Submitted by CRIN on
As the child death toll in Gaza soars past 200, many people want to support Gaza from a distance, but don’t know how. Below is a list of simple actions you can take.
The Israeli assault on Gaza has devastated its people and infrastructure. Gaza, already in a humanitarian crisis due to the eight-year-long Israeli imposed siege, is now in a state of heightened crisis.
If you are financially capable of donating to organizations that provide direct relief, here are some organizations we suggest: UNRWA-USA, United Palestinian Appeal, and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).
If you would like to donate to DCI-Palestine’s monitoring and documentation efforts in the Gaza Strip, there are two ways to do so.
A) DCI-Palestine is able to accept tax-deductible US donations from US donors in partnership with CAF America in the amount of US$500 or more. Please click here.
B) For donations less than US$500, we can accept bank transfers to the account below:
Bank transfers in USD:
Defense for Children International–Palestine Section
9490-658067-0/510 USD
Arab Bank PLC
Ramallah (Al–Balad Branch), Palestine
Swift code: ARABPS 22090
IBAN: PS11 ARAB 0000 0000 9490 6580 6751 0
All donations received by DCI-Palestine support direct program implementation. In urgent situations like the current escalation in Gaza, funds are used to increase our capacity to gather evidence and record individual narratives and testimonies. All of the documentation and evidence collected by our field researchers on the ground is used to pursue justice and accountability for violations of children’s rights.
Protests around the globe in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people have drawn thousands in the last three weeks. From Tel Aviv to New York to Geneva, concerned citizens are drawing attention to the crisis in Gaza by publicly demonstrating. Find out about a protest near you here.
DCI-Palestine posts daily updates on the child victims of the assault on Gaza, which you can read here. The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a UN body, publishes daily reports to their website. For live updates, check Al Jazeera English, the Guardian, and Haaretz. Also, check “13 journalists on the ground in Gaza you should follow on Twitter.”
If you are having trouble understanding the context and law behind the specifics of the situation in Gaza today, Noura Erakat, human rights attorney, provides great answers in her article “5 Israeli Talking Points on Gaza -Debunked.”
Essential Reading:
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How Politics and Lies Triggered an Unintended War in
By J.J. Goldberg | Forward -
How the West Chose War in Gaza
By Nathan Thrall | The New York Times -
It Turns Out Hamas May Not Have Kidnapped and Killed the 3 Israeli Teens After All
By Katie Zavadski | New York Magazine -
Who Bears More Responsibility for the War in Gaza?
By John B. Judis | New Republic -
Collective Punishment in Gaza
Rashid Khalidi | The New Yorker
Sharing information and analysis on Gaza helps others in your networks understand the situation, and compels them to act. Posting recent articles and analysis to your Facebook is one way to do this. Using trending hashtags on Twitter with simple messages is another option. Below are a few sample tweets:
5. Call Government Representatives
If you live in a country with elected representatives, calling or writing to them is an important way to support Gaza from home. You can contact you Members of Congress here.
Here’s a sample script for a U.S. citizen:
“I am a constituent in the [representative’s district] and I am calling to urge for an arms embargo on Israel. I am appalled by our government’s ongoing support of the assault on civilians in the Gaza Strip. As Amnesty International pointed out earlier this month, the United States is violating its own policy (specifically the Arms Export Control Act) by supplying weaponry to the state of Israel when there is evidence that weaponry has been used, and will continue to be used, in human rights violations. There is an urgent need for an UN-imposed arms embargo on Israel, and the U.S. must contribute to this effort by ending the transfer of munitions, weapons, and training to Israel.”