PYM DMV - Palestinian events

RALLY AND COMMUNITY EXHIBIT FOR NAKBA DAY! Nakba Day first emerged as a day to not only commemorate the process of the Nakba in 1948, but also as a day to renew the Palestinian and Arab people's commitment to resisting the ongoing genocide, illegal siege, and displacement at the hands of the Zionist entity. 78 years later, we remain committed to return and liberation, a road paved by the blood of martyrs, the leadership of our prisoners, and the ingenuity of our people. In DC, we will begin the day by rallying at the US Capitol. We will end the rally at Washington City Church of Brethren where we will host a community panel and exhibition highlighting our people’s steadfastness against Zionism dating as far back as the first Zionist settlements in Palestine in the 1880s to the present day.

Tune in to WPFW tonight at 7 pm to hear from VRS Divest from Weapons & War campaign. Researchers of the new groundbreaking report “Uncovering the Financial Ties between Virginia and the Weapons Supply Chain to Israel” will share more about the campaign, the research that went into the report, and what next steps people can take to divest their tax dollars and pension funds from weapons and war. On Friday, as part of May Day programming across the nation, PYM DMV will be on to share more about the role of labor in the struggle for liberation. We will update this caption once the time is set. You can tune in at 89.3FM or online at wpfwfm.org.

30+ organizations have signed onto the VRS Divest from Weapons and War campaign! This coalition of organizations represents the growing united front demanding that the VRS abides by its financial and ethical obligations to its stakeholders and divests from the war machine. Join us in the fight for divestment and for a world where our retirement funds are not fueling genocide and forever wars! 🔗 vrsdivest.org/endorse

Todays release coincides with the VRS’ monthly Board of Trustees meeting in which they review the investment portfolio and plan future investments. To date, they have dismissed the campaigns demands, arrested a firefighter for delivering the petition, invited a notorious war criminal to their yearly retreat, and further collaborated with war profiteers. This report demonstrates that divestment is both justified and achievable. The question that remains is whether the VRS will choose to act. 🔗 Read the report: vrsdivest.org/report ✉️ Contact: [email protected] ✏️ Sign the petition: bit.ly/vrsdivest ✊ Organizations endorse: vrsdivest.org/endorse 📣 Press Conference today at the Board of Trustees Meeting, 1pm 901 E Cary St in Richmond, VA

A new report by the VRS Divest campaign uncovers $394 million of Virginian pensions and tax dollars invested in the Israeli supply chain of death. The report outlines how the Virginia Retirement System, the largest financial institution in the Virginia government, has invested the financial futures of hundreds of thousands of public workers in the weapons supply chain to Israel. We affirm that the VRS’ investment decisions do not exist in a financial vacuum, but carry political and ethical consequences. The VRS has an obligation to respond to the ethical demands of their stakeholders by reevaluating their investment practices and ending their financial complicity in war and genocide. The VRS Divest campaign represents a critical opportunity to apply public pressure to the Board of Trustees and demand meaningful change. Virginia public workers provide decades of service to their communities. We are fighting for a Virginia that reflects that service, not corporate interests and bloodshed.

On April 8th, hours after Iran announced a ceasefire deal that included Lebanon in its terms and displaced Lebanese began returning to their homes in anticipation, Israel launched over 160 airstrikes into Lebanese territory, targeting at least 44 municipalities across Beirut, Southern Lebanon, Beqaa, and Baalbek. The Lebanese Civil Defense Ministry confirms that these airstrikes have killed at least 254 Lebanese, injured over 1,165 more, and many remain trapped under rubble. These massacres would not be possible without the U.S. supply chain of weapons to Israel, in which the Virginia Retirement System invests over $300 million of pension funds and tax dollars. We cannot stand by while public agencies like the VRS tie our money to the genocidal Zionist entity and its crimes against Palestinians and Lebanese. A total arms embargo is urgent. Demand the VRS divest from weapons and war: vrsdivest.org

For Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the People’s Center for Palestine is hosting a webinar in collaboration with the Freedom for Palestinian Political Prisoners Campaign. It is taking place Sunday, April 12 at 4pm EST. The webinar will feature journalist Khaled Mahajneh, who reported from inside Sde Teiman detention camp, and a speaker from the campaign. At a time when prisoners are facing a genocide behind bars and under the threat of execution, we must take action and build consciousness around the conditions our prisoners face. 🔗 Register here: bit.ly/prisonersapril17

🚨WASHINGTON DC TOMORROW: EMERGENCY PROTEST AGAINST WAR ON IRAN Trump has given a deadline for genocide — either Iran surrenders by 8pm, or the country's "whole civilization will die tonight". The people of conscious need to take a stand and say — we reject Trump's threats for genocide! Join us TOMORROW to protest Trump's genocidal assault on Iran and demand an end to the war now! 🗓️TOMORROW, April 8, 6 pm 📍White House

As Trump threatens that “a whole civilization will die tonight” join us at an emergency rally against the imperialist war on Iran at the White House TONIGHT at 6pm!