June 5, 2020 marks the beginning of the 39th year of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, which it conquered in 1967.  Not In My Name (NIMN), a predominantly Jewish organization, will join others (see below) for a special Vigil on June 5, 2020 to protest this Occupation and to demand that Israel demolish its Apartheid Wall.  The Vigil will be held between Noon and 2:00pm at Water Tower Park (830 N Michigan), in downtown Chicago.

The Israeli Occupation is the longest military occupation in modern history; millions of Palestinians have grown up under this military dictatorship.  NIMN is dedicated to the principle that Palestinians and Israelis deserve a chance to live in peace.  We work to oppose the obstacles that prevent them from doing so, namely, Israel’s Occupation and the U.S. government’s military aid, which underwrites it.

The Apartheid Wall, which Israel is constructing within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is illegal according to the International Court of Justice and is an environmental catastrophe.  It intentionally separates Palestinians from themselves, from their fertile fields, and from their water.  Complete with armed guard towers, it surrounds entire towns.  Snaking through Abu Dis, it is designed to separate Palestinians from their historic economic and religious centers in Jerusalem.  This Wall continues the long process of Israeli dispossession of Palestinians.

NIMN spokesperson, Joel Finkel explains, “Nothing could be more clear: neither the Occupation, nor the Settlements, nor the Apartheid Wall can possibly lead to peace between the two peoples.  Neither can they halt the steady decline of Israeli society.  Not only have the Palestinians been impoverished; one third of Israeli children now live in poverty.  Israeli society is thoroughly militarized, racism is rampant, and domestic violence, particularly against women, has increased dramatically.”

Thankfully, a growing number of Israelis are working closely with Palestinians to protest the Wall and to try to halt its construction.  Employing non-violent means, they come together to show solidarity between the two peoples and to struggle to end the Occupation and the Wall.

In this same spirit, Not In My Name invites people of good will to join us on June 5 to protest the Occupation, to call on Israel to “Tear down this Wall,” and to put an end to U.S. military aid, without which Israel’s leaders would have to wage peace.

We plan to have an educational representation of the Wall and to construct our own checkpoint to visually demonstrate the profound insult to Palestinian society that they represent.  Signs and banners will be provided.  While people are welcome to bring their own, we request that they be consistent with our dedication to peace between the two peoples.

This Vigil is co-sponsored and endorsed by: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Arab American Action Network (AAAN), Chicago Chapter of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (CJPIP), Elmhurst and Oak Park Chapters, End The Occupation Coalition/Northern Illinois, Granada Center for Human Rights, Muslim Voters of America, Palestine Solidarity Group.