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December 23rd, 2020 
Awake Goy 
Migrant Justice (Justicia Migrante) is a Vermont-based organization dedicated, in its words, “to build the voice, capacity, and power of the farmworker community and engage community partners to organize for economic justice and human rights.”
In early December, the organization demonstrated again its unwavering solidarity with their oppressed brothers and sisters in Palestine. It categorically rejected a donation of hand sanitizer from the Consulate General of Israel to New England “to help communities most impacted by the pandemic.”
The Consulate General also suggested a joint public distribution event of the sanitizer. Here is Migrant Justice’s strongly worded response, which you can read in full here:
We stand with Palestinians. Israel in Boston tried to create a PR event by offering us free hand sanitizers to “help communities most impacted by the pandemic.” If the Israeli government were sincere in that goal it would begin in Gaza, where cases have doubled in the last two weeks while the population suffers from blockade-imposed shortages of ventilators, PPE, and medicine.
Our email to the Israeli Consulate:
Date: Mon, Dec 7, 2020
Migrant Justice is in receipt of the offer from the Consulate General of Israel to New England to donate hand sanitizer to “help communities most impacted by the pandemic.” We reject this offer in the strongest possible terms.
We are aware that the Consulate suggested holding a public event in Vermont to distribute the donated hand sanitizer. Migrant Justice could not in good conscience accept this donation – much less participate in a public relations event – while the Israeli government continues its illegal blockade of Gaza, occupation of the West Bank, and maintenance of an apartheid state.
Israel’s 13-year long blockade of Gaza locks 2 million Palestinians into a densely populated area where social distancing is virtually impossible, refusing to allow delivery of food, medical supplies and building materials. Deliberate destruction of water and sewage treatment plants by targeted Israeli bombing has drastically reduced safe water: 97% of Gazans live without safe water for drinking and public health hygiene. If the Israeli government were sincere in its desire to “help communities most impacted by the pandemic,” it would begin in Gaza, where cases have doubled in the last two weeks while the population suffers from blockade-imposed shortages of ventilators, PPE, and medicine: https://www.waterjusticeinpalestine.org/…/y43jclxrxr2bh3m7r…
Out of a sense of deep solidarity with our Palestinian siblings, Migrant Justice strongly rejects this donation offer. We will not be a party to your government’s attempted “sanitization” of oppression.
Sincerely,
Migrant Justice
Vermonters for Justice in Palestine expresses its deep gratitude for this act of international solidarity, and asks the Palestine solidarity community in the United States to support the social justice and human rights work of Migrant Justice.
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