Arab Resource & Organizing Center

📣 NEW DROP-OFF LOCATIONS 📣 Ahead of Eid Al-Adha, AROC is taking Toy donations for San Francisco Arab and Muslim families. Amidst rising costs, cuts to city services, and ongoing war against our homelands, help us give back to the working families in our community! Donations will be accepted on the following locations days and times: 1347 Pierce St, San Francisco @crossculturalsf Office Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm 522 Valencia (AROC Office) Thursday, May 21, 10am-5pm Friday, May 22, 10am-5pm Please donate only new or like-new toys! DM us for questions, or reach out to [email protected]. As always, you can support AROC’s work by donating at bit.ly/donatetoAROC

On May 11, ten California Jewish and Palestinian parents filed a legal action to intervene in the pro-Israel Brandeis Center v. California Department of Education lawsuit. The parents say the lawsuit is weaponizing antisemitism to erase Palestine from classrooms, specifically Ethnic Studies, which is mandatory in California, a state home to the largest Palestinian-American community in the country. The lawsuit could be devastating for their children’s equal education, religious freedom, & First Amendment rights. Follow @k12defense and learn more about the Jewish and Palestinian families fighting censorship in California’s 10,000 schools.

🇵🇸 SAN FRANCISCO: Join us THIS SUNDAY at 1:30pm for our community gathering in commemoration of 78 years of the ongoing Nakba. 🗝️ 🗓️Sunday, May 17 🕔1:30PM–4 PM 📍Hummingbird Farm (1669 Geneva Ave, SF) This year, we invite our community to gather and ground ourselves in our culture, traditions, and ancestral history in honor of 78 years of the ongoing Nakba and the Palestinian people’s resistance to erasure. Join us as we reaffirm our duty to our struggle for liberation, and our collective right of return. Taking place over Nakba weekend, the program includes an exhibit displaying the History of the Palestinian Struggle, a Za’atar making workshop, as well as cultural arts programming, including performances by the Palestinian Youth Ensemble and the SFSU GUPS Dabke Troupe.

Join us on May 30th in San Francisco for an evening of community, solidarity, and action in support of our medical solidarity work in Palestine 🇵🇸 We’re honoured to welcome Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), as part of our speaker lineup. Lara will be joining the evening’s panel discussion alongside other voices committed to justice, advocacy, and collective action for Palestine. The evening will also feature additional speakers, local vendors, and opportunities to connect with community members dedicated to the cause. If you’re in the Bay Area, we hope you’ll join us as we come together to raise critical funds and stand in solidarity with Palestine. 📍 San Francisco: Gray Area Theatre 📅 May 30, 12:00 to 5:30pm TICKET LINK IN BIO

Bay Area Nakba Day Program Announcement! Join us on Sunday May 17th for this year’s cultural gathering and commemoration of the 78th year of the Nakba. This is a family-friendly event, and light refreshments will be provided. ⏰ SUNDAY MAY 17 | 1:30–4 PM 📍Hummingbird Farms: 1669 Geneva Ave, SF This event will feature: Culture and Art Programming History of the Palestinian Struggle Exhibit The Palestinian Youth Ensemble Dabke Performance Zaatar Making (***Bring a container or tupperware***) Join us this year to ground ourselves in culture, family stories, and performances that embody Palestinian resistance to erasure and the right of return. This Nakba Day, we affirm that no amount of cultural erasure and attempts at annihilation will break our bond to our homeland and our right to return to Palestine.

San Francisco DA Jenkins’s office filed a pre-trial motion requesting the judge to ban the word ‘genocide’ from the jury trial of our fellow community members facing felony charges for protesting the genocide in Gaza. The DA’s office attempts to obscure the reason protesters acted on Tax Day, going as far as to suggest redacting the word “genocide” from footage of the protest shown to the jury. The DA’s office not only refuses to, but is actively trying to prevent other SF residents from grappling with their own complicity in the genocide of Palestinians. The motion was denied by the trial judge, and Bay Area residents of conscience reject the DA’s attempt to distract us. We must do everything in our power to resist the war crimes of our government and hold them accountable, regardless of how many times they try to hide the truth. Join the efforts to end arms transfers from the Oakland airport to the Israeli Occupation Forces by following updates and calls to actions @oaklandarmsembargo

Ahead of Eid Al-Adha, AROC will be taking Toy donations for San Francisco Arab and Muslim families. Amidst rising costs, cuts to city services, and ongoing war against our homelands, help us give back to the working families in our community! Toy donations will be accepted at AROC’s Office in San Francisco at 522 Valencia Street. Donations will be accepted on the following days and times: Thursday, May 14, 10am-5pm Friday, May 15, 10am-5pm Thursday, May 21, 10am-5pm Friday, May 22, 10am-5pm Please donate only new or like-new toys! DM us for questions, or reach out to [email protected]. As always, you can support AROC’s work by donating at bit.ly/donatetoAROC Thank you for your tireless support of our community!

Is ethnic studies being rewritten to erase Palestine from classrooms? J. Ito-Gates (Ethnic Studies Educator, California) breaks down how a lawsuit backed by the Brandeis Center could reshape ethnic studies by targeting the teaching of Palestinian history, identity, and political context in California schools. Comments promoting violence or vulgarity will be deleted. #AMA #AcademicsforPeace #reels #fyp #explainervideo #explainer #History #peace

BREAKING: Jewish & Palestinian families move to intervene in the crucial Brandeis V California lawsuit, to stop Palestine from being erased from classrooms across the state. Help us spread word about the brave families fighting back for California’s 6 million students from kindergarten to 12th grade. For more info, link in bio.

Learn more about why our canvassers are dedicated to making the Bay Area Apartheid-free: "This is an issue that's really important to me - doing what I can to oppose the genocide. 'Never again' is now. Even though it's just a small part of the movement, I want to do what I can to make a difference here in the Bay. These are products that are directly assisting the Israeli government with their genocide in Gaza and their occupation of the West Bank. When we talk to store owners, make a connection with them, and have them de-shelve these products, it's extremely important economically in opposing this." -Eli, Democratic Socialists of America, San Francisco Take the pledge or get involved at the link in our bio

This 510 Day, we uplift Oakland’s legacy of resistance and understand that our commitment to our community takes many forms. This day is a reminder that The Town has always fought for and celebrated its own vitality and survival in the face of gentrification and erasure—led by black, brown, and indigenous communities. The Oakland People’s Arms Embargo was born out of this same spirit, a duty to fight for collective liberation, from Oakland to Palestine to the world at large. Just last month, we had more than 600 community members, organizers, students, union members, faith leaders, and more show up to get involved in our campaign to demand an end to the trafficking of military cargo out of Oakland Airport destined for Israel. We’re commemorating 510 Day this year by asserting that our public infrastructure—where our families travel from and our neighbors work—not be tied up in the same destructive systems Oakland has always stood up against. Get killer cargo out of OAK! The calls from Oaklanders are growing louder and louder and together, we can make our collective liberation a reality. Learn more about the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo and plug in: armsembargonow.com (link in bio) #510Day #TownBusiness #WeStillHere