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Four years ago, Black Americans led a global movement insisting that government and social institutions be restructured so Black Lives Matter. Today, Palestinian and Jewish Americans are leading a movement insisting that government and social institutions be restructured so Palestinian lives matter. These movements are related.

Political and institutional push back on these movements are related too.

Like in 2020, minimal incidents of violent deeds and words are used by government defenders — right-wing and liberal — to discredit the movement.

Like Black Lives Matter is not anti-white people, this movement is not anti-Jewish. The movement is pro-liberation for everyone in Israel and Palestine. Movement leaders denounce antisemitism.

Like during the Vietnam War, the goal of the movement is for American institutions to stop supporting genocide and military occupation, and to support the liberation of people — Vietnamese, Black people, the occupied and resilient Palestinian people.

The vision to change the USA from a colonizing empire to a society of freedom and well-being for every person will take movement after movement to realize.

Note: We can divest too!

— Peter Klotz-Chamberlin, Santa Cruz

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