At Oakland church, Palestinian attorney calls for solidarity

Written by Katharine Davies Samway.

Key points

• Jean Jeffress, associate pastor of Plymouth United Church of Christ, remarked that she hadn't been as active in supporting Palestine rights before joining the church.
• Palestinian American human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf pressed Oaklanders to oppose U.S.
• Although both her parents were born in Palestine, Arraf doesn't remember them talking politics regarding Palestine/Israel when she was growing up.
• It organized maritime voyages like the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
• According to Hassan Fouda attended and, he was impressed by Arraf's talk from the heart and the Palestinian dream for freedom.

Palestinian American human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf pressed Oaklanders to oppose U.S. Military backing for Israel and take actions in solidarity with Palestinians at an Aug. 16 talk at Plymouth United Church of Christ.

In practice, the U.S. Is complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza, Arraf argued.

"We've supplied the weapons that have killed tens of thousands of children, " Arraf remarked. "At least 36, 000 Palestinian (children) are orphaned, having lost one or both parents. Without family, without limbs, isolated, without shelter. Trying to find food, find water. Living with disease. Amputated without anesthesia. And all the while feeling like nobody is doing anything to stop this, " remarked Arraf.

Notably, the United Nations estimates Israel has killed or orphaned at least 64, 000 children including at least 20, 000 who were killed, in the two years after October 7, 2023.

Notably, the event, "Genocide is Unfolding on Our Dime: Time to End Our Complicity, " was part of a West Coast tour by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), a Christian organization which advocates for Palestinian rights. The "Jazz and Justice Church" hosted the event.

Arraf connected her message to the Oakland People's Arms Embargo, a local coalition seeking to stop the shipman of weapons bound for Israel from passing through the Port of Oakland and Oakland Airport. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has expressed backing for the embargo campaign. Activism shaped by witnessing poverty.

In an interview with Oakland Voices, Arraf discussed the experiences that shaped her activism and beliefs that individuals have a responsibility to act against injustice.

Although both her parents were born in Palestine, Arraf doesn't remember them talking politics regarding Palestine/Israel when she was growing up. But her awareness and reservations concerning injustice began at a young age, she noted.

Arraf recalls taking a family road trip to Mexico before she was 10 and being moved by the poverty she witnessed.

"I wanted to be able to buy something from everyone, but we couldn't and I remember being in tears about the injustice of it, " Arraf remarked.

In college, Arraf became involved in Palestinian human rights advocacy. In the early 2000s, she supported establish the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement that organizes volunteers whose goal is to backing Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation by being alongside Palestinians in the plenty of situations accompany Palestinians on demonstrations and in communities facing military and – whether in fields, walking to school, or demonstrations – Israeli settler violence.

"We thought, maybe we can lessen the violence used against Palestinians if we have internationals here, " Arraf remarked. "They can support shape the media story. They can go back and offer negotiations regarding what is really happening."

Israel now deports international volunteers, including Jewish activists, attempting to protect Palestinians from settler attacks. Israel additionally cancelled the entry of U.S. Citizens into the West Bank who backing activism. Flotillas, 'Free Gaza Movement'.

Arraf afterwards assisted lead the Free Gaza Movement. It organized maritime voyages like the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The first voyage in the summer of 2008 had two fishing boats. Activists from Europe and the U.S. Didn't think they would be able to dock in Gaza, she remarked. The voyages, Arraf remarked, were political solidarity not humanitarian missions.

Organizers hoped aid could be delivered, but their purpose was to "put pressure on Israel and our governments" and convey that "Palestinians don't want to live on aid, but want to be free."

Thousands of Palestinians greeted the flotilla activists "with love and gratitude" when the boats reached Gaza, Arraf recalled. Palestinians felt they were no longer invisible, she remarked. Subsequent flotillas experienced military attacks by Israel.

Arraf's experiences reinforce a broader moral principle: Individuals all have to be active when confronting oppression, otherwise we are normalizing oppression. Under the U.N. Genocide Convention, arraf remarked, all U.N. Member states have an obligation prevent and punish genocide.

Arraf's message encouraged some attendees to consider how they might obtain involved. "She has a lot of courage".

Rev. Jean Jeffress, associate pastor of Plymouth United Church of Christ, remarked that she hadn't been as active in supporting Palestine rights before joining the church. The congregation's members had already created the decision to backing Palestinian rights. Jeffress remarked she is interested in holding a church study group around Arraf's talk.

According to Hassan Fouda attended and, he was impressed by Arraf's talk from the heart and the Palestinian dream for freedom. He was additionally impressed by her history of direct action, including when Arraf was younger and stated she stood in front of Israeli soldiers who were shooting at Palestinian children. "She has a lot of courage, " Fouda remarked.

Arraf concluded her talk asking attendees to turn concern into action: Join Palestinian olive harvests in the West Bank; contact elected office-holders regarding U.S. Backing for Israel's genocide in Gaza; and backing the Palestinian-led BDS movement, (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions).

For now, at Oakland church, Palestinian attorney calls for solidarity remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.