Palestinian American human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf urged Oaklanders to oppose U.S. military support for Israel and take actions in solidarity with Palestinians at an Aug. 16 talk at Plymouth United Church of Christ.
The U.S. is complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Arraf argued.
“We’ve supplied the weapons that have killed tens of thousands of children,” Arraf said. “At least 36,000 Palestinian (children) are orphaned, having lost one or both parents. Without family, without limbs, isolated, without shelter. Trying to find food, find water. Living with disease. Amputated without anesthesia. And all the while feeling like nobody is doing anything to stop this,” said Arraf.
The United Nations estimates Israel has killed or orphaned at least 64,000 children including at least 20,000 who were killed in the two years after October 7, 2023.
The event, “Genocide is Unfolding on Our Dime: Time to End Our Complicity,” was part of a West Coast tour sponsored by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), a Christian organization that advocates for Palestinian rights. The “Jazz and Justice Church” hosted the event.
Arraf connected her message to the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo, a local coalition seeking to stop the shipman of weapons bound for Israel from passing through the Port of Oakland and Oakland Airport. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has expressed support for the embargo campaign.
Activism shaped by witnessing poverty
In an interview with Oakland Voices, Arraf discussed the experiences that shaped her activism and belief that people have a responsibility to act against injustice.
Although both her parents were born in Palestine, Arraf doesn’t remember them talking politics about Palestine/Israel when she was growing up. But her awareness and concerns about injustice began at a young age, she said.
Arraf recalls taking a family road trip to Mexico before she was 10 and being moved by the poverty she witnessed.
“I wanted to be able to buy something from everyone, but we couldn’t and I remember being in tears about the injustice of it,” Arraf said.
Building International Solidarity
In college, Arraf became involved in Palestinian human rights advocacy. In the early 2000s, she helped establish the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement that organizes volunteers whose goal is to support Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. International workers accompany Palestinians in the many situations when they encounter violent settlers, whether in fields, walking to school, or at demonstrations.
“We thought, maybe we can lessen the violence used against Palestinians if we have internationals here,” Arraf said. “They can help shape the media story. They can go back and give talks about what is really happening.”
Israel now deports international volunteers, including Jewish activists, attempting to protect Palestinians from settler attacks. Israel also cancelled the entry of U.S. citizens into the West Bank who support activism.
Flotillas, ‘Free Gaza Movement’
Arraf later helped organize the Freedom Flotilla, maritime voyages designed to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The first voyage in the summer of 2008 had two fishing boats. Activists from Europe and the U.S. didn’t think they would be able to dock in Gaza, she said.
The voyages, Arraf said, were acts of political solidarity, not humanitarian missions.
Organizers hoped aid could be delivered, but their purpose was to “put pressure on Israel and our governments” and convey that “Palestinians don’t want to live on aid, but want to be free.”
Thousands of Palestinians greeted the flotilla activists “with love and gratitude” when the boats reached Gaza, Arraf recalled. Palestinians felt they were no longer invisible, she said. Subsequent flotillas experienced military attacks by Israel.
Arraf’s experiences reinforce a broader moral principle that compels her: People all have to be active when confronting oppression, otherwise we are normalizing oppression. Under the U.N. Genocide Convention, Arraf said, all U.N. member states, including the U.S., have an obligation to prevent and punish genocide.
Arraf’s message encouraged some attendees to consider how they might get involved.
“She has a lot of courage”
Rev. Jean Jeffress, associate pastor of Plymouth United Church of Christ, said that she hadn’t been as active in supporting Palestine rights before joining the church. The congregation’s members had already made the decision to support Palestinian rights. Jeffress said she is interested in holding a church study group around Arraf’s talk.
Hassan Fouda attended and said that he was impressed by Arraf’s talk, which he said came from the heart, and the Palestinian dream for freedom. He was also impressed by her history of direct action, including when Arraf was younger and said she stood in front of Israeli soldiers who were shooting at Palestinian children.
“She has a lot of courage,” Fouda said.
Arraf ended her talk by asking attendees to turn concern into action: Join Palestinian olive harvests in the West Bank; contact elected officials about stopping U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza; and support the Palestinian-led BDS movement, (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions).
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