In order to stand in solidarity with Palestine and push our municipal council to cut ties with Israel, we need you!
We are a collective of people from Amsterdam who want to do something: some of us are students, some early career workers and others have kids and longstanding careers. We are all doing this on a voluntary basis, next to our studies, our jobs, our everyday lives. This means we are not asking you to become a full time activist. None of us have infinite amounts of time and we are not asking that of you. We spend as much time as we can on this project: sometimes two hours, or four, or sporadically even six to eight hours. But it can also happen that we barely have time for our weekly meetings. That happens and that is just the way it is. We are only asking for your energy and time – just as much as you can give – to try and set up this movement in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Our collective grew out of De Vonk, a social coalition and a municipal council party which fights inequality and exploitation and strives for a more equal Amsterdam and shows solidarity with the oppressed both in Amsterdam and the rest of the world. We are therefore closely connected to De Vonk and like them, we think that solidarity is not just about empathy with oppressed people, but also acting against the oppressors, against the imperialistic wars and all who partake in colonial enterprises like these. Although some of our volunteers are members of De Vonk, we are an independent collective that welcomes all, whether you are a member of De Vonk or not. In order to organise this referendum, we need all the help we can get!
Organising a referendum is quite the job and doesn’t happen overnight. The process involves writing demands, jumping multiple bureaucratic steps and hurdles that need to be overcome, planning out a campaign, trying to put the referendum on the agenda and gaining publicity, and in general creating momentum to create a movement. Change doesn’t just happen. If we want something to change, we have to be the change ourselves. And we will have to do this together. This is also why we are reaching out to other pro-Palestine organisations to ask for input on the demands, but also their help in the campaign. So let us, as citizens and humans, turn the tide and join forces as citizens, and support the international push against the genocide against the Palestinian people. Support us with your signature and join us!