Bitter Realities and Brighter Truths: VJP Looks Back on 2024 and Ahead to 2025

Dear Friends and Supporters of Voices for Justice in Palestine,

As we look back over 2024, the bitter truth is inescapable:: this past year has been quite possibly the worst year for the Palestinian people in their entire history. The mass slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, overwhelmingly women and children, in the genocide in Gaza, the brutal ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the wholesale destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, has been utterly devastating. It has been agonizing to watch Israel carry out its relentless campaign of revenge and destruction for over 430 days with impunity, and to be unable to stop it. Seeing our own government arming and defending Israel while it flagrantly violates American laws and international humanitarian law has been appalling. 2024 has truly been a year of deep sorrow and outrage.

At the same time, brighter truths are also undeniable: the world has witnessed the amazing heroism of Palestinian journalists sacrificing their lives to expose the truth of the genocide, Palestinian doctors, nurses, and aid workers caring for their wounded patients, and teachers providing instruction to their students, all while under bombardment themselves. The world has witnessed what many of us have been privileged to see firsthand - the astonishing resilience of the Palestinian people. We have also witnessed millions of people all over the world, especially in the Global South, flooding the streets in solidarity, crying out for ceasefire, arms embargo, release of hostages held by both Hamas and Israel, massive humanitarian aid, and accountability for war crimes.The Gaza solidarity encampments on hundreds of university campuses this past spring filled us with hope and inspiration as a new generation stepped forward in courage and conscience. This diverse coalition is subverting the dominant paradigm of Zionism and pointing the way toward Palestinian justice and liberation.

At Voices for Justice in Palestine, we have joined the resistance in numerous ways: holding dozens of community education events, webinars, screening documentaries, taking to the streets in dozens of rallies and vigils, working to pass ceasefire resolutions, challenging our congressional representatives, strengthening coalitions with our movement partners, and supporting students facing repression for their activism. We coordinated with Binkley Baptist Church to put on a three-part congregational retreat, Watts Street Baptist Church for a weekend congregational retreat, and the United Church of Chapel Hill to present one of our Fall Webinar Series recordings. We also teamed up.with Students for Justice in Palestine at Duke University for a teach-in on Palestine 101, an interfaith vigil on October 7th 2024, and an intersectional event on Black and Palestinian liberation co-sponsored with the NAACP.

At this time, we ask for your financial support to continue our work in 2025. We are excited to announce the creation of a mobile Palestine museum! We are assembling a talented team of activists, scholars, and creative content creators to make this dream a reality. Please consider an end-of-year tax-deductible donation to help us stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Your donations help us work vigorously for an end to the genocide and a free Palestine! The easiest way to donate is on our website, {www.voicesforjusticeinpalestine.org} with your debit or credit card. Or if you prefer, you can send a personal check to Voices for Justice in Palestine, PO Box 2081, Chapel Hill, NC 27515.

Grace, peace, and solidarity,

Dr. Burhan Ghanayem, Chair of the Board of Directors, and Rev. J. Mark Davidson, Executive Director