SAVE THE DATE: Join the 25-Mile March for Palestine to Fund Gaza Not Genocide!

Why we are Marching 25 Miles for Palestine

Let’s use our collective power on December 7th and 8th to Fund Gaza Not Genocide! Join us for the second 25 Mile March for Palestine in Western MA.

The purpose of this year’s march is to:

• Raise funds for direct aid to Gazans

• Mutual aid is life-saving in a context where food, water, resources and medical aid are being blocked by Israel and its allies. Our goal and recipient(s) will be clarified and added soon.

• Redirect collective financial resources through every system, at every level (boycott, divestment and sanctions, arms embargo, weapons manufacturers)

• Learn about local campaigns along the march route that are calling for BDS/arms embargo/ceasefire etc.

• Reimagine systems of collaboration with accessibility and community care at the core

• We are all making this project happen. From virtual roles to physical roles, every single role is key.

• Come together both in-person and virtually to deepen the threads of our community as we build our collective capacity to sustain through the heartbreak of this time.

This is an invitation for us to come together once again, those of us whose hearts continue to break for Palestine, Lebanon, and beyond, and for the world we believe is possible, a world that holds space for our shared humanity and freedom. This is also an expression of collective frustration, shock, grief and despair at the lack of substantive action by our elected officials to map a moral economic and foreign policy. This year, we are taking policy into our own hands by prioritizing mutual aid and community care, and demanding material change now!

Please consider joining us at a single stop, a 1 or 5 mile section, or the whole 25, or tuning in virtually via Instagram. We greatly need physical marchers as well as care team members, fundraisers, and people to drive support cars and to shuttle marchers back to their cars at the end of the march. We also recognize the powerful action steps that virtual participants can take.  Alongside joining us through livestream of program stops, virtual participants will be invited to engage in interactive art activities, workshops, fundraising and more from home.

Please register for the march in advance, so that we can keep everyone as safe as possible!

About the March

We will march 25 miles – the length of Gaza – from Northampton to Holyoke, and Holyoke to Springfield, over two days. Along the way, we will stop at L3 Harris in Northampton, and the River Valley Co-op in Easthampton, rally and share food in Holyoke, and culminate our program in Springfield. As we grieve, we will actively raise funds to direct aid for families in Gaza, and will call for an immediate arms embargo to end US funding of the Israeli military and its genocidal campaign in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and beyond. Furthermore, we will call for divestment and defunding of all funders of Israel and profiteers of the current genocide.

We are a broad coalition from Western Massachusetts, walking in solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people who have been forced from their homes, starved, bombed, and killed by the Israeli military, with the support of its biggest funder, the United States.

There is no military solution to this. Israeli occupation and apartheid makes Israelis and Palestinians unsafe and fuels the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia around the world, and the escalation of violence across the Middle East. Good faith diplomacy is overdue. The time is now for freedom, equality, and dignity for all people.

On December 7th-8th, we walk together to mourn the dead and fight for the living. We walk to affirm our commitment to working together to co-create the world we wish to be a part of.

Accessibility

This is an opportunity for us to practice community care with one another as we build and amplify our collective power in this movement.

Safety, accessibility, and care will be central throughout the day. Whether we are walking the full 25 miles, a portion of it, supporting physical marchers with fundraising goals or emotional support, taking part from home, shuttling marchers back to their cars at the end of the day, we are all making this march happen.

We will stop about every 5 miles for community offerings, food, and other group activities. All shuttle cars will be masked with K95’s (which we will provide). Support coordinating rides back to cars at the end of the march will also be provided.

We will have marshalls and medics on hand to help us stay safe. Almost all of the route will use sidewalks, except for a portion in Northampton with a large shoulder. We ask all those who register to commit to taking a rapid Covid test each day they will be marching, and also to wear a K95 mask for portions of the march where they are within a few feet of other marchers and physically able to do so (we understand and acknowledge that this physically strenuous activity will require regular unmasking for water and snack breaks, and breathing deeply). We also acknowledge that we cannot guarantee a Covid-free march, especially given that some may join along the way who have not registered and have not been fully oriented in safety protocols. Marshalls will carry spare masks and have them available for all marchers. Those who can’t be present or for whom marching is not accessible will be able to participate from home via a mix of reflective and concrete audio prompts and action steps.

Follow @25MilesForPalestine on Instagram for live, day-of updates!