CALL FOR CEASEFIRE

United Northwest Side calls for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and throughout the occupied territories. We firmly reject the notions of collective punishment that drive Israel’s ongoing military assault of Gaza and the devastating consequences they have had for the local population. These include Israel’s displacement of the vast majority of the over two million people living in Gaza, the intentional denial of basic necessities like water and fuel, as well as the extremely disproportionate civilian death toll among the local population: as of this writing (November 16, 2023), over 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, over 4,500 of them children. We note with alarm that all sources expect this number to continue to climb, particularly with the recent targeting of hospitals and health care facilities throughout Gaza. This continues to be done with the sanction and funding of the United States government, despite the real efforts of a few members of Congress–including our endorsed candidate Congresswoman Delia Ramirez–to defend the humanity of all people.

Our group’s statement of values begins: “We believe in the fundamental equality of all people and the necessity of working collectively toward systemic change and social justice.” These values are incompatible with a disproportionate collective punishment of a civilian population such as the one currently being undertaken by Israel against our Palestinian siblings in Gaza. This aggression is also fueling an increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab bigotry, and anti-Semitism, both here and abroad.

We call for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and demand that our elected representatives join Congresswoman Ramirez in exerting all power possible to end the bloodshed.

United Northwest Side - November 16, 2023.