On Wednesday, May 14, a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) plans to join Taxpayers Against Genocide (TAG) and the National Lawyers Guild International Committee at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to announce the filing of their historic legal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the U.S. government for complicity in genocide in Gaza.
The complaint will include notarized affidavits by Palestinian-American plaintiffs who have lost loved ones to the U.S.-funded genocide.
One plaintiff, Monadel Herzallah, has lost 43 family members. He states: “We as Palestinians in the U.S. have sought accountability in federal court but we also made a pledge to seek justice in any other possible venue available.” In the words of Susan Abulhawa, Palestinian human rights activist, best-selling author, and a petitioner in this complaint: “I want to do everything in my power to put a stop to the unfathomable horrors that I witnessed in Gaza.”
WHERE: The National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Zenger Room on the 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045
WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, 2 PM
CONTACT: Seth Donnelly, Taxpayers Against Genocide, (650) 814-8495, seth007donnelly@gmail.com
“We are filing this complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because the U.S. government has effectively shielded itself from accountability for its international crimes under its own legal system, even for crimes against humanity and genocide.” — Huwaida Arraf, lead attorney and one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Huwaida Arraf, the lead attorney drafting the lawsuit and also one of the organizers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, will participate in the press conference, along with Palestinian American plaintiffs and TAG organizers. Robert S. McCaw, the Government Affairs Department Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Dr. Nidal Jboor, co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide, will also participate in the press conference, along with representatives of other endorsing organizations.
Immediately after the press conference, participants will file the complaint at the nearby IACHR headquarters and then march to the White House. The next day, plaintiffs will have meetings with Congressional offices to deliver copies of the complaint.
The complaint is endorsed by a wide range of civil organizations, including the Arab Resource Organizing Center Action, Palestinian Youth Movement, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Black Alliance for Peace, Doctors Against Genocide, CODEPINK, Friends of Latin America, and many more.
TAG is a growing grassroots movement, representing more than 3,000 taxpayers across the U.S. backing this complaint.
MORE QUOTES:
Huwaida Arraf, lead TAG attorney and also one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition:“We are filing this complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because the U.S. government has effectively shielded itself from accountability for its international crimes under its own legal system, even for crimes against humanity and genocide. While the United States actively enables and materially supports Israel’s atrocities, it has constructed legal shields at home that deny victims even the chance to seek redress. The United States cannot continue to finance, arm, and politically cover for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide abroad while remaining immune from international scrutiny. This petition is a call for accountability where none has yet been possible.” — Huwaida Arraf, lead attorney and also one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Tarik Kanaan, Palestinian-American plaintiff in the complaint: “Over the course of this genocide, I have witnessed the systematic destruction of my history, heritage and parts of the beautiful culture of which I am a product. I have witnessed the bombing of hospitals and schools, churches, mosques, playgrounds, museums, cultural centers, libraries, and seaside promenades. The intentional destruction of the ancient Al-Omari mosque, the ancient Byzantine Church and the Church of Jabalia, the third oldest in the world, to name a few, inflicts irreversible damage to our traditions and cultural history. I have seen the desecration of burial grounds and have seen the remains of forebears being unearthed, erasing our history on the land so that refugees have nothing to return to. Israel, with the full support and protection of the U.S., has been destroying anything and everything that sustains life or connects us, the Palestinian people, to our homeland and our history.”
Tariq Ra’ouf, human rights activist and son of a major plaintiff: “What is happening in Gaza is a blatant violation of morality, human rights, and ethics. If we allow these horrors to continue without accountability, we will be entering a dangerous time for humanity, where any attack on civilian life can be excused by false and racist claims of terrorism, by any violent oppressor, not just Israel. I did not consent to my tax dollars being used to commit violence against my own family; I did not consent to paying for the bullets and bombs that have killed 43 of my family members. It is a ludicrous and delusional expectation that we, the American taxpayers, will stand idly by while money that should be going to our education, healthcare and veterans is instead going on to fund more war crimes, and more deaths. Justice is inevitable, and we will make sure that the United States government is held accountable for their role in this genocide.”
Dr. Nidal Jboor, MD, co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide: “We are doctors. We swore to protect life– not to fund its destruction. In our name, with our tax dollars, children in Gaza are being starved and bombed while food and medicine sit just five miles away. This isn’t complicated. It is cruelty. One phone call could save thousands. Let the aid in. Let the children eat. Bread, not bombs. Those who commit or enable these crimes must be held accountable.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com