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!