D.C. NAKBA RALLY & EXHIBIT: SATURDAY, MAY 16th!
Following the rally, we will be hosting a community exhibit featuring pivotal battles and figures from the 1880s through the 1960s.
The exhibit will be open from 3-6 PM with a panel and community discussion including a survivor of the 1948 Nakba starting at 4 PM.
Additionally, a childrenâs program will feature dynamic traditional storytelling, music, and art activities. We encourage people of all ages to attend to learn from the exhibit and to bring stories of resilience and resistance from their own families.
All events are free of charge and food will be provided.
Rally
â° 12:30 PM
đ US Capitol, E Capitol St NE & 1st St
Exhibit
â° 3-6 PM
đWashington City Church of the Brethren, 337 North Carolina Ave SE
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 VRSâ 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 dedicate decades of service to their communities. We are fighting for a Virginia that reflects that service, not corporate interests and bloodshed.
This report coincides with the monthly Board of Trustees meeting in which they review the investment portfolio and plan ahead. 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.
đ Read the report: vrsdivest.org/report (link in bio)
âď¸ Contact: [email protected]
âď¸ Sign the petition: bit.ly/vrsdivest
â Organizations endorse: vrsdivest.org/endorse
đŁ Press Conference today at the Board of Trustees Meeting, 1pm 901 E Cary St in Richmond, VA
Seventy eight years ago, beneath the shade of kharoob, fig, and olive trees, the village of al-Qastal stood watch over the western entrance to al-Quds. One morning, Zionist forces attacked al-Qastal, expelling Palestinians and sealing the village behind the coils of barbed wire.
At the same time, Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini, commander of Palestinian guerrilla forces, was in Damascus to procure Arab military support against Zionist encroachment upon Palestinian land. Arab leadership rejected his petition.
Upon hearing the news of al-Qastalâs fall, al-Husseini issued an urgent but simple order to the protectors of al-Quds: âReoccupy al-Qastal, al-Qastal is Jerusalem.â He hastened back to Palestine, armed only with personal weapons and a heightened resolve. Under the cover of the night, Palestinian forces heeded al-Husseiniâs call and advanced to reclaim al-Qastal.
The Battle of al-Qastal remains an iconic story in Palestinian history. In ordering the fighters to remain and defend the village, and in returning from Damascus to Jerusalem, Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini rejected the victimhood, quietism, and defeatism of Arab leaders who denied his petition for military support. Confronting Zionist forces, al-Husseini and his forces successfully drove the occupiers out of al-Qastal and returned the village to its people.
May 15th marks the commemoration of the Nakba, that displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
The Nakba, the genocide of Gaza, the Zionist attacks on Lebanon, can only persist because of the endless supply of weapons from imperialist powers to Israel. Weapons companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman did not start supplying Israel at the start of their most recent genocide on Gaza, they have been supplying Zionist ethnic cleansing for decades. The first reported usage of weapons from these companies go as far back as 1948. During the occupation of the Galilee in 1948, IOF forces bombed Tarshiha, Jish, and Saâsa using Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.
These companies provide the infrastructure Israel needs to maintain its occupation and genocide, and we heed the responsibility to break these supply chains of weapons and war. The VRS Divest campaign honors the 78 years of Palestinian resistance to Israeli violence and expansion. On this Nakba Day, we call for an end to this aggression and for our pensions and tax dollars being used to perpetuate years of zionist brutality.
đ DEMAND THE VRS DIVEST FROM WEAPONS AND WAR vrsdivest.org
Nakba Day reminds us that memory itself is an act of preservation. When homes were erased, when villages disappeared from maps, and when families were scattered across borders, art became the archive that couldnât be destroyed.
This spirit of resistance has taken physical form through sister murals spanning from Silwan in occupied Jerusalem to San Francisco and Washington, DC. The journey began on May 15, 2021, when the âWe Will Returnâ mural was painted in San Francisco by protesters and designed by @cgazaleh , @didiyalla , @davidsolnit , and the @palestinianyouthmovement . In response, Silwan artists @iwitness_silwan and @artforces , working with @palestinianyouthmovement , painted the âWe Will Remainâ mural. Dedicated to the six freedom fighters who escaped Gilboa prison through a tunnel, it stands as a testament to the refusal to disappear. The message continued in Washington, DC, with the âWe Will Liberateâ banner created by @dmvpym alongside @soobiidoo , @nomu.nomu , and @vyvu.art .
In Silwan, East Jerusalem, where ancient stones hold centuries of stories, artists continue to paint over walls that try to silence them. Every brushstroke becomes testimony. Every mural becomes a witness. Every song carries the names of places that still exist in memory even when theyâre absent from official maps.
This Nakba Day, we honor not just what was lost, but what persists: the colors, the songs, the poetry, and the hands that keep creating despite everything. Because art doesnât just document history; it refuses to let it be rewritten.
Together with solidarity organizers, we call for a free Palestine and forge connections across borders. We uplift the calls to remain, return, and liberate.
Honor Their Story. Join Their Fight. Check your local PYM chapter for more details.
#Sumud #FreePalestine #RightofReturn #LiberatePalestine #SaveGaza
Tune in to WPFW tomorrow at 2pm to hear PYM DMVâs Nakba day radio broadcast for Radio Free Palestine.
You will hear about our upcoming Nakba 78 rally and exhibit as we renew our commitment to the struggle for liberation and return. We will also hear from members of the VRS: No Pensions for Genocide Campaign; a local arms embargo campaign demanding divestment from war, and ending with a reading and discussion of a piece from the New York War Crimes: Palestinian prisoners day edition. WPFW will be doing all day programming for Radio Free Palestine along with stations across the globe from 5am to 7pm.
Make sure to tune in tomorrow at 2pm at 89.3FM or online at wpfw.org!
The VRS Divest from Weapons and War campaign condemns Governor Abigail Spanbergerâs betrayal of Virginiaâs workers in favor of the ruling class. Despite her campaign promise to support collective bargaining, Governor Spanberger has chosen to align with the capitalist elite and betray the public service workers of Virginia who keep the Commonwealth functioning for its residents.
At VRS Divest, public workers are the center of our campaign, and we strive to empower workers to have control over their pensions. They are also the lifeline of this Commonwealth. We stand firmly with Virginia workers and call on Governor Spanberger to do the same.
If youâre a Virginia worker, reach out and join the movement!
đ vrsdivest.org/workers
Are you READY for Radio Free Palestine?? đ
It's is an annual, global radio broadcast commemorating the anniversary of the Nakba-- the ongoing displacement, occupation, and apartheid inflicted on the Palestinian people since 1948.
In 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians were violently expelled from their homes in a wave of ethnic cleansing that sought not only to remove them from their ancestral lands, but to erase the memory of them.
The thing is, the Nakba wasn't a singular event. It's still unfolding today. Checkpoints, sieges, bombing of hospitals, the outlawing of mourning, and more that has plagued Palestinian peoples for decades.
It's what's been happening in Gaza, the West Bank, the annexed Golan Heights; it spreads into Lebanon as we speak, and the diaspora at large who are forbidden by Israeli law to ever return home. What we're all witnessing is so much more than a "conflict." The U.S.-backed military occupation that has escalated into what the global majority understands is a genocide, is colonialism and indigenous erasure in real time.
But to exist is to resist, thus even in the rubble, Palestinians resist
with words, marches, memory, music, and more.
And you can stand in solidarity with them from your Radio.
.
.
On May 15, WPFW and stations across five continents come together to air Palestinian voices and truth.
We're bringing you their voices uncensored and uncompromised and rooted in Palestinian self-determination.
Radio Free Palestine amplifies the stories mainstream media is burying, offers historical context, and connects listeners to the deep roots of Palestinian resistance.
Whatâs happening in Palestine isnât separate from what happens here (wherever you are):
- the increasing police militarization in your city
- the surveillance and âsecurityâ tech tested on occupied people and deployed in our communities
* your tax dollars funding bombs that level schools.
Palestine is your struggle too.
Tune in this Friday from 5am to 7pm at WPFW 89.3 FM
or download the WPFW app (Pacifica) to listen from anywhere, all day, on the go.
Free Palestine! đľđ¸
đď¸ D.C. NAKBA RALLY & EXHIBIT: SATURDAY, MAY 16th! This Nakba Day, we recommit ourselves to a lifetime of resistance until liberation and return. Join us on Saturday as we mobilize outside the U.S. Capitol to mark 78 years of Nakba, followed by a community panel and exhibit at the Washington City Church of the Brethren, where weâll trace Palestinian resistance to Zionism since the 1880s.
Bring your familyâs stories of resistance and memories of home. A childrenâs program will also be offered, featuring dynamic traditional storytelling, music, and art activities. We encourage people of all ages to attend to learn from the exhibit and to bring stories of resilience and resistance from their own families.
Rally
â° 12:30 PM
đ P US Capitol, E Capitol St NE & 1st St
Exhibit
â° 3-6 PM
đWashington City Church of the Brethren, 337 North Carolina
đ Orgs endorse: bit.ly/nakba78-dc (link in bio)
An anti-war protestor, Guido Reichstadter, was arrested after protesting for 6 consecutive days on top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington DC against the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Reichstadter said in a self-recorded video that he had chosen to occupy the highest beam of the bridge âbecause the government of the United States is engaged in acts of mass murder in my name. And I refuse to be complicit in that.â
Although Reichstadterâs protest was a solitary one, his message reflects the spirit and the conviction of millions of Americans who oppose US funding and diplomatic support to Israel. As Israelâs campaign of terror continues with full US backing, from Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, such courage and principle serve as an example to us all.
After attacking the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza over 1000 km from the shore of Palestine, Israeli occupation forces abducted and subsequently released 180 of the flotillaâs crew members, intentionally damaging and destroying 21 boats in the process. Now, Israel continues to detain 2 of the crew members, Saif Abu Kishk and Thiago Ăvila, after subjecting them to beatings and torture.
We demand the full, immediate and unconditional release of Thiago Ăvila and Saif Abu Kishk. We demand international states and actors sanction Israel for its continued violation of international law.
FREE SAIF! FREE THIAGO! END THE SIEGE ON GAZA NOW!