Americans of Conscience Checklist: Special Edition: Support those affected by the Middle East conflict – March 15, 2024

Food scarcity has reached crisis levels in Gaza and disproportionately affects children. Several experienced and well rated organizations are providing food and supplies to people in Gaza.

Donate: To World Central Kitchen, International Rescue Committee, and/or Middle East Children’s Alliance.

Donate: To American Near East Refugee Aid. ANERA provides humanitarian assistance and emergency relief in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan. 

Donate: To the Palestine Red Crescent Society. PRCS belongs to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and is providing humanitarian assistance and health and social services to Palestinians in need.

Emergency Safety Net connects host families with those whose homes were destroyed in the Hamas attack and provides medical and practical aid. Read about their efforts toward a strong, equitable democracy and the rights of Palestinians in Israel.

Donate: To support survivors of the Hamas attack.

Review: These 12 organizations working toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Palestine and Israel. Consider making a gift of support to their important work.

Grief and trauma affect all people in times of conflict. A group in Gaza leads dialogue sessions through Israeli and Palestinian facilitators to help participants heal trauma and access their shared humanity.

Donate: To Parents Circle – Families Forum to empower intersocietal healing.

Bonus: Screen the film Two Sided Story publicly ($250) or privately ($100) on your own or with a group.

Write: Your local synagogues and mosques.With hate crimes on the rise, write a letter using a script we created to express solidarity and support for the safety and well-being of your neighbors.

The Middle East crisis has caused a spike in post-traumatic stress and depression for survivors of violence and their loved ones, first responders, recovery workers, community members, and those exposed to distressing media images. The Disaster Helpline provides essential counseling and information, coping tips, and referrals for further support. 

Share on social media and email: The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) provides toll-free, multilingual, crisis support services 24/7 to all residents in the U.S and its territories for anyone managing stress and trauma related to the Middle East crisis. Call or text 1-800-985-5990.

The U.S. is recording soaring levels of antisemitism and Islamophobia. Bystander actions are pivotal in addressing harassment and aggression. Right To Be provides one-hour, interactive trainings on how to intervene effectively and safely as a bystander when our neighbors are targeted.

Register: For a selection of three virtual bystander intervention trainings addressing Hate and Harassment on Campus, Islamophobic and Xenophobic Harassment, and/or Antisemitic Harassment.

Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).

Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP], contacting you to oppose the [Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission (GAZA) Act (S. 3052) / Safeguarding Americans from Extremism (SAFE) Act (H.R. 6211)]. Seeking asylum is a human right, yet these bills seek to restrict asylum for Palestinians based on nationality. I would like [NAME] to oppose [S. 3052 / H.R. 6211] and maintain U.S. policy without regard to race or country of origin.

Contact: Google your local law enforcement agency’s “non-emergency number” or address.

Script: I’m a resident of [TOWN], concerned about the welfare of my neighbors of diverse backgrounds. With hostile behavior increasing toward Muslim and Jewish people, I want to ensure that [TOWN/COUNTY]’s law enforcement takes this issue seriously. Is your department tracking accurate hate crime data and reporting it to the FBI?

If yes: Wonderful. Thank you for providing vital information that protects the rights of all our citizens.

If no: I’m sorry to learn that [TOWN] is among those failing to report this information. Protecting all our community members is vital. Who may I speak with to urge a change in procedure?

Contact: Raymond Rodrigues, Chancellor
State University System of Florida 
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1614
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Phone: 850-245-0466
Fax: 850-245-9685
Email: Chancellor@flbog.edu 

Script: After the ACLU and Palestine Legal filed lawsuits opposing your decision to deactivate the Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at Florida’s state universities, the court dismissed the lawsuit when you claimed you would not enforce the order. However, your deactivation order, which violates students’ constitutional rights to free speech, remains in place today. I am asking you to publish a public retraction of this order and remove it completely from your website.

Bonus: Learn your rights as a protestor with these guides from the ACLU, Findlaw, and Amnesty International.

Write: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO
Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs
Monika Bickert, VP, Content Policy
Meta, Inc.
1 Hacker Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Script: Meta has censored content related to Palestine on Facebook and Instagram since October 2023. This censorship stems not only from flawed policies, but incorrect application of those policies, as well as reliance on automated moderation tools and government pressure to remove content. I’m joining Human Rights Watch in asking you to make the following changes to your content moderation policies:

• Align content moderation policies and practices with international human rights standards.
• Ensure that decisions to take down content are transparent and not overly broad or biased.
• Permit protected expression, including about human rights abuses and political movements.
• Improve transparency around requests by governments’ internet referral units to remove content “voluntarily” without a court or administrative order.
• Improve transparency about the use of automation and machine learning algorithms to moderate or translate Palestine-related content.

Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form or by phone at 202-456-1111.

Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP], calling/writing to express my deep concern about the violence in Israel and Gaza. (The list below is randomized. Communicate any that apply to your beliefs, including a personal story if possible).

• Oppose the use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund violence and/or the supply of weapons and military vehicles to Israel’s government.
• Make a public statement affirming the rights of Muslim and Jewish Americans to live free of harassment and threats.
• Support peacekeeping efforts and diplomacy between the governments of Israel and Palestine.
• Support the safe, timely, and sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip (S. Res. 554/H. Res. 935).
• Take immediate measures to end the violence in Gaza, including supporting a cease-fire.
• Increase funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to restore reproductive freedom and health services to the women, children, and newborns disproportionately impacted by the ongoing conflict.

Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form or by phone at 202-456-1111.

Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] asking you to join Sweden and Canada in restoring funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, which supplies life-saving aid to millions of people living in Gaza on the brink of famine. Restoring UNRWA’s funding is vital in the face of this crisis. I urge you to act swiftly to fund this essential organization.

News outlets are covering the conflict in Palestine and Israel with unequal standards. It is inappropriate for a news outlet to agree to censor certain phrases or topics based on the wishes of any government on whose actions they are reporting or by request of newspaper executives. Bias in reporting escalates misinformation and conflict. 

Contact: Your choice of editors at CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times

Copy: our letter template and edit as you wish, then print and mail it to the addresses provided, or copy and paste into online contact forms.

CNN: 
Mark Thompson, Editor-in-Chief and CEO
David Lindsay, Senior Director of News Standards and Practices
Richard Greene, Jerusalem Bureau Chief

CNN Headquarters, 1 CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303
CNN contact form (select “Editorial feedback”)

The Los Angeles Times:
Ruthanne Salido, Standards and Practices Committee Co-Chair
Nabih Bulos, Middle East Bureau Chief

Los Angeles Times, 2300 E Imperial Hwy, El Segundo, CA 90245
LAT Readers’ Representative Office contact form (select “Other”)

The New York Times:
Joseph Kahn, Executive Editor
Patrick Kingsley, Jerusalem Bureau Chief

The New York Times Company, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10018
NYT contact form (select “Feedback on our coverage”)

The Washington Post:
Meghan Ashford-Grooms and Carrie Camillo, Standards Editors
Steve Hendrix, Jerusalem Bureau Chief

Washington Post, 1301 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20071

Thank President Biden for issuing an order preventing the deportation of people from Palestine currently living in the U.S. due to “humanitarian conditions…deteriorating” in Gaza.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use: the White House contact form

Thank you to the 78 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!

Thank the Biden-Harris administration for outlining actions and allocating resources across federal departments to address the rise of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents at schools and on college campuses.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use: the White House contact form

Thank you to the 66 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!

Thank Doctors Without Borders for continuing to provide care in Gaza in the midst of violence and while the healthcare system is actively threatened.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 40 Rector St., 16th Floor, New York, NY 10006

Thank you to the 76 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!