GASS’s Plain Language Solidarity Statement with Palestine
Table of Contents
Words to Know
Who Wrote This Statement?
What Is This Statement About?
What Do I Need to Know Before Reading This Statement?
Who is Oppressing Palestine & Why?
What Does GASS Think About The Genocide of Palestinians?
Why Does GASS Support Palestinian Liberation?
Where Can I Learn More?
How Can I Help?
Conclusion
Words to Know
Audio version:
Apartheid - When people in power make laws that treat some people badly because of their race.
Demographics - Parts of a person that show who they are. Some kinds of demographics are age, religion, gender, and race.
Discrimination - When someone gets treated unfairly because of who they are.
Genocide - When one group of people tries to kill everyone in another group of people.
Indigenous - People with ancestors who lived in a place before other people took control of the place. For example, Native Americans are Indigenous.
Labor union - A group of workers who come together to protect their rights at work.
Liberation - When people who are oppressed become free.
Mass-disabling events- Events that cause many people to become disabled. For example, war is a mass-disabling event because many people get hurt.
Palestine - A piece of land in southwest Asia. Palestine is west of the Mediterranean Sea, and east of Jordan and Syria.
Palestinians - People who come from Palestine.
Occupation - When one group of people, called occupiers, takes over the land of another group of people.
Oppression - When a group of people’s freedom and human rights get taken away.
Secular - When the rules of a government are not based on a religion.
Segregation - When different groups are kept separate from each other. They are kept separate in housing, schools, stores, hospitals, and more.
Settler colonialism - When occupation spreads to different villages, towns, or cities. Settler colonialism happens when a powerful country sends occupiers to violently take over more and more places. Occupiers say that the places they take over belong to them. Occupiers become powerful in the places they take over. Then, they usually stop working with the powerful country that helped them take over. But the occupiers keep violently taking over more places.
Solidarity - Agreeing with or supporting something.
United Nations (The U.N.) – A group of different countries in the world working together. The United Nations tries to keep peace in the world.
Who Wrote This Statement?
Audio version:
This statement is written by the Guild of Autistic Self Advocate Staff (GASS). GASS is a labor union. A labor union is a group of workers who come together to protect their rights at work. Workers at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) made GASS. To learn more about The Guild of Autistic Self Advocate Staff (GASS), click here. Everyone who is a part of GASS works at ASAN. But this statement does not show what ASAN thinks. This statement only shows what GASS thinks. Some people who work at ASAN are not a part of GASS.
What Is This Statement About?
Audio version:
This statement is a solidarity statement. Solidarity means agreeing with or supporting something. GASS wrote this statement to show our solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Palestinian people have gone through oppression for a very long time. Oppression is when a group of people’sfreedom and human rights are taken away. Many different groups of people go through oppression. For example, disabled people, queer people, and people of color go through oppression. Going through oppression is also called “being oppressed”.
All oppressed people deserveliberation. Liberation is when people who are oppressed become free. GASS believes that oppressed people all over the world deserve freedom and human rights. GASS knows that the oppression of Palestinians is wrong. GASS stands in solidarity with Palestinian people and Palestine’s liberation.
What Do I Need To Know Before Reading This Statement?
Audio version:
What is Palestine? Who are Palestinians?
Palestine is a piece of land in southwest Asia. Palestine is west of the Mediterranean Sea, and east of Jordan and Syria. Palestine is also north of Egypt, and south of Lebanon. A long time ago, Christians, Muslims, and Jews all lived together in Palestine. They were all called Palestinians. But a lot has changed since then, and that changes the words we use.
Right now, Palestinians means Muslims or Christians who come from Palestine. Coming from Palestine can mean being born in Palestine. Palestinians can also be born someplace else in the world. But these Palestinians have parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who were born in Palestine.
Most Palestinians are indigenous to Palestine. Indigenous means people with ancestors who lived in a place before other people took control of the place. For example, Native Americans are Indigenous. Native Americans have ancestors who lived in the “United States”. They lived there before the “United States” was taken over by people who came here from Europe. Many Native Americans call the “United States” Turtle Island. Turtle Island is what the land was called by some Native Americans before people from Europe took control of the land.
There are also some Jewish people who live in Palestine. Most of the Jewish people living in Palestine do not call themselves Palestinians. There are some Jewish people who are indigenous to Palestine. But a lot of the Jewish people who are in Palestine now came from Europe or America. Most indigenous Palestinians are Muslim or Christian.
What is “Israel”? Why does GASS put the word “Israel” in quotes?
The United Nations (The U.N.) is a group of different countries in the world working together. The United Nations tries to keep peace in the world. But the U.N doesn’t do a good job keeping the peace. That’s because rich countries with weapons have a lot of power in the U.N. The U.N. usually lets the most powerful countries make most of the choices in the U.N. That lets more powerful countries hurt less powerful countries.
“Israel” is a country made by the United Nations in 1948. Before 1948, Palestinian people were already living on this land. In 1948, the U.N. said that a lot of Palestine would get put into a new country called “Israel”. “Israel” took over most of Palestine by killing and hurting Palestinians. It is wrong to make a country by killing and hurting people. That is why GASS believes "Israel" should not exist.
The land that people call “Israel” should be Palestine. Palestine should be a secular state. Secular means that the rules of the government are not based on a religion. Palestinian people have asked people who support them to put quotes around the word “Israel” to show that it should not exist. That is also why GASS puts the word "Israel" in quotes in this statement.
"Israel” has a lot in common with the “United States”. Europeans came to the “United States” and stole it from Native Americans. Before that, the land was called Turtle Island by some Native Americans. Some Native Americans still call the land Turtle Island. Or they put “United States” in quotes.
The “United States” was made by killing Native Americans. Putting "United States" in quotes is one way Native Americans show that the “United States” should not exist. Native Americans should get to decide what happens in the land people call the “United States”. GASS puts “United States” in quotes because we agree with Native Americans about this idea.
Who is Oppressing Palestine & Why?
Audio version:
“Israel” has been destroying Palestine’s land and people through occupation, settler colonialism, apartheid, and genocide.
Occupation is when one group of people, called occupiers, takes over the land of another group of people. Occupiers live in the land that other groups of people already live on. The people who were already there do not want the occupiers there. Occupiers use violence to keep living on land that is not theirs. The people of Israel are occupiers of Palestine.
Settler colonialism is when occupation spreads to different villages, towns, or cities. Settler colonialism happens when a powerful country sends occupiers to violently take over more and more places. Occupiers say that the places they take over belong to them. Occupiers become powerful in the places they take over. Then, they usually stop working with the powerful country that helped them take over. But the occupiers keep violently taking over more places.
Apartheid happens when people in power make laws that treat some people badly because of their race.
During apartheid, the people in power have different demographics than the people they are treating badly. Demographics are parts of a person that show who they are. Some kinds of demographics are age, religion, gender, and race.
For example: Apartheid happened in South Africa from the 1940s to the 1990s. The people in power in South Africa are white people. The people being treated badly in South Africa are Black people. White people in South Africa used apartheid to oppress Black people.
Apartheid happens when the people in power use violence to segregate and discriminate against other people. Discrimination is when someone gets treated unfairly because of who they are. Segregation is when different groups are kept separate from each other. They are kept separate in housing, schools, stores, hospitals, and more.
Apartheid still happens today in different parts of the world. Right now, “Israel” is carrying out an apartheid against Palestinians. “Israel” forces Palestinians to be segregated from Israelis. Palestinians have to use separate transportation. They have to use separate electricity and water.
Genocide is when one group of people tries to kill everyone in another group of people. Genocide is done on purpose. Genocide can happen for many reasons. It can happen because of a group’s race, or where they are from. Genocide can happen because of religion.
What “Israel” is doing to Palestine is genocide. Between 1948 and 2022, “Israel” killed thousands of Palestinians. Right now, there is still a lot of violence happening in Palestine. That makes it hard to know how many Palestinians “Israel” has killed since October 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry says that about 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by “Israel” since October 2023. But thousands more people have died from not having enough food and getting sick. Many people’s bodies got trapped under buildings “Israel” destroyed. Those people’s deaths have not been added to the count of dead Palestinians. To learn more about the death count in Palestine, see our Resources page.
There is a reason “Israel” thinks genocide against Palestinians is okay. This reason is called zionism. Zionism is the idea that “Israel” should exist as a home only for Jewish people. Zionism says that Jewish people in “Israel” should be treated better than non-Jewish people in “Israel”. Zionism says that there should be one set of laws for Jewish people in “Israel” and a different set of laws for non-Jewish people in “Israel”.
Zionism is a kind of settler colonialism. Zionism says it is okay to hurt Palestinians so that “Israel” can control Palestine. To learn more about the history of zionism, click here.
Not all Jewish people in the world support “Israel” or zionism. The whole government of “Israel” is Jewish. Every settler-colonist of “Israel” is Jewish. But many Jewish people do not believe in zionism. Many Jewish people believe that zionism goes against the Jewish religion.
Zionism is an idea that people from all kinds of religions believe in. Many Zionists are not Jewish. For example, many Zionists are Christians.
What Does GASS Think About The Genocide of Palestinians?
Audio version:
The Guild of Autistic Self Advocate Staff (GASS) has people from many religious backgrounds. GASS has Jewish members, Muslim members, Christian members, and other religions. All GASS members from all religions are against “Israel”’s genocide of Palestine.
Why Does GASS Support Palestinian Liberation?
Audio version:
GASS believes in justice. We believe in disability justice. We believe in justice for people of color. GASS wants safety and freedom for autistic and disabled people all over the world. That means we want safety and freedom for autistic and disabled Palestinians being oppressed by “Israel”.
Occupation, settler colonialism, apartheid, and genocide are mass-disabling events. Mass-disabling eventsare events that cause many people to become disabled. For example, war is a mass-disabling event because many people get hurt.
“Israel” disables Palestinians through bombings and shootings. They also keep Palestinians from getting food and health care. The violence of “Israel” makes life worse for Palestinians who are already disabled. For example, “Israel” keeps disabled Palestinians from getting services and supports they need.
The “United States” became a country by using occupation, apartheid, and genocide. The “U.S.” did those things to Indigenous people. GASS thinks the ways the “United States” treated Indigenous people are wrong. We know the “United States” still oppresses many groups of people. GASS will always stand against occupation, apartheid, and genocide from the “U.S.”
The “U.S.” government gives billions of dollars and weapons to “Israel”. The money that the “U.S.” gives helps “Israel” in their genocide of Palestinians. This money could get used on things that actually help people. For example, it could go to healthcare, education, housing, and food for disabled Americans. The “U.S.” government should not be paying for genocide. They should be paying to help disabled people. GASS’ members are autistic and disabled workers in the “United States”. Because of who we are, we think it is our responsibility to write this statement.
GASS believes that solidarity with Palestinian people is important to us as a labor union. Ignoring oppression hurts everyone. Pointing out oppression is the right thing to do. Also, it is important for GASS to be in solidarity with other labor unions. The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) asked unions all over the world to support Palestine. Many other unions are showing solidarity with Palestine along with GASS.
Where Can I Learn More?
Audio version:
Palestinian liberation is connected to disability justice. To understand why, read our resource guide.
You can learn more about the Guild of Autistic Self Advocate Staff (GASS) by visiting our website. The GASS website has our mission statement. You can read the statement in formal language, Plain Language, or as an audio recording.
How Can I Help?
Audio version:
You can donate money to help support Palestinian liberation. You could donate to any of these organizations:
Besides giving money, there are other ways to support Palestine:
- You can join protests near you
- You can tell Congress to stop sending “Israel” weapons that kill Palestinians
- You can participate in boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against “Israel”
Conclusion
Audio version:
The Guild of Autistic Self Advocate Staff says:FREE PALESTINE!
Quote from Omar El Akkad: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.”
This quote means that, when these 3 things happen:
- It is safe
- Nobody will get in trouble for saying that oppression is oppression
- It is too late for anyone to get in trouble for causing the oppression
Then, everyone will say, “I’ve always been against oppression.”
But by the time these 3 things happen, it is too late. Oppression will have already happened. We must fight against oppression NOW!