Understanding Militarism and US Funding of the Genocide in Palestine

As we continue to witness the US funded and facilitated genocide in Palestine, we are filled with horror, and also steadfast in our commitment and action toward a free Palestine and the self-determination of all oppressed people. NFG recognizes that the occupation of Palestine is not new and has been ongoing for decades. As philanthropy begins to interrogate its grantmaking and investment practices, we are compelled to name the importance of deepening support to BIPOC-led community organizing, especially Palestinian movement leaders organizing (from within the belly of the beast, no less) against US militarism’s violence. 

Because philanthropy participates in and benefits from America’s exploitative economy, US-based funders in particular must recognize that the extractive nature of our war economy has implications domestically and internationally. While BIPOC communities bear the brunt of the carceral system, lack of public resources, precarious work, and scarcity of affordable housing, communities abroad also stagger under the weight of both US-driven and funded imperialist extraction through direct occupation, military aid and arms sales (resulting in mass manufacturer profits), military-led “development” projects, and resource theft.

Join us to build our collective understanding of current organizing to end the genocide in Palestine. We will discuss how to organize as philanthropy to not just continue resourcing and supporting BIPOC-led community organizing, but to also be sure to include the movement groups rising up against US imperialism, particularly Palestinian-led organizing efforts in the US attempting to end the genocide.

Speakers:

• Iman Abid, Director of Advocacy, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• Maisa Morrar, Member & Co-Founder, Palestinian Feminist Collective
• Leena Barakat, President & CEO, Women Donors Network
• Rana Elmir, Director, Rise Together Fund