March 26: NYC Press Conference on New Israeli Apartheid Ad on MetroNorth

Press conference to discuss new Israeli Apartheid ad on Metro North Line

(NEW YORK CITY 03/25/2013) – The American Muslims for Palestine, a national grassroots organization educating the public about Palestine and its rich cultural and historical heritage, today announced the launch  of its new nationwide outdoor advertising campaign, calling for an end to Israeli apartheid and to unconditional American aid for Israel. The ads, which will appear at 25 stations on the New York City Transit Authority’s Metro North line, will run for four weeks before moving to another metropolitan area elsewhere in the nation.

WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE
WHEN: 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 26
WHERE: Metro North Harlem-125th Station, 101 E. 125th St. at Park Ave., New York 9 (Event will take place on street level, not on the platform)
WHO: American Muslims for Palestine
WHY: To raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid policies and how US aid supports it
SPEAKERS: Dr. Hatem Bazian, AMP national chairman; Raja Abdulhaq, AMP-New York president; Lamis Deek of Al Awda-NY; Michael Letwin, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, and other solidarity partners

“We timed the release of our ads with President Obama’s visit to the Middle East to underscore his administration’s failure to address the true cause of conflict: Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and its racist apartheid policies, which subject Palestinians on a daily basis to humiliation, deprivation and a loss of their basic rights, including the freedom of movement,” said Dr. Hatem Bazian, AMP chairman.

While Israel denies its policies constitute apartheid, one who knows the colonial, racist policies best, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, recognizes Israel as an apartheid state.

AMP’s ad quotes Tutu asserting, “I’ve been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.”

Apartheid runs counter to every principle Americans hold dear. Israel’s military occupation violates the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness enshrined in our own Declaration of Independence.

Therefore, AMP is calling on President Obama and Congress to end US aid to Israel, which only enables and supports Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies against oppressed Palestinians.

The American Muslims for Palestine is a national, grassroots organization whose mission is to educate the American public about issues related to Palestine and its rich cultural and historical heritage. For more information, go to www.ampalestine.org.