Handful of Salt
Volume XLVIII, Number 2 – Summer 2024
Let’s get the party going in Seattle!
PJALS Seattle Summer Party
Thursday, July 25th
6:00pm – 8:00pm
TASWIRA Gallery | 510 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA
Our PJALS community includes many relationships in the Seattle area. As part of our commitment to strengthening relationships for long-term transformational organizing to build collective power and dismantle structural oppression, we are coming to Seattle in July!
We invite you to join us for a party in the beautiful TASWIRA Gallery for Seattle-area members, partners, and new friends. Hors d’oeuvres, wine, and non-alcoholic sparkling beverages will be served as we share what we have been doing and why Spokane-area organizing is vital to statewide progressive wins. We’d love to get to know you better!
There is no cost to attend, but there will be an opportunity to give should you be moved by the work of our PJALS community.
End U.S. Military Aid to Israel
Since Israel initiated a genocidal military operation following the Hamas attack last October, the world’s attention has been focused on Gaza. As hundreds of thousands of people have spoken up against the brutal murder of Palestinians and other Gazan civilians, significant pushback has been witnessed from the United States to end military aid to Israel, despite cries across the country. It’s imperative to understand how the presence of U.S. militarism has contributed to the current situation in Gaza.
The United States has a long-standing and significant military aid relationship with Israel, providing around $3 billion in assistance annually and an additional $14 billion since October. This aid encompasses advanced weaponry, technology, and military training, which have bolstered Israel’s military capabilities. In addition to military aid, the U.S. is a major supplier of arms to countries in the Middle East, including Israel and its neighboring states. Arms sales have contributed to the militarization of the region and exacerbated tensions and conflicts.
The U.S. has been involved in conflicts and military operations throughout the region, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Afghanistan. These operations have had deadly and otherwise complex consequences, influencing regional alliances, power dynamics, and conflicts, and have impacted the current violence in Gaza. For example, the current security alliance negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, orchestrated by the U.S., originally did not include any requirement of a Palestinian state, but now they do. Israeli officials have rejected this inclusion of a pathway to a Palestinian state in both these and ceasefire negotiations.
In tandem with calling for a ceasefire, the release of prisoners and hostages, we must not forget to demand an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Bombs dropped on civilians in Rafah have “U.S. Military” etched on the side—we are a part of this and must continue to demand an end to Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Congratulations, YALP Graduates!
Over 20 young activists graduated from YALP this spring session! We had an amazingly successful turnout this year for YALP with both participants new and familiar with PJALS. The session covered identity, oppression, and privilege, the basics of campaigns, and other essential activist topics. We are incredibly proud of the graduates and look forward to their future work for social justice.
Click here to learn more about our Young Activist Leaders Program. Interested in upcoming opportunities for Young leaders in Spokane? Reach out to our Youth Organizers at [email protected]
Summer Voter Outreach Opportunities
Want to talk to community members and encourage them to vote with their values this election? Join us this summer as we table, canvass, phonebank, and text our neighbors! Voter contact is essential to getting our community to have their voices heard in this election. More event information is to come–keep an eye out!
We are also still looking for volunteers to staff the PJALS table at community events this summer. This is a great way to talk to folks about work that you are passionate about, call them into the movement for peace and justice, and build relationships with like-minded folks.
Peacekeepers: Orange Vest and Fire in the Belly
I want to welcome new peacekeepers and share my appreciation for the scores of people who have given themselves to this role in the last couple years and in the decades before!
You have probably seen PJALS Peacekeepers in our very flattering bright orange vests at marches and rallies! At Pride in Spokane and in Coeur d’Alene you’ll see us handing out rainbow stickers and bubbles and encouraging participants not to engage with opposition who are present and often quite loud and offensive. “They’re just here to provoke us, let’s not give them what they want! Happy Pride!”
For marches or rallies, like the “End U.S. Military Aid to Israel” rally we held in early May as the Israeli forces bombed Rafah, peacekeepers stood on the edges of the event, watching for cars needing to exit parking lots or pedestrians needing to access the sidewalk.
Peacekeepers may help keep chants going or pass out signs, but whatever you see us doing, our goal is to facilitate the group achieving the goals of the demonstration in a nonviolent way. Peacekeepers are supporting people in taking risks for justice, setting the tone for the action, and maintaining nonviolent spirit and discipline.
Peacekeepers communicate with demonstrators, organizers and others; we defuse and de-escalate conflicts; and we act as a buffer between demonstrators and police, opposition, or hecklers.
PJALS Peacekeepers are participants in the protest, not neutral 3rd parties! This means that we only provide peacekeeper support to events that are aligned with our values – including justice, equity, and anti-oppression.
At peacekeeper trainings, volunteers learn how to identify different types of potential and active threats from opposition or agitated passersby. They then learn how to use nonviolent de-escalation skills to keep the focus on the demonstration and not on the opposition. These are all movement-building skills that serve to protect our right to self- and political expression, hold public officials accountable, share in collective joy and collective grief, and everything in between.
Peacekeeper volunteers tell us it’s rewarding and meaningful. They enact their values as a strong, connected team, and they increase a sense of safety for participants feeling anxious or scared about harassment or worse from police and opposition.
Protests, rallies, festivals, and other community events are important and necessary space for us to be in community with our people and to assert our values and visions. Demonstrations are part of a strategy of using active nonviolence and community-building to shift power so we can transform systems of violence and oppression. In these collectively-created spaces, everyone deserves to be protected. A big thanks to our wonderful volunteer peacekeepers for putting their values into action!
Talk about it Tuesdays
Militarism, racial justice, elections, our freedoms and futures–let’s talk about it! Tune into our webinar series starting this summer through the fall to learn and discuss with one another. Every third Tuesday we will be coming together to build our movement through education for action! See you there!
9th Annual Benefit Luncheon
Our Annual Benefit is our largest fundraiser of the year, where we increase the capacity of friends and funds to sustain our work. Registration is now open for both table hosts and individual guests!