We stand unconditionally with the Palestinian people and anti-colonial resistance movements. We see, hear, recognize, and firmly stand with all who are enduring, speaking out, demanding a ceasefire, and calling for the freedom of all oppressed peoples – whether that be in Palestine, Sudan, Armenia, Syria, and elsewhere.
The continuous unfolding of atrocities committed against the Palestinian people and their land has been horrific and angering. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine – which began over 75 years ago and is rooted in colonial, imperialist, and capitalist ideologies – continues to be exerted in waves of genocidal violence and repression. Over the last weeks we have seen this intensify into the grossest destruction of lives and lands in our lifetime, as the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza exceeds 7,000 (at the time of this statement’s release); as essential infrastructure is cut off and aid is choked; as hospitals, mosques, churches, schools, and safe zones are annihilated; as doctors, journalists, and their families become targets; as white phosphorus and other illegal weapons become commonplace; as entire families are wiped off the public record; as journalistic “coverage” becomes so detached from reality that it can be considered nothing but propaganda. Additionally, there has been a gross increase in killings and mass arrests in the West Bank; the armament of settler civilians; the destruction of camps and neighborhoods; the kidnapping and torture of Palestinians; and more.
We are deeply concerned about the present and future of Palestine, global power structures, and the impact of war on humanity and the environment. We recognize that while this attack has been carried out by Israeli Occupation Forces, it has been intensified by Western governments’ “unconditional support” (financial, diplomatic, ideological), the strategic invoking of “human rights,” private and corporate funding, a ruthless military industrial complex, corrupted media and journalism, explicit hatred, and silent complicity.
Beneath claims about security concerns lie an array of private interests and anti-Arab, Islamophobic, and pinkwashing tropes. We maintain that the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine is a queer and feminist issue, and that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is an intersectional one. We reject the killing, incarceration, vilification, and dehumanization of Palestinians. We reject attempts to segment us and to exploit our struggle to legitimize a slaughter. We reject efforts to control how we express our identities, and to police how we express our resistance.
We will pause posting content not related to Palestine on our social media accounts, as we grieve, listen, and bear witness. We believe it is our duty to use our platform as a place of protest, and to continue to resist, organize, boycott, educate, and pressure our governments and the international community to intervene on the side of justice until Palestine is free.