In our over 20 years of advocating for peace and justice at CODEPINK, we’ve never seen repression on this scale.Â
Right now, the movement for Palestinian liberation is facing smear campaigns, legislation targeting activists, surveillance, and even unlawful arrests. CODEPINKers have been unlawfully assaulted and arrested for their activism on Capitol Hill, signaling this larger state of repression.Â
Congress is working on passing a massive spending and tax bill. Last year the Senate tried to pass a bill that would give the President’s administration unilateral power to revoke tax exempt status from non-profits – a clear tool for crushing political dissent. Since they couldn’t pass it through all of Congress last year, they are now trying to sneak it into a spending bill – under our noses!Â
CODEPINK isn’t the only organization targeted for standing against genocide in Gaza; Congress is actively working on a bill that, with abuse of power, would remove the tax-exempt status of organizations supporting Palestine. UNRWA is also a clear target of this amendment, and we must continue to protect it.Â