Free Palestine | Political Action Guide

We All Have a Place in Freeing Palestine

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Dean Spade at Mills College. One of the themes that Dean touched on that resonated with me was the idea that in order to make change in the world, we are likely going to need many autonomous groups who may interact with each other and focus on different goals and outcomes. Based on your principles, you may choose to tap in to different areas - direct action may speak to people who are less risk averse, some folks may still be holding on to the notion that our government will change course and feel comfortable calling their representatives and asking for change. There was a period of time where I had been criticized, and after reflection, felt critical of people doing work that I do not perceive to be of the highest strategic value. After listening to Dean, I am returning to the idea that I would much rather see people engaged than not. Most of us are risk averse, and often need to build confidence to go deeper into spaces and to take on more personal risk. As such, I will be ranking this list from what I perceive (and I am learning, so take this with a grain of salt, please) of what is the least risky, to most risky, way to engage. I encourage you to try different methods, and to extend your actions down the list, where you can.

Low Risk Action you can take to support a Free Palestine

I am defining low risk as an activity that you can take either in private or in concert with a close inner circle. Additional mitigations can be taken to remove traceability (e.g., borrowing a physical copy of a book as opposed to checking it out or downloading it).

Educate Yourself

It is imperative that we all develop a political education and identity that we then illustrate through praxis. Below, I am sharing some of the books I am reading and finding helpful to learn about Palestine, specifically.

Haymarket Books

Haymarket Books regularly provides free books regarding crisis topics. I recommend the following, which at one point, were free resources.

1. Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions

2. Light in Gaza

3. Palestine: A Socialist Introduction

Additional Books (Check with your local library, first)

1. On Palestine

2. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

3. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

Boycotting for Palestine

In a capitalist society, one of the most impactful ways we can call for change is through how we store and spend our capital. Boycotting is an incredibly powerful tool and where I am choosing to focus the core of my energy at this time.

For each of the consumer boycott targets, there are key steps we can take:

1. Do not purchase directly from these brands. If you happen to own one of the brands or products, transition away and discover alternatives

2. Campaign for Divestment - review your investment portfolio, sell any individual stocks of these brands. Research your index fund, mutual fund, or 401k fund investments to see if these companies (or divestment targets) are within the fund. Sell accordingly.

3. Follow actions as requested on the BDS website. You can campaign at your school, workplace, or against other institutions to have them divest from using the goods or services for boycott targets.

BDS Consumer Boycott Targets

1. Hewlett Packard (HP) - comprised of two entities (HP Inc. for consumer goods and HP-E for enterprise)

   1. The Palestinian BDS National Committee is calling for an individual and institutional boycott of all HP consumer products including laptops, printers and printer ink.

   2. HPE is a part of the S&P 500

   3. The Top ETFs holding HPE include: VTI, VOO, VO, SPY, IVV, VTV, VOE, VGT, XLK, and RSP

2. SIEMENS AG - has hundreds of subsidiaries nested under six lines of business, details can be found here

3. Chevron - avoid purchasing gas from Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex

   1. The Top ETFs holding Chevron include: XYLD, XYLG, XRMI, XYLE, XTR

4. AXA

   1.  Boycott/cancel AXA insurance policies. If you are willing to cancel your insurance policy with AXA due to its investments in Israeli apartheid, please let BDS know.

   2. Top ETF holding AXAHY is DIVD

5. Puma - is owned by Artémis Group - Puma owns three brands: PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd all of which you can boycott

   1. Sign the petition

   2. Take the Boycott Pledge

6. Sodastream and Sabra Hummus - Parent Company is PepsiCo (PEP)

   1. PEP is on the Nasdaq

   2. There are 320 ETFs that hold PEP, the top 10 are: IYK, XLP, VDC, FTXG, FSTA, UGE, PBJ, KXI, MBCC, ESGS

7. Ahava is owned by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International

8. Israeli Fruits and Vegetables

Organic Boycott Targets

The following boycott targets have risen organically. To participate in boycotting these brands, do not spend money at their stores. If you have an account with the brand, ask for the account to be deleted. If you have funds with the company (like Starbucks), request that you are cashed out.

1. Starbucks (note, Starbucks is a bank and not a coffee chain. It is imperative you delete your Starbucks account and take your current funds as cash, not a giftcard)

2. Domino’s Pizza

3. McDonalds

4. Papa Johns

5. Burger King

6. Pizza Hut

7. Wix

Email or Call your Representatives

For what it is worth, it is my personal opinion that this is not a constructive use of time; however, if this is your comfortable level, engage. I encourage you to also find other ways to tap in and connect with others who are directly and materially supporting Palestinians.

This is the process I use to reach out to my representatives by email:

1. Find out who your representatives are (using the 5 Calls App above is super helpful).

2. Open a browser with Google and type in “email + representative name”, this will likely lead you to a link with a form. Fill out the relevant information

3. When it is time to submit your writing, you can write your own message, or, if you need some help, I have a resource available here

4. Hit send and repeat the next day!

Discuss Palestine with Family and Friends

Foster a dialogue amongst family and friends about Palestine. Use the education you have garnered to share with others and help to counteract the general media’s propaganda.

When reaching out to people in my orbit, particularly those who are not engaged, I find something that I know they care about and use that as a way to open the door. I have personally discussed the impact on children, women, the environment, education, healthcare, and more to bring folks to the table and begin a conversation.

Donate anonymously to a GoFundMe (or similarly organized) fundraising campaign for families in Gaza

Many families are in need of our material and direct support. This is a low risk and high impact way (in my opinion) to engage with supporting Palestinians. I encourage you, in particular, to shift away from donating to 501c3s and instead participate in direct aid.

I am helping to fundraise for Ahmad and his family, and would appreciate any contributions that you can make to his campaign.

Updates for Medium Risk activities to follow.