Tools for your Ceasefire Actions

Source | Tactic: Public Art Intervention

Dear Troublemakers,

Right now, as we know, the situation in Gaza is one of utter chaos and abject horror. Amidst the heartbreaking headlines of ongoing violence, we are witnessing a global uprising for Palestinian liberation – and your creativity is needed! From laying out shoes in honor of the children and families that have been killed in Palestine in Seoul, Korea, to students disrupting class with a procession of body bags in Sao Paulo, Brazil, activists have used creative tactics to engage people’s hearts in the urgent need for a ceasefire amidst ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Activists have been blockading streets and bridges, birddogging and occupying the offices of elected officials and public spaces from Grand Central Station to the Oakland Federal Building (where I was arrested alongside fellow Jewish faith leaders last Monday), coordinating mass street actions with millions of people around the world, holding artistic vigils to mourn the enormous loss of life, and more.

Ordinary people everywhere have a beautiful and critical role in holding governments and corporations accountable. On every continent, people are coming together to stop the bloodshed, advocate for justice, and bring an end to this historic and ongoing Nakba (Catastrophe). And we recognize the transformative role arts and culture can play in shifting the narrative that builds people power towards collective liberation and a more just and healthy world.  

We have curated a set of theories, principles, methodologies, and actions that might help you bring beautiful trouble into solidarity actions. In our Palestine Solidarity Tool Set, you’ll find 40 tools for taking action. Browse through, use these for creative brainstorming, and pick a few principles to evaluate recent actions: (“Were we following the leadership of the most impacted? Did we consider our audience? Did we mistakenly expect a concrete outcome from a symbolic action? Did we choose our target wisely?”).

Unite for a ceasefire with our Get Up Rise Up (GURU) fund!

Our Get Up, Rise Up direct action fund supports activists globally to shift power through strategic, nonviolent direct actions to create a more socially and ecologically just, healthy, and equitable world for all. This month, we will award small grants to creative, beautiful actions calling for a ceasefire.  

We particularly want to support grassroots mobilizations that disrupt binary framing, use compelling visuals, create many points of entry, consider your audience, have smart action logic, and address meaningful targets. Get inspired by principles, tactics, and stories in our toolbox and the long legacy of Palestinian creative nonviolent resistance to occupation that we detailed HERE!

Apply by December 5th. We will select 3 - 6  actions. Grants will be awarded for up to $1000.

Put Your Elected Officials on Speed Dial

If you are in the US, it’s crucial to keep making calls to Congress to encourage your Representative to sign onto the Ceasefire Resolution and to stop sending weapons to Israel to facilitate war crimes. Send a letter to your Representatives via Jewish Voices for Peace, send letters to Congress via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, or click-to-call your Congressperson. The pressure is working – as of November 17th, at least 37 members of Congress have called for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities in Israel and occupied Palestine. 

Your Activist Life is a Marathon, not a Sprint

We encourage you to review our resilience toolkit during this time of heightened emotion and action. We hope our toolkit's wisdom and group activities can help you and your local group stay strong, sane, and focused. 

And you can help sustain us to keep providing movement support now. Right now, we are being called upon to train activists and make art for street protests around the clock. We do this movement work free of charge when we can because it’s so needed. Your support will help us keep going. 

We know that the struggle for the freedom of our Palestinian kin, and for the safety and dignity of all people living in the area including our Israeli kin (and the activists facing repression within Israel), depends on our collective solidarity in actions and words. Beyond the urgent need for a ceasefire, a safe return of Israeli hostages, the release of the over 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners unlawfully detained in Israeli prisons, sustained action is necessary to end the blockade of Gaza, US military aid to Israel, and Israeli settler colonialism, occupation, and apartheid.

We’ll see you in the streets. 

With hearts broken open and determination for freedom, 

Rae Abileah and the Beautiful Trouble Team