Testimonials from Apartheid-Free Communities
Dallas Peace & Justice Center
“DPJC is proud to be a member of the apartheid-free community because it is a scourge that needs to be eliminated from the human civilization. No society has the right to impose apartheid on a segment of population under its control.”
Free Palestine Tricities BC, Canada
“We proudly joined the Apartheid Free Communities family on Dec 6th, 2024. We are a mosaic of pro-humanity activists, many of us come from oppressed communities. We will always stand with Justice . Whether it is for people of Palestine, the indigenous people of Turtle Island, or any other indigenous community around the world who is still fighting for their freedom and liberation.
We stand on the shoulders of the giants who set the road before us, whether it is the people of Ireland, or the people of South Africa. They set a precedent and an unwavering hope for us today that apartheid and occupation can be dismantled. The brutal apartheid regime that people of Palestine have been subjugated to for the past 77 years has already started to crumble.”
Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
“Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) has been a proud member of the Apartheid-Free movement since its inception. The sin of apartheid is an affront to the fundamental reality that each of us is crafted in the image of God with intention and loving care, bearers of the irrevocable and eternal Divine stamp. Consequently, regardless of age or gender, poverty or privilege, and ethnic or national background, each of us is entitled to respect, dignity, and freedom—a universal vision of universal rights belonging to all. The dehumanizing violence inherent to apartheid is a sin against God and as much as it is our human siblings, a rejection and denial of the author of life and the oneness of God. As Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:45).”
Independent Jewish Voices, Vancouver, BC
“Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver Chapter is proud to have joined the Apartheid Free Community initiative. Since our founding in 2008, we have been committed to the struggle for a just peace in Palestine. So it was natural that we sign on tot his initiative which is inspired by the successful campaign to dismantle the apartheid regime in South Africa. Apartheid Free Communities aims at achieving the same goal in Palestine. It is our view that our collective goal should be the achievement of equal human rights and dignity for all people. We join with the people of Palestine to attain that goal. To that end, the people of the world must come together as they did when they joined forces to dismantle apartheid in South Africa.”
Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
“We at ICMEP are a proud Apartheid Free Community because of its commitment to human dignity for all those on the margins, but even more, its work for dismantling Israeli (and US) settler colonialism and liberation for the Palestinian people.”
Labour For Palestine, Vancouver
“The Vancouver chapter of Labour for Palestine is proud to be a part of the Apartheid-Free Community initiative! We operate on the territories of Indigenous people unjustly occupied by Canada and we work towards the dismantling of all systems of colonization, from Turtle Island to Palestine, because we know our struggles for liberation are connected. So we fight for equal human rights and dignity for all workers, including those under occupation and facing genocide in Palestine.
Just as the world came together to end Apartheid in South Africa, we are organizing in solidarity with Palestinians and workers all over the world to end Israeli Apartheid.
Joining the 500 others communities who are actively fighting against Apartheid and working collectively is part of how we will achieve justice, dignity and liberation for all.”
NorCal Sabeel, San Francisco Bay Area
“NorCal Sabeel proudly signed the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge. We reject all human rights abuses, especially those made in our name. There is no question that Israel is an apartheid state and that it is committing genocide in Palestine, particularly in Gaza. We value being part of a bigger coalition working for a just peace in Palestine/Israel.”
Oakhurst Baptist Church, GA
“We are proud to be an Apartheid-Free Community because it’s the Christian thing to do.”
Ravensworth Baptist Church, VA
“Ravensworth Baptist Church has been advocating for Peace through Justice in the Holy Land for over 20 years and have known the Palestinians have lived in an apartheid community for a long time. We are pleased to be a part of a community that calls the existence of Palestinians what it is. They live under apartheid rule! We continue to share that reality with our larger community and our federal legislature.”
Showing Up for Racial Justice, San Francisco Bay Area
“We are SURJ Bay Area, mobilizing white people to take bold and meaningful action for racial justice. We took the Apartheid-Free pledge because we stand unequivocally against racism in all its forms—including Israeli apartheid, military occupation, and settler colonialism. By taking the Apartheid-Free Pledge, we reaffirm our commitment to Palestinian freedom, recognizing that the struggle against oppression anywhere is a struggle for collective liberation everywhere.”
St. Columba Catholic Church, CA
“We took the pledge because it is with an African-American lens that we strive to educate ourselves in Catholic Social Teaching fostering solidarity with all those who suffer oppression.
Our people recognize the apartheid in Palestine and see the similarities to Jim Crow in our country. We seek to educate ourselves with the apartheid in Palestine and will advocate through the Apartheid Free Community to stop support of the missiles causing the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.”
The Muslim Community Helpline
“The Muslim Community Helpline is a small voluntary organization which supports the A-F Communities initiative. We hope we are representative of a majority of the members of our diverse communities who feel very strongly about the need for peace, justice and accountability.”
The United Jewish People’s Order of Canada, ON
“The United Jewish People’s Order is proud to be an Apartheid-Free Community. Throughout our organization’s 100 year history, our Jewish values have always told us that we must stand against fascism. and join in the global struggle for freedom and liberation for all people, including Palestinians.
We believe that the path to Palestinian liberation includes ending all support of Israeli apartheid, occupation and settler colonialism, and that no one is free until we are all free.”
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East
“We took the pledge because it invites commitment to collective study and action within a growing movement of communities in solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle for liberation. As Unitarian Universalists, we center love in human relations and believe in accountable transformation of injustice by building a united symphony of many voices for witness, education, organizing, and advocacy. Taking this pledge and organizing other groups to do so is one of the most meaningful commitments that a congregation or other group can make. UUJME worked in a coalition at the Unitarian Universalist Association 2024 General Assembly to overwhelmingly pass a resolution in solidarity with Palestinians which called for UU congregations to join Apartheid Free Communities. We are proud to support the adoption of the pledge in three UU congregations so far.”
15th St. Friends Meeting, NY
“We at the 15th Street Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) support the Apartheid-Free Pledge, which is in keeping with at least two of our core testimonies to the world: our advocacy for peace and non-violence, and our advocacy for the equal value of all persons, no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. We are proud to be signatories to the Apartheid-Free Pledge and to be part of the Apartheid-Free Coalition convened by AFSC.”