"As the president of a small, unstaffed family foundation and member of two progressive donor networks, Solidaire Network and Women Donors Network, I have devoted my work to exploring how donor organizing can strengthen movements for justice, with Palestinian liberation at the center of that project. It's almost unthinkable now-after more than two years of daily, livestreamed devastation in Gaza-that there was a time when Palestine was barely discussed even in progressive philanthropy."
"About five years ago, after the brutal murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked a surge in the Black Lives Matter movement, I noticed a pattern. My progressive donor network colleagues were funding and discussing critical justice movements-Black liberation, reproductive rights, defunding the police, and Indigenous landback-all essential and urgent struggles. Yet amid that energy, there was a striking absence of any conversation about the effects of Israel's 75-year war on Palestinians."
"When Philanthropy Fuels Genocide and Occupation The United States is the largest funder of Israel's occupation of Palestine, with government aid to Israel ($318 billion) almost 29 times more than aid to Palestine ($11 billion). Before the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2024, Israel could count on $3.8 billion in US military aid each year. Since then, it has received an additional $18 billion"
Donor organizing can strengthen movements for justice by aligning wealth with grassroots efforts and centering Palestinian liberation. A small, unstaffed family foundation leader active in progressive donor networks focuses on this work. Palestine received scant attention within progressive philanthropy until recent years despite long-standing Israeli occupation. The United States is the largest funder of Israel's occupation, providing vastly more aid to Israel than to Palestine and supplying billions in annual military assistance. After October 7, 2024, Israel received additional U.S. military funding, underscoring philanthropy's and public funding's role in sustaining occupation.
Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
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