Upcoming events
VCPL Meeting
Come to the VCPL Meeting!
Eyewitness Report from the West Bank
Saturday, January 17, 1-3pm
Join VCPL’s meeting to hear from Carmela Ormando and Bethany Logan, who just returned from the West Bank. They’ll give an eyewitness report about the reality of Israeli genocide, settler colonialism, and ethnic cleansing today. We’ll then discuss next steps after our historic press conference for our campaign to get the Genocide 5 to resign and to push the Statehouse to pass pro-Palestine bills. We’ll also talk about our campaign for Apartheid Free Communities resolutions on Town Meeting Day as well as our BDS initiative, No Appetite for Apartheid. After our general body discussion, we’ll break up into our working groups—Action; Apartheid-Free Communities; Media; Collective Care; Labor for Palestine. Join us, stop the genocide, end Israeli apartheid, and free Palestine!
“Israeli Apartheid and Beyond”
Israeli Apartheid and Beyond
Presented by Hamed Bakir
Hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Group of the
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington
Friday, January 16, 7 pm
Top of Church St, Burlington
In person only, no Zoom
Watch No Other Land in Bristol
Watch No Other Land in Bristol
Jan 7, 2026, 6:30 to 9 PM
Holley Hall, 1 South St, Bristol, VT
Come watch the Oscar-winning documentary film, No Other Land, at Holley Hall on Wednesday, January 7. Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four directors over the course of five years, No Other Land provides a harrowing account of the systematic onslaught of destruction experienced by Masafer Yatta, a group of Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank, at the hands of the Israeli military.
Admission is FREE. Donations will be collected to offset the cost of licensing the film and benefit Masafer Yatta directly. The film will be followed by an information session about the campaign to have Bristol adopt the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge: https://afsc.org/apartheid-free-communities. Please contact BristolAFC@proton.me with any questions.
VCPL’s Press Conference: Demand the Resignation of the Genocide 5!
Watch & Share VCPL’s Press Conference:
Demand the Resignation of the Genocide 5!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUu_JAiBE8
The Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation (VCPL) hosted this press conference on Tuesday January 6, 2026, in Vermont’s Statehouse in Montpelier. We brought together speakers from Vermont’s labor and social justice movements to demand two things of our legislators. First, we demanded that they call for the immediate resignation of the 5 representatives—Will Greer, Matthew Birong, James Gregorie, Sarah Austin, and Gina Galfetti—that went on an all-expenses paid trip to Israel as it committed genocide in Gaza.
Second, we demanded that they oppose the Shalom Alliance’s bill 310 that would impose a pro-Israeli curriculum on our education system, requiring teachers to indoctrinate students in Israeli apartheid. Instead of this racist bill, we called on them to support VCPL’s three bills: one that will defend the right of educators to teach their students about Palestine; another that will defend the rights of activists, including Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists, to freedom of speech, organization, and protest; and the last that will pledge Vermont to become an Apartheid-Free State.
Please watch and share the video of the press conference! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUu_JAiBE8
Palestine Mapped: From the River to the Sea in Early Geographic Thought with Thomas Suárez
Palestine Mapped: From the River to the Sea in Early Geographic Thought with Thomas Suárez
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont-New Hampshire
Savoy Theater, 26 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont
Screenings 1- 3 pm with an audience discussion.
Tickets and information: www.savoytheater.com.
Oct. 5: “The Palestine Exception” documents U.S. college students, faculty, and staff protesting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the extreme measures taken by
authorities to curtail their freedom of speech and assembly. Columbia University
student activist Mohsen Mahdawi will speak with the audience after the film.
Oct. 19: “A State of Passion” focuses on the efforts of a Palestinian surgeon and other health care professionals to save lives amidst the Gaza genocide. The film’s directors will join the audience afterwards for a discussion.
November 2: “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire” exposes Israel’s targeted and unlawful
attacks on Palestinian and other journalists to eliminate accurate news coverage.
November 16: “Advocate” narrates the life and work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli
attorney who has devoted much of her career to the legal defense of Palestinians under military occupation.
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont-New Hampshire
Savoy Theater, 26 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont
Screenings 1- 3 pm with an audience discussion.
Tickets and information: www.savoytheater.com.
Oct. 5: “The Palestine Exception” documents U.S. college students, faculty, and staff protesting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the extreme measures taken by
authorities to curtail their freedom of speech and assembly. Columbia University
student activist Mohsen Mahdawi will speak with the audience after the film.
Oct. 19: “A State of Passion” focuses on the efforts of a Palestinian surgeon and other health care professionals to save lives amidst the Gaza genocide. The film’s directors will join the audience afterwards for a discussion.
November 2: “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire” exposes Israel’s targeted and unlawful
attacks on Palestinian and other journalists to eliminate accurate news coverage.
November 16: “Advocate” narrates the life and work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli
attorney who has devoted much of her career to the legal defense of Palestinians under military occupation.
Sign the Petition: "No Appetite for Apartheid"
Make City Market, Onion River Co-op Apartheid Free!
City Market Co-op values are: kindness, diversity, responsibility, fun, learning, and positive impact. Positive impact is described on the co-op website as "Embody our purpose from the smallest to the most worldly; be optimistic". In keeping in line with these core values, and our morals as human beings, we call on the City Market Executive and Senior Management, as well as the Elected Board, to have City Market (downtown and south end) discontinue stocking products made in Israel or otherwise financially connected to the Israeli settler occupation and genocide of Palestine, potentially in a phased approach if needed. This includes products from Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Nestle, and many others.
In signing this petition, I also demonstrate to the co-op that regardless of if these products are phased out or not, I will no longer be buying products either made in Israel, or products by corporations that are complicit in and financially benefit from any form of colonization, genocide, or apartheid.
SIGN THE PETITION :
The People’s Summit: Organizing Resistance Against Trump & the Billionaires
The People’s Summit:
Organizing Resistance Against Trump & the Billionaires
October 25th, 9am to 7pm
Winooski School District
60 Norman St, Winooski
Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqTBr9R_zMFqyjOWU7C-mON7b6tdGMw2hWQpqMdahHxj-DdQ/viewform
Now is the time for workers to unite to confront Trump and the billionaires’ attack on our wages, benefits, programs, and democratic rights. The People’s Summit will bring together our diverse resistance for a day-long conference of education and training. It will include panels and workshops on everything from getting your union strike ready to organizing the unorganized, defending migrant rights, and taxing the rich to pay for programs, housing, and jobs.
Whether you are a union member, an experienced organizer, or someone who is just wondering how they can get more involved in the fight, save the date for the People’s Summit to share your perspectives and learn from others. You can find more information about the Summit, look over the panels and workshops, and register for the conference here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqTBr9R_zMFqyjOWU7C-mON7b6tdGMw2hWQpqMdahHxj-DdQ/viewform. More information to come soon. Hope to see you there!
Build the Apartheid-Free Community Movement!
Build the Apartheid-Free Community Movement!
Monday, October 20th at 7:30 p.m.
Sign up for online meeting here: https://forms.gle/5hmWNXVp6QHethns6
We made history earlier this year with 5 towns in Vermont voting to break ties with Israeli apartheid and genocide. Thetford was the first in the nation to vote to adopt the Apartheid-Free Community (AFC) pledge. We will bring the AFC pledge to dozens more towns next Town Meeting Day. We need you, organizers and leaders, to help build local AFC campaigns. This information and training session will lay out how to run successful AFC campaigns and connect organizers with one another in different parts of the state.
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont-New Hampshire
Savoy Theater, 26 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont
Screenings 1- 3 pm with an audience discussion.
Tickets and information: www.savoytheater.com.
Oct. 5: “The Palestine Exception” documents U.S. college students, faculty, and staff protesting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the extreme measures taken by
authorities to curtail their freedom of speech and assembly. Columbia University
student activist Mohsen Mahdawi will speak with the audience after the film.
Oct. 19: “A State of Passion” focuses on the efforts of a Palestinian surgeon and other health care professionals to save lives amidst the Gaza genocide. The film’s directors will join the audience afterwards for a discussion.
November 2: “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire” exposes Israel’s targeted and unlawful
attacks on Palestinian and other journalists to eliminate accurate news coverage.
November 16: “Advocate” narrates the life and work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli
attorney who has devoted much of her career to the legal defense of Palestinians under military occupation.
All Out for Palestine at No Kings!
All Out for Palestine at No Kings!
Saturday, October 18th
Burlington Callahan Park 10am
Montpelier 11:30am Statehouse Lawn
Locations and times: https://50501vermont.com/event/no-kings-2-statewide/
VCPL calls on all Palestine solidarity activists to build and join the No Kings marches and rallies throughout Vermont on October 18th. Our goal is to build the struggle against Trump and his attacks on all of us and specifically on Palestine, which he wants to subject to a new version of colonial rule with himself in charge. We are a key part of the anti-Trump resistance!
We call on all Palestine solidarity activists to distribute fliers for our petition against the Genocide 5 and for the People’s Summit on October 25.
Flier Against the Genocide 5: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f3lumuV2uXYb8lUzd5UsWQ-D7L35dCCP/view
Flier for People’s Summit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/160cVL1bb7anIdv1dSPObwgfUkGLp5Rwv/view
Everyone should also petition to get Apartheid Free Communities on the ballot in their towns. Bring Palestinian flags and Free Palestine banners.
We are organizing major interventions for the largest actions, which will be in Burlington and Montpelier. Everyone near Burlington join us at 10am in Callahan Park. Everyone in Central Vermont, join us in Montpelier 11:30am at the Statehouse Lawn. We’ll have flags, fliers, and petitions for each. All out for No Kings 2.0! Down with Trump! Free Palestine!
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
A Palestine-Israel Film Series
Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont-New Hampshire
Savoy Theater, 26 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont
Screenings 1- 3 pm with an audience discussion.
Tickets and information: www.savoytheater.com.
Oct. 5: “The Palestine Exception” documents U.S. college students, faculty, and staff protesting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the extreme measures taken by
authorities to curtail their freedom of speech and assembly. Columbia University
student activist Mohsen Mahdawi will speak with the audience after the film.
Oct. 19: “A State of Passion” focuses on the efforts of a Palestinian surgeon and other health care professionals to save lives amidst the Gaza genocide. The film’s directors will join the audience afterwards for a discussion.
November 2: “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire” exposes Israel’s targeted and unlawful
attacks on Palestinian and other journalists to eliminate accurate news coverage.
November 16: “Advocate” narrates the life and work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli
attorney who has devoted much of her career to the legal defense of Palestinians under military occupation.
Stop the Genocide! Make Vermont Apartheid Free!
Stop the Genocide! Make Vermont Apartheid Free!
Rally And Petitioning
Saturday, October 4, 11:30am
Smalley Park, Burlington
Join us for a rally to protest Israel’s interception of the Sumud Flotilla, its blockage of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and its ongoing genocidal war. After a short rally, we’ll march to Burlington’s Farmers Market to petition for our open letter to Burlington’s City Council demanding that it let us vote on the Apartheid Free Communities resolution. We’ll also gather signatures for our petition demanding the resignation of the five legislators that tarnished Vermont’s reputation by traveling to Israel amidst its genocidal war and planting our state flag on a destroyed Palestinian village. Stop the genocide! Make Vermont apartheid free! Free Palestine!
Sign Petition! Demand Resignation of 5 VT Legislators
Sign Petition! Demand Resignation of 5 VT Legislators
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYtREkGAAMOIC7g2EfYa8URQd7--xtptbmZMHR_dmOI0f_Tw/viewform
Please sign the petition demanding the resignation of the five Vermont Legislators who went on an all-expenses paid trip to Israel amidst its genocidal war. Share it with your friends, co-workers, and community members.
It states, “We the undersigned call for the resignation of Will Greer (D – Bennington-2), Matthew Birong (D – Addison-3), James Gregoire (R – Franklin-6), Sarah “Sarita” Austin (D – Chittenden-19), and Gina Galfetti (R – Washington-Orange). These five state legislators joined the “50 States, One Israel” trip to an apartheid state that is carrying out genocide in Gaza. They planted a Vermont flag on a destroyed Palestinian village, tying our state to occupation, dispossession, and ethnic cleansing.”
To read and sign the full petition, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYtREkGAAMOIC7g2EfYa8URQd7--xtptbmZMHR_dmOI0f_Tw/viewform.
Maya Wind Speaks
Maya Wind Speaks: “Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom”
Tuesday, September 30, 7pm
UVM Recital Hall—Redstone Campus
Israel's occupation of Palestine would not be possible without collaboration from supposedly neutral entities. Israeli universities have long enjoyed a reputation as liberal bastions of freedom and democracy. Drawing on extensive research and making Hebrew sources accessible to the international community, Maya Wind shatters this myth and documents how Israeli universities are directly complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights.
Apartheid Free Communities Fair
Join us for the Apartheid Free Communities Fair!
September 21st 2-4pm
City Hall Park
Burlington, VT
VCPL will host a family-friendly Apartheid-Free Communities Fair, featuring dozens of Vermont businesses, nonprofits, and groups that have endorsed the AFC pledge to oppose Israeli apartheid.
If you have questions or are interested in getting involved, please email us at afcfair@proton.me
Burlington Apartheid-Free Community Committee Meeting
Burlington Apartheid-Free Community Committee Meeting
Saturday, September 13 at 4pm
Burlington Friend’s Meeting House
173 N Prospect St B, Burlington, VT 05401
Get to know each other, eat snacks, and hear about ways you might want to get involved as we move into a very active time period of this campaign! Come help organize to break the Burlington Democratic Party’s suppression of democracy in Burlington. Burlington needs to join with the 9 VT towns who have voted on the Apartheid-Free Community Pledge—and with the many additional towns who will be able to vote on breaking ties with Israeli Apartheid and U.S. supported genocide on Town Meeting Day. Let’s make Vermont Apartheid-Free!
VCPL General Assembly Meeting
Saturday, September 13, 1-3pm
On Zoom
We have already kicked off September with breakthroughs at Labor Day, Art Hop, and Pride. Join us to discuss state-wide plans to put Apartheid Free Communities on ballots and launch BDS campaigns in towns and institutions throughout the state. We’ll also talk about plans for our AFC Fair and Maya Wind’s Will Miller Social Justice Lecture, “Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom.”
After our general body discussion, we’ll break up into our working groups—Action; Apartheid Free Communities; Media; Collective Care; Labor for Palestine. Join us, stop the genocide, end Israeli apartheid, and free Palestine!
Life Aid for Palestine
Life Aid for Palestine
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, 1-4 p.m.
Latchis Theater,
Brattleboro, Vermont, and live-streamed.
Tickets $15-25
Come to the benefit concert for Middle East Children's Alliance, the Good Shepherd Collective, and the Palestinian writer and journalist Yusuf el-Mobayed and his family in Gaza. It will feature performers including Patty Carpenter, Scott Ainslie, Samirah Evans, Dan DeWalt, Kwartetto Mambo, John Sheldon, Michel Moushabeck, Joel Veena, Firas Zriek (by video), and Seyir. The full performer list and other details are at LifeAidForPalestine.com. The event will be held at the historic Latchis Theater in downtown Brattleboro, and by livestream to anyone with internet access. Musicians and speakers are all donating their time and talent.
March with VCPL at Pride Vermont 2025!
March with VCPL at Pride Vermont 2025!
Sunday, 9/7, 11:30am
St Paul St., between Main and College
Burlington, VT
Join VCPL at Pride Vermont! We will have a float, flags, banners, and Apartheid Free Communities signs. We will be petitioning for AFC in many towns throughout Vermont as well as getting everyone to sign the open letter to Burlington’s City Council, demanding they respect democracy and let Vermont’s largest city have the right to vote for AFC. March for collective liberation and a free Palestine! Join us!
Join VCPL at Burlington’s Art Hop
Join VCPL at Burlington’s Art Hop
Friday 9/5 through Saturday 9/6
Pine Street, Burlington
Volunteer: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tUswsoaPia4SEvq5EDKnY4B4DWPa9XhZIsiZn-ilML8/edit?ts=68b81e76
Join us at Art Hop! We're looking for creatively enthusiastic volunteers to help with various tasks and roles during Art Hop. In the past, we have been able to find locations to display Palestinian art and project videos, but this year landlords have denied us access to spaces.
But we are going ahead anyway. We are planning on using the green spaces on Pine Street. We will need volunteers who to help set up and take down art, table for Apartheid Free Communities, project short videos in the evening, hold banners, and perhaps marching with the art in the street.
Volunteer to take on responsibilities here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tUswsoaPia4SEvq5EDKnY4B4DWPa9XhZIsiZn-ilML8/edit?ts=68b81e76. Expect a one-on-one follow-up with an organizer to give you more info and exact locations about volunteering!
Sign the Open Letter to the Burlington City Council
Let Voters Decide on Apartheid-Free Community
OPEN LETTER TO BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL
Please sign our open letter demanding that the Burlington City Council place the Apartheid-Free Community (AFC) advisory question on the ballot. You can read the letter and AFC pledge, and sign here: https://bit.ly/AFC_BurlOpenLetter
Yet another report, this time from the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, documents the starvation and genocide in Gaza–exactly what Palestinians have been telling us for nearly 2 years. And it explains how the same thing can happen next in the occupied West Bank.
Yet, the pro-Israel Democratic Party majority on the Burlington City Council continues to defend the genocidal apartheid state funded by the U.S. government that is aiming to eradicate Palestinians.
They have rejected a cease-fire resolution. The Democratic Council majority, after being presented with the required number of petition signatures, have now twice blocked the AFC pledge from the ballot, denying our democratic right to express our views on the apartheid state that is supported by our taxes and elected representatives. In contrast, earlier this year, elected officials in 9 Vermont towns respected the voters’ right to petition and put the AFC advisory question on the ballot, including Winooski, Montpelier, and Brattleboro.
The crimes in Palestine boomerang back and are used to deny our free speech, and to justify massive spending on weapons and mass killing instead of pressing social needs. The rulers and powerful think apartheid and genocide in Palestine can be a general practice for our future, and we must say no!
This is what we can do for Palestine, and what we can do for our communities. An injury to one is an injury to all!
Please sign the open letter here: https://bit.ly/AFC_BurlOpenLetter
Burlington Apartheid-Free Community Committee
https://www.vermontcpl.org/apartheid-free-community
Read AFC info brochure: https://bit.ly/AFC_brochure
Labor Day March and Rally
Labor Day March and Rally
An Injury to One is an Injury to All!
September 1st, 1pm
Battery Park, Burlington VT
Join unions and social movement organizations to rally against Trump and the billionaire class this Labor Day in Burlington. We will assemble at Battery Park, march through the city, and return to Battery Park for a concluding rally and family-friendly picnic.
Now is the time to mobilize against the Trump regime’s relentless assault on workers and the oppressed. They want to divide and conquer us to enrich themselves at our expense. We will not fall for their tricks; we know that an injury to one is an injury to all. So, we will unite to defend our democracy and everyone’s rights as well as our jobs, wages, and benefits.
As we did on May Day, we call on all unions and organizations to mobilize their membership to make this Labor Day a demonstration of our unity and solidarity. By mobilizing, we can organize and increase our collective power to defend what we have and win what we want. Our future depends on it.
Don’t Mourn! Organize!
Register: https://actionnetwork.org/events/labor-day-solidarity-march-rally-picnic
Volunteer: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCm8oo37h_im99ctvE6iEHxVRL0F5Ed3M1ikIA38k573jI9w/viewform.
Endorsed by: AFSCME Local 1674 Howard Center Worker’s Union Chapter; AFSCME 1674 Soteria House Workers’ Union Chapter; AFSCME Local 1674 Rights and Democracy Workers’ Union Chapter; AFSCME Local 1674 Spectrum Basic Needs Union Chapter AFSCME Local 1674; AFSCME Local 1674 St. Michael’s Custodians’ Union Chapter AFSCME Local 1674; Black Cap Union; Cooperation Vermont; Free Her Vermont; Gakru United; Green Mountain DSA Green Mountain Labor Council; MetroRock Union; Migrant Justice; People's Kitchen; Planned Parenthood of Northern New England United; Porter Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals; Rights and Democracy; Scoopers United; Teamsters Local 597 Chittenden County Transportation Authority Chapter; Teamsters Local 597 Essex Junction Chapter; Teamsters Local 597 UPS Chapter; Tempest Collective; Trans+ VT; UVM Graduate Students United; UVM Medical Center Support Staff United; UVM Progressives; UVM Staff United; UVM Student Workers' Union; UVM United Academics; UVM YDSA; Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals; VT AFL-CIO; VT Coalition for Palestinian Liberation; VT Labor for Palestine; VT National Education Association; VT Party for Socialism and Liberation; VT School Workers United; VT State Employees Association; VT Workers Center / Nonviolent Medicaid Army; VT/NH Jewish Voice for Peace; 350 VT; 50501 VT..
*List in formation. To endorse, email: mbottig1@binghamton.edu.
General Assembly Meeting
Come to the VCPL Meeting!
Saturday, August 23, 1-3pm
Friends Meeting House
173 North Prospect St, Burlington, VT
Zoom option forthcoming
We have pushed our regular meeting back one week to Saturday August 23 at 1pm in Burlington’s Friends Meeting House. This Saturday August 16, we encourage everyone who can to get on the bus to the Gaza protest in New York (https://donorbox.org/august-16-burlington-nyc-march-for-gaza) or attend the event in support of Mohsen Mahdawi (below).
On the 23, join VCPL’s meeting to escalate our campaign to put Apartheid Free Communities on ballots and launch BDS campaigns in towns and institutions throughout the state. We’ll also talk about plans for our Apartheid Free Communities Fair as well as Labor Day, Pride, and Burlington’s Art Hop.
After our general body discussion, we’ll break up into our working groups—Action; Apartheid Free Communities; Media; Collective Care; Labor for Palestine. Join us, stop the genocide, end Israeli apartheid, and free Palestine!
Palestine in the Park: An Evening of Gratitude with Mohsen Mahdawi
Palestine in the Park
An Evening of Gratitude with Mohsen Mahdawi
Saturday August 16, 4-6pm
Lyman Park
White River Junction, VT
Please join us in Lyman Park on August 16th for an evening of education, fellowship and gratitude to celebrate Mohsen Mahdawi. He has been an active and beloved member of the Vermont community since moving here in 2014. He is known in Vermont not only for his leadership and activism, but also for his deep commitment to service, empathy, and building a more just and inclusive society. To learn more about Mohsen and the campaign to defend his rights and those of other Palestinian and Palestine solidarity activists, go to his website: https://sites.google.com/mohsen-mahdawi.com/main/home?pli=1.
Come hear Mohsen and other speakers and musicians. Bring what you can for the potluck and for the local food shelf and if you can’t …, no worries! There will be plenty! If you are from an allied cause and would like to table at the event, want to help or If you have any questions, please reach out to info@uvriseup.org.
Build VT’s Apartheid-Free Communities Movement
Dear Palestine Supporter,
Our movement to end Israeli apartheid and occupation is at a critical juncture. Words cannot begin to capture the cruelty that genocidal Israel continues to inflict upon Gazans, which somehow manages to reach horrifying new depths with each passing day. Yet, we also feel the winds of change growing stronger. More than ever before, citizens and governments worldwide are recognizing, condemning, and acting to stop the crimes of apartheid and genocide committed by Israel.
Here is what you can do for Palestine now: Help build the Apartheid-Free Community (AFC) movement! Sign up for information sessions here. Our next training is Monday, August 4th at 7 p.m.
We made history earlier this year with 5 towns in Vermont voting to break ties with Israeli apartheid and genocide. Thetford was the first in the nation to vote to adopt the Apartheid-Free Community (AFC) pledge.
We will bring the AFC pledge to dozens more towns next Town Meeting Day. We will be joining with towns in Massachusetts, and with the international Apartheid-free community network of hundreds of communities and organizations.
Our goal is to build our network of Apartheid-Free Communities across the state and the region. As we make Vermont apartheid-free, we change the narrative on Palestine, demonstrate that Palestine is a local issue, and build the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) to undermine U.S. and international support for Israeli apartheid and genocide.
We need you, organizers and leaders, to help build local AFC campaigns. We do this both for Palestine, and for us, because Palestine is a key local and national question for our free speech, legal rights, public services, and futures. Pro-Israel, authoritarian nationalist forces increasingly use Zionism to draining resources from our communities to fund war and ethnic cleansing.
See below for a list of priority towns where we are aiming to expand existing local committees or launch new ones. We can add new towns to the list as well.
We will be organizing information and training sessions on running AFC campaigns in the coming months. We will connect organizers with one another in different parts of the state.
You can sign up on this form to participate in information sessions, have someone follow up with you, and to register for our next session on Monday, August 4th at 7 p.m.
In Solidarity,
The Apartheid-Free Community Working Group
Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation
AFC Priority Towns
Jericho
Underhill
Hartford
Norwich
Burlington
Montpelier
Hartland
Turners Falls, MA
Marshfield
Ferrisburg
Essex Town
Essex Junction
Hardwick
Calais
Strafford
Putney
East Montpelier
S. Burlington
Richmond
Fairfax
Bradford
Sharon
Springfield
Milton
St. Albans
Craftsbury
S. Burlington
Shelburne
Bristol
Middlebury
Bennington
Rutland
Greensboro
Waterbury
Colchester
Charlotte
Putney
Barre
Manchester
St. Johnsbury
Lebanon, NH
Northampton, MA
Montague, MA
Add your town!
General Assembly Meeting
On Zoom
Join VCPL’s meeting on Saturday August 2! With the US and Israel starving Gaza, our work is more important than ever. We’ll discuss plans to put Apartheid Free Communities on more ballots and launch BDS campaigns in towns and institutions throughout the state. We’ll also talk about plans for our Apartheid Free Communities Fair. After our general body discussion, we’ll break up into our working groups—Action; Apartheid Free Communities; Media; Collective Care; Labor for Palestine. Join us, stop the genocide, end Israeli apartheid, and free Palestine!
VCPL Meeting
Come to the VCPL Meeting!
Saturday, July 19, 1-3pm
Burlington Friends Meeting House
173 North Prospect St, Burlington
Hybrid Option
Join VCPL’s meeting on Saturday June 19! We’ll discuss plans to put Apartheid Free Communities on more ballots and launch BDS campaigns in towns and institutions throughout the state. We’ll also talk about plans for Labor Day in Burlington. After our general body discussion, we’ll break up into our working groups. Join us, stop the genocide, end Israeli apartheid, and free Palestine!