What are you going to do about it?

With the end of the school year imminent, I know we’re all excited for summer. Days at the lake, outdoor concerts, temps well above freezing – it’s going to be a good time. But while things are looking up for us as North Dakota college kids, there isn’t going to be a summer for the people of Gaza. No break from normal activities, no time to relax with family – in fact, the situation in Gaza grows worse by the day. 

Since October 7th of last year, the civilian population of Gaza has been subjected to a genocide under the guise of Israeli retaliation against Hamas. That’s nearly the entire school year, that innocent Palestinians have been experiencing relentless, brutal attacks by the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF. This name is pretty ironic considering the fact that IDF soldiers have been spending most of their time bombing residential areas and slaughtering patients in hospitals, as evidenced by the recent uncovering of a mass civilian grave within the Nasser Medical Complex. (Al Jazeera Media Network) But I digress.

The recent wave of liberation encampments across U.S. college campuses has given the pro-Palestine movement here a much-needed push, but it’s crucial that we keep that momentum going into the summer. It’s easy to zoom back into our own lives when we aren’t spending all day online hiding from the cold anymore, but the people of Gaza can’t afford for us to do that. Our tax dollars are funding the genocide in Palestine, and it’s our responsibility to do our absolute utmost to end that. The United States is not only sending billions of dollars to Israel in “aid,” but also supplying the IDF with the bombs and weapons currently being wielded against an entire population of civilians. The government is supposed to work for us – the everyday citizens of America. I don’t want my tax dollars going to fund a massacre overseas, and I’m willing to bet you don’t, either.

If you don’t know where to start, that’s okay! These, while by no means an exhaustive list, are some of my current sources.

• The FM Liberation Instagram (@fm_liberation) has been a really good source for information on local demonstrations and action. 
• The Friends Committee on National Legislation, or FCNL, has a really helpful page on their website (www.fcnl.org) where you can input your information and automatically send a pre-written email to your representatives urging them to call for a ceasefire. 

North Dakota Representatives to contact

John Hoeven 

• Washington, D.C. office: (202) 224-2551
• Fargo, ND office: (701) 239-5389

Kevin Cramer

• Washington, D.C. office: (202) 224-2043
• Fargo, ND office: (701) 232-5094

Kelly Armstrong

• Washington, D.C. office: (202) 225-2611
• Fargo, ND office: (701) 353-6665

All of these representatives have sections on their websites as well where you can email them to voice your concerns. If I can leave you with anything from our last edition this year, it’s this: we must continue to fight for a free Palestine. This summer must be spent pressuring our government representatives like never before to cut ties with Israel and stop the genocide.