On BDS and Our Commitment to a Free Palestine

Last week an article published in the ​Orlando Weekly ​shared the disappointing news
that Andrew Gillum, Florida Democratic candidate for Governor, would consider
supporting anti-BDS legislation if elected. ​Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions​ is a
widely practiced, and effective form of nonviolent resistance practiced by people around
the world in solidarity with the occupied people of Palestine. This news was
disappointing not only because we have campaigned heavily for Gillum’s candidacy, but
also because it demonstrates a dangerous lack of understanding that uncritical political
allegiance to the state of Israel harms all of us.

As we said when we first endorsed Gillum’s campaign, there are inevitable

contradictions to hold. While we still believe Andrew Gillum is the best option for
Governor of Florida, particularly against his opponent Ron DeSantis who is committed
to advancing Trumpian fascism, emphasizing corporate deregulation and the
hyper-criminalization of people of color and immigrants, we also know the Democratic
Party is not the vehicle for our collective liberation. We also acknowledged alongside
our endorsement that is our responsibility to hold Andrew Gillum accountable, and to
push him to continue to adopt an agenda that serves the people.

As part of our intention to educate our communities in Florida on what is at stake, and
our vision for the future, we want to take some time to explain why we support the BDS
Movement and continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Our commitment to a free Palestine is much bigger than this election cycle. For over 70
years the people of Palestine have lived under the brutality of Israeli military occupation.
This means Palestinians, simply for the crime of being born on their own land have
faced mass forced displacement, hyper-policing, and segregation with restricted access
to education, healthcare, legal rights, and housing enforced by the Israeli government.
As many ​Jewish-led organizations have also explained​, the current crisis in Palestine is
not rooted in religious difference or cultural conflict. What’s happening in Palestine is
quite literally a people resisting being erased from existence. Since late March of this
year alone ​thousands of unarmed protestors​ in Gaza have been shot by the Israeli
military while participating in The Great Return March, a mass nonviolent protest. We
have a responsibility as people of conscience to speak truth to power even when it is
unpopular.

What is BDS?

Inspired by the global solidarity movement that helped bring South African Apartheid to
an end, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is “​a Palestinian led movement ​for
freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are
entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.”

After years of grassroots organizing, popular education, and expanding solidarity, the
BDS Movement has become one of the most effective forms of resistance available to
Palestinians who have been consistently legally and economically marginalized for
decades, while retaining​ less and less control over their indigenous lands​.

Recently right-wing forces in the United States concerned with the success of BDS
tactics and the growing consensus that the occupation and dehumanization of
Palestinians must end, have been ​pushing forth anti-BDS legislation that attempts to
criminalize​ speech.

As the ACLU and other legal organizations have noted these ​attacks on BDS​ are
unconstitutional, and set a dangerous precedent for all of us. Especially under the
current administration, our right to protest speech must be protected.

Nelson Mandela once stated, “​We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without
the freedom of the Palestinians.” While Mandela is celebrated all over the world,
including here in the U.S., as a hero for his courageous lifelong commitment to the
South African Freedom Struggle, we also feel the need to point out that he was placed
on the ​U.S. “Terrorist Watch” Lists​ until 2008. There is unfortunately a long precedent in
this country of criminalizing and marginalizing the organizing of oppressed people
demanding equality against powerful forces that the U.S. collaborates with.
We do not believe it is too late for Andrew Gillum to change his mind and we hope he
will choose to be on the right side of history. We did not arrive to our position of
solidarity with Palestine overnight nor do we take it lightly. It is a position we have firmly
chosen after being transformed in the service of our own liberation. We stand in
unwavering solidarity with Palestine because of the conversations we have had with
Palestinians fighting for the same freedom we fight for right here in the state of Florida:
the freedom to live full lives with dignity, without fear; our destinies are intertwined. We
will continue to advocate for BDS and support the resistance of Palestinians because
we feel accountable to the legacies of international struggle that we have inherited.
None of us are free until all of us are free.