More than 1,000 black activists, artists, scholars and organizations released a statement that expresses “black solidarity” with the Palestinian struggle against Israel, Salon reports.
Some of the high-profile signatories include Angela Davis, Cornel West, death row inmate and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, and hip-hop artist Talib Kweli.
The statement draws a connection between the Palestinian struggle for liberation from Israel and young African Americans’ facing off against well-armed police in the streets of Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore.
It urges the U.S. government to end diplomatic and economic aid to Israel. The statement says, “We know Israel’s violence toward Palestinians would be impossible without the United States defending Israel on the world stage and funding its violence with over $3 billion annually.”
These activists are advocating for the Palestinian movement to boycott and divest from Israel. The campaign is modeled after the global effort to isolate apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. Their aim is to pressure Israel into addressing human rights concerns over its treatment of Palestinians.
The black activists say they’re pushing African-American politicians to act on this issue.
Read more at Salon.