Answer the call of Sabra and Shatila and get active for Palestine

(CHICAGO, 09/13/2011) – This week as we mark 29 years since the massacres at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon, we can view this tragedy through a new lense of hope, thanks to the democratic movements sweeping the Middle East.

From Sept. 16 and 18th, 1982, and in cooperation with the Israeli military, Lebanese Christian Philangists murdered more than 1,000 Palestinians living in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. Hundreds more were rounded up and loaded onto trucks like cattle, driven away and never heard from again. Many were never accounted for, being buried under the rubble of demolished buildings.

For years, echoes from Sabra and Shatila’s silenced voices fell on a deaf and uncaring world. But not anymore. The Arab spring has rejuvenated the movement for Palestine both globally and here at home.

And just as important, the global community is beginning to hold Israel accountable for its continued violations of international law and its abuse of Palestinian human and civil rights. Turkey and Egypt have put Israel on notice that there is a new paradigm in the Middle East. And now it is our turn to encourage Congress to stand for truth and hold Israel accountable.

The American Muslims for Palestine is challenging you to bring the spirit of the Arab Spring to the people of Palestine by educating yourself and your colleagues about this just cause, by talking to your family and friends about the issue, by calling on your representatives to withhold our $3 billion of annual military aid to Israel, and by writing to your local newspaper about their unbalanced coverage of the struggle.

We must take this time to honor the victims of Sabra and Shatila by becoming active in the cause of Palestine, by joining and donating to AMP, the only national organization dedicating 100 percent of its time and efforts to Palestine, forwarding the Palestinian narrative from the Islamic perspective.

And finally, plan to attend AMP’s national conference, “The Conference for Palestine in the U.S.: A New Era of Activism,” from Nov. 24 to 27th, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Rosemont. Keynote speakers include AMP Chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian, Professor Norman Finkelstein and Fadwa Barghouti, wife of jailed former presidential candidate Marwan Barghouti, law professor Francis Boyle and many others.

Take action. Get involved. It’s time to answer the call of Sabra and Shatila.