Ramah Kudaimi: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation!

This past Tuesday, as Americans went to the polls and re-elected President Obama, Israeli occupation forces kept busy by demolishing Palestinian buildings and cisterns in the villages of al-Deirat and Jawaya in the south Hebron Hills area of the West Bank. The video of the destruction shows Caterpillar and Hyundai bulldozers tearing down a two story home belonging to Mohammad Musa Mohammad Abu Aram and a rainwater cistern belonging to Mahmud Ahmed Nasser Nawaja as Palestinian villagers watched. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel has demolished 484 Palestinian owned structures in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2012. More than 600 Palestinians were displaced due to these demolitions, including 304 children. These Palestinian families have had their lives disrupted by Israeli actions that are supported by US policies and funded with our tax dollars. Yet when the presidential candidates were debating foreign policy less than three weeks ago, there was zero discussion about home demolitions, expanding settlements, the continuing occupation of Palestinian lands, or the entrenchment of apartheid policies towards Palestinians. We have had many victories this past year to celebrate in our efforts to change US policy toward Palestinian Israel to support human rights, international law, and equality. This includes the removal of Caterpillar Corporation from an international list of socially responsible companies, prompting financial giant TIAA CREF to divest $72.9 million in Caterpillar stock. But as we continue in our efforts, we are also aware of the immediate impact US support for Israeli occupation and colonization is having on Palestinians as the destruction of their homes, olive trees,, and land continues.