For the last 10 years CJNV has been partnering with Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, supporting their sumud (steadfastness) and building networks of solidarity and coresistance. Now, together with community leaders, we are launching a general fund for Masafer Yatta to support the many emergency needs that are wrought on these communities by Israel's settler-state apartheid system.
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The Masafer Yatta region is known for its resilience and resistance to Israeli efforts to displace and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the area. It is also known for the ferocity of attacks and pressure put on the communities to force them to leave their homes: settler violence, home demolitions, restrictions on movement, arrests, prevention of access to resources, and expanding land takeovers and seizures.
When shepherds are unjustly arrested -- often on bogus charges levied by settlers -- they must pay large bail fees in order to be released. Shepherds who are unable to shepherd their flocks due to settler harassment and violence are forced to purchase expensive feed, an unsustainable solution. When homes, cars, water tanks, solar panels, or trees are damaged or destroyed, communities must pay to rebuild, repair and, if necessary, purchase temporary shelters. Legal fees to fight for their land are expensive and unending. Medical expenses after settler-state attacks and violence pile up; for animals that are attacked and injured as well. Unemployment is rampant as work in Israel, and in Palestinian cities, has been severely reduced. Nearly the entire livelihood of these communities has been suffocated and shut down.
One of our core values at CJNV is to leverage our privilege in the pursuit of justice. We have the privilege and the power to give and fundraise from our networks to support communities across Masafer Yatta to remain in their homes and on their land. Providing this support not only helps communities maintain presence and recover from settler-state attacks, but also demonstrates that people from around the world stand in solidarity with the people of Masafer Yatta. Our solidarity -- across nationality, race, ethnicity, language, religion, and language -- undermines Israel's attempts to isolate and divide Palestinian communities from one another and the rest of the world. This project, like all our work at CJNV, serves as a model for a different, more just reality -- for the world we are trying to build alongside our partners.
Please join us and show your support for Masafer Yatta today.
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We, CJNV, incur 10% in fees on all donations. We often cover these fees to ensure that all the money raised gets to the community, which is what we'll be doing for this fundraiser. You will be prompted with the option to cover these fees along with your donation to help us offset these costs — we, and our partners in Masafer Yatta, greatly appreciate it.
If you would like to donate by check, please make the payment out to “Nonviolence International” with “CJNV Masafer Yatta Fund” on the memo line and mail it to: CJNV c/o Nonviolence International, PO Box 39127, Friendship Station NW, Washington, DC 20016.
If you have any questions, please email info@cjnv.org.