformational solidarity and organizing that links these global struggles to the freeing of Black and Indigenous people in North America.21 We affirm our solidarity with the people of Haiti, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Afghanistan, and all others paying the unjust price of global exploitation, conflict and displacement. Their struggles also deserve attention and solidarity.

As an organization, we commit to help secure legal pathways for people fleeing violence and seeking safety, including by providing legal assistance to displaced Palestinians through asylum, Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Palestinians in the United States,22 and other legal remedies. In service of these efforts, we call on the U.S. government to establish a formal pathway for Palestinians to seek safety in the United States, similar to the mechanisms it recently created for people from Afghanistan23 and Haiti.24 

We will continue to support organizations working locally and globally to address the root causes of displacement and affirm human dignity, self-determination, and peace in countries experiencing conflict. We will share stories of asylum-seekers and educate the public about the history and context of root causes of migration so that we all may deepen our empathy and take informed action.

We encourage our community to learn about the history of Palestinian occupation and to seek out stories from Palestinian voices25 rather than the often-dehumanizing rhetoric found across mainstream U.S. media. As we approach 200 days of the siege on Gaza, we call on all of us to learn, engage in nonviolent action, and support local Palestinian businesses and solidarity efforts.  Below you can find a list of books, organizations, and actions to engage in deeper listening and organizing for the liberation of oppressed peoples in Palestine and around the world. 

EBSC will continue to raise our voices in solidarity and love as we work towards a world where all people can live in harmony with each other and their lands.

How the violence in Palestine and globally relates to us as EBSC staff, board, and volunteers:

“I am a survivor of the civil war in El Salvador – we carry the stories and trauma with us. I personally lost 21 relatives, including three of my siblings who were killed by the U.S.-trained and funded paramilitary and national guard. Wars are always against the poor, not the people in power. This is happening around the world. This is personal. And it is connected with the foundations of what EBSC was in the early sanctuary movement – advocating, receiving and protecting refugees from Central America who had to flee their countries because of US intervention. Palestine is so small – there is nowhere to run or hide. In El Salvador, we could run and hide in the forest and mountains – that is what I did as a 13-year old after the massacre in my village. I didn’t see my surviving siblings for decades. Together, we have a powerful voice. The UN voted for a security resolution to condemn Israel’s crimes in Palestine. This happened because of mobilizations around the world.”

– Manuel de Paz

“U.S. intervention is a global epidemic, and we must acknowledge the connections between Palestine and other parts of the world struggling against occupation and foreign intervention. The U.S. has funded proxy wars in Latin American countries for decades, and was involved in training Israeli soldiers to arm the military that committed massacres in Central America and caused people to flee for safety – the very people EBSC has been helping for over 40 years. Immigrants who went through this in the 80s are still facing trauma and repercussions to this day, just as Palestinians are facing continuous trauma that began over 75 years ago. How can we show up in global solidarity and make our actions as tangible as possible? I think we have to start with helping our community.”

– Bree Davis

“We have a moral imperative to speak out. This issue is directly connected to our work – we work every day with people who are survivors of this type of violence.”

– Owen Thompson-Lastad

“Every day we work with people whose lives have been ruined by U.S. intervention, kids who weren’t even alive during the civil wars in Central America who are coming to us for services.”

– Angela Fitzsimons

“It matters to us staff and to our clients and volunteers to know that EBSC is a safe space that calls out colonization and genocide for what it is, whether in Palestine, Sudan, or elsewhere. I want to know that where I work is in solidarity with these peoples. I recently heard a client at the office say in a straightforward way that in their country there is a genocide going on and their family members were killed. These are the lived experiences of people.” 

– Yuko Matsumoto

“Every client interaction brings to mind the genocide Palestinians are facing at the hands of the United States and Israel, the same imperial powers that backed the brutal proxy wars in our clients’ home countries. I call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and for those responsible for the murder of more than 30,000 innocent Palestinians to be held accountable.”

– Alondra Garcia

“Connecting with others in solidarity offers a space for my grief and anger and nourishment for a shared vision of love, safety, human dignity, and nonviolent social action. I am grateful to be part of an organization that has been practicing these values for over four decades.”

– Lisa Hoffman

“Jews have formed part of who EBSC is and what it represents from the beginning. When our declaration of sanctuary expanded to 31 congregations in the mid 1980’s, two synagogues were part of this effort. Jewish activists have been part of our work to bear witness to atrocities in Central America and Haiti. Jewish staffers have cared for and continue to care for clients and for our organization. Jewish board members and donors have helped and continue to help support this organization for almost 40 years. This statement is itself an act of solidarity between Jews and non-Jews—a statement from our incredibly diverse family—all of whom are calling for an end to the violence and who see Palestinian and Jewish safety and liberation as inherently interconnected.”

– Alex Schafran, EBSC Board Member

“As a Jew, I’m actively pro-Palestine and want to speak out about US intervention and colonization around the world. Palestinians are the most displaced people in the world – the largest nation of refugees. My passion for organizing for immigrants is because I’m Jewish – we have a long history of displacement and migration as well as a legacy of standing in solidarity with refugees globally.”

– Rebecca Gerny

Sources:

  1. EBSC History
  2. EBSC Mission, Approach & Values
  3. Only Revolutionary Love Can Save Us Now
  4. MLK Day Special: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words
  5. “Revolutionary Love”: Michelle Alexander on Gaza, Solidarity, MLK & What Gives Her Hope
  6. Generations of Palestinian Refugees Face Protracted Displacement and Dispossession
  7. As Israel’s Aerial Bombardments Intensify, ‘There Is No Safe Place in Gaza’, Humanitarian Affairs Chief Warns Security Council
  8. Israeli Apartheid: “A Threshold Crossed”
  9. Israel must end its occupation of Palestine to stop fuelling apartheid and systematic human rights violations 
  10. The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
  11. ICJ Orders Israel to Allow “Unhindered” Aid into Gaza in New Order as Starvation Deaths Mount
  12. Israel defying ICJ ruling to prevent genocide by failing to allow adequate humanitarian aid to reach Gaza
  13. Now Biden Must Show Netanyahu That Enough Is Enough
  14. Shocking spike in use of unlawful lethal force by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
  15. Zionism is an extension of Western imperialism in the Holy Land: Historian
  16. Don’t Equate Anti-Zionism With Anti-Semitism
  17. Berkeley’s Sanctuary Movement
  18. If Not Now: Why We Organize
  19. End U.S. Support for Dictatorship and Terror in Haiti!
  20. Middle East Research and Information Project: Israel in Central America
  21. Al Jazeera: Palestine’s and Turtle Island’s liberation are entwined
  22. Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Deferred Enforced Departure Announced for Palestinians
  23. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services: Information for Afghan Nationals
  24. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services: Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
  25. Palestine Speaks: Narratives of Life Under Occupation (Voice of Witness)

Organizations to follow and support:

Public education resources:

Initiatives seeking pro bono legal assistance: