Friday, April 4 2014 – In response to the call from the Popular Committees of Palestine, protests against US military aid to the Israeli occupation will be held in cities across the US and around the world on America’s Tax Day: Tuesday, April 15th.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed four resolutions condemning Israel’s human rights abuses and breaches of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. Despite US objections, each resolution passed by a vote of 46-1.
Indeed, in March alone Israeli occupation forces reportedly killed 12 Palestinians: six in the West Bank and six in the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the Israeli authorities arrested 364 Palestinians, including women, children and former prisoners. Israeli bulldozers demolished two Palestinian homes, rendering entire families homeless, as well as animal shelters, storage units, four infrastructure projects, a mosque and a health centre. In addition, the Israeli authorities also handed out demolition orders for several other Palestinian homes, all the while carrying on with the construction of hundreds of new housing units in illegal settlements in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In response to Israeli’s continued violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Popular Committees of Palestine have called on people in the United States and around the world to organize protests in opposition to US military aid to Israel on America’s Tax Day, April 15.
So far, protests have been announced in 21 cities across 15 states in the US, as well as in the major capitals of Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The US currently grants Israel $3.1 billion annually in military aid, guaranteed until 2018. Furthermore, the US allows Israel to place its orders for military weapons and equipment on credit, and Defense News recently reported that Tel Aviv has already exhausted the budget for the next five years of US military aid. The Obama administration is currently negotiating a deal to extend US military aid to Israel for yet another decade, up to 2028, allowing Tel Aviv to place more orders now for weapons that kill Palestinians, meaning that future presidents will have no choice but to continue sending American tax dollars to fund an occupying power.
However, it is unlikely that this deal can be sealed before President Obama’s term expires. Therefore, this international day of protests is more timely than ever.
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is also organizing a petition to hand over to the US House and Senate Appropriations Committees on Tax Day, urging them to hold Israel accountable for misusing US weapons in violation of US laws to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians, as recently documented by Amnesty International.
Below is a partial list of scheduled Tax Day protests. For media inquiries, to announce a protest, or for more information, please contact: stopusaidtoisrael@gmail.com.
Visit our web site: https:// http://stopusaidtoisrael.com/
Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StopUSAidToIsrael
USA and Canada
California
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Berkeley, CA. More details tbc
2. A Tax Day protest will be held in Los Angeles, CA. More details tbc
3. The Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights is organising a “Special protest: No more taxes for occupations and US wars!” on April 15 between 4:00-6:00 pm at 16th & J Street, Sacramento, CA.
4. Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area will be handing out flyers in front of post offices and BART subway stations in San Francisco, CA.
Colorado
1. Colorado is holding a Tax Day protest will be held on April 15 between 5:00-6:00 pm in front of the capitol building in Denver, CO.
Florida
Details tbc
Georgia
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Atlanta, GA. More details tbc
Illinois
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Chicago, IL. More details tbc
Massachusetts
1. The Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights is coordinating a Tax Day protest on April 15 between 4:30-6:00 pm in Central Square, Cambridge, MA.
Nebraska
1. Central Nebraska Peace Workers is organising a Tax Day protest on April 15 at 5:00 pm along State Street and Webb Road, Grand Island, NE.
New Hampshire
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Laconia, NH. More details tbc
2. A Tax Day protest will be held in Manchester, NH. More details tbc
3. A Tax Day protest will be held in Portsmouth, NH. More details tbc
New Jersey
Details tbc
New York
1. Jewish Voice for Peace is organising an information table about the Israeli occupation’s spending of US tax dollars on April 15 between 2:00-4:00 pm at the Greenstar Cooperative Market, 701 Buffalo Street, Ithaca NY.
North Carolina
Details tbc
Ohio
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Cleveland, OH. More details tbc
Pennsylvania
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Philadelphia, PA. More details tbc
Rhode Island
Details tbc
Tennessee
1. Nashville is organising a Tax Day protest on April 15 in front of the Estes Kefauver Federal Building, 801 Broadway, Nashville, TN.
Washington DC
Details tbc
Europe
Denmark
1. Copenhagen is organising a Tax Day protest on April 15 at 5:00 pm at Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 (overfor USAs ambassade), 2100 Kbh Ø, Denmark.
France
Details tbc
Iceland
Details tbc
Ireland
Details tbc
Italy
Details tbc
Spain
Details tbc
Sweden
1. Stockholm is organising a Tax Day protest on April 15 at 6:00 pm in front of the US embassy at the main entrance (Huvudentré Berwaldhallen) in Stockholm, SE.
UK
1. London is organising a Tax Day protest on April 15 at 2:00 pm outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, UK (closest Tube: Marble Arch, Bond Street or Green Park).
Middle East
Lebanon
Details tbc
Palestine
1. A Tax Day protest will be held in Gaza. More details tbc
2. A Tax Day protest will be held in Jerusalem. More details tbc
3. A Tax Day protest will be held in the West Bank. More details tbc
Tunisia
Details tbc
Asia
India
Details tbc
Pakistan
Details tbc