US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation : Our Work

Focus Areas

In 2005, Palestinian civil society issued a call to the world to apply boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it upheld international law. Signed by over 170 Palestinian coalitions, unions, refugee groups, human rights and social justice groups, in the occupied territories, within Israel, and in exile, this call is truly representative of the support that the Palestinian people believe they must have to survive and achieve their rights. The US Campaign Assembly had already adopted an activist and shareholder campaign to stop Caterpillar from selling its bulldozers to Israel given the death and destruction they were wreaking in the occupied territories. Many member groups are working in solidarity with faith-based groups on divestment initiatives. And, at its 2007 national conference the Campaign Assembly voted to call on Motorola to divest from Israel’s military occupation or face a consumer boycott. You can read the full Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions here.

Challenging U.S. Policy

The United States supports Israeli occupation and apartheid through military aid, diplomatic backing at the UN, and resolutions in Congress. The US Campaign works to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality.

Standing Against Apartheid

As the Israeli “matrix of control” tightened its grip on the occupied Palestinian territories, with peoples and land separated by the separation wall barriers, settler-only roads, and tunnels it became impossible to ignore the apartheid nature of Israel’s occupation. Palestinian citizens of Israel face some 20 laws that discriminate against them, much as Black Americans had been treated during the Jim Crow era. Palestinian refugees and exiles continue to be denied the right to return while Israel’s Law of Return enables Jews from anywhere in the world to settle in Israel. In 2006, the US Campaign Assembly overwhelmingly resolved to adopt the language of apartheid and Jim Crow segregation in describing Israeli policies towards Palestinians. US Campaign staff and volunteers created powerful posters, fact sheets, and other resources to support member groups in their work.

Commemorating the Nakba

2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (“Catastrophe,” in Arabic): the dispossession and forced exile of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their ancestral land before and during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of this tragic event, the US Campaign will produce and distribute popular educational materials about the Nakba and its continuing relevance for resolving the Palestinian refugee issue and establishing a just and lasting peace.

Get Involved!

Be a Local Organizer

Bring our work to your community by ordering local campaign kits for our military aid, Motorola, and Caterpillar campaigns.

Find Events in Your Area

Use our on-line calendar to find or add events in your area.

How to Start a Group

If you are not a member of a group working for a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and cannot find one in your community to join, you should consider forming your own.