On Thursday, December 7, 2017, one of our member organizations, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), co-sponsored a rally and march, which was held at the Federal Plaza, Chicago, Illinois, to protest President Trump and his decision to transfer the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. CIOGC joined in the rally and was represented by one of its board members, Deanna Othman.
CIOGC’s press release, issued on December 6, 2017, as well as its participation in this rally and a subsequent rally held at Universal School, Bridgeview, Illinois on December 9, 2017, was calculated to highlight several points to our community and to the American public: 1) Trump’s action betrays the trust held by Muslims, Christians, and Jews that the United States is serving as a fair mediator of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict; 2) Trump’s decision regarding the US Embassy, along with his re-tweet of “fake” ultra-right videos on his Twitter account the same week, should be condemned and is indicative of a bias towards Muslims and the plight of the Palestinian people; and 3) Trump actions are undermining, not supporting, the national interests of the United States.
It is important that our community be informed, and there are resources available to you.
Since September 2017, Dr. Mohammed Kaiseruddin has given a series of lectures giving his first-hand account of the plight of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. Dr. Kaiseruddin was able to gain this experience through a Middle East travel program sponsored through Elmhurst College. It is a program available to the public.
AMP offers additional information for your examination on its website, and the website for Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) provides another perspective of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
It is a task for all of us to be informed of the violence confronting our fellow Muslims, whether the violence is in the West Bank, Rakhine province in Burma, or the inner-city neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois.