As we mark the 50th anniversary of Land Day, we honor the six Palestinians murdered by Israeli forces on 30 March 1976, (all “citizens”) as they took part in nonviolent protests against the relentless settler-colonial theft of their land. We also honor the many other Palestinians killed since then as Israel’s occupation forces and settlers expand efforts at illegal annexation of Indigenous Palestinian land. Today, as Israel's genocide continues in Gaza and apartheid deepens across Palestine, we reaffirm - with renewed determination and hope - our commitment to our ancestral lands and the right of return and reparations for all refugees.
Over a century of resistance has shown that our people's spirit cannot be broken, even in the face of unprecedented brutality. The Indigenous people of Palestine continues to rise, to resist, and to demand our comprehensive rights and freedom.
This year's Land Day comes during Israeli Apartheid Week amid Israel's ongoing genocide. In the shadow of genocide, Israeli military and settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have risen sharply as Israel’s government accelerates its de facto annexation of Palestinian land.
Despite the horror, despite the siege, despite the attempts to erase us, we remain steadfast.
Escalating BDS campaigning to end state, corporate and institutional complicity in Israel’s genocide and underlying regime of settler-colonialism, military occupation and apartheid is the most effective and meaningful form of solidarity with our liberation struggle.
Today, the Palestinian struggle for justice is at the heart of the battle against a world order of “might makes right” that is being imposed by the U.S-Israel genocidal axis and enabled by European colonial powers. As Israel’s wars of aggression against the peoples of the region expand from Lebanon to Syria and from Yemen to Iran, and as the US threatens peoples of Cuba, Greenland, Venezuela, among others, it is clear hardly anyone is safe from this might-makes-right descent to the abyss. This demands a global wave of unity in the face of brutality to promote just peace in the face of imperial greed, and upholding international law in the face of imperialism.
Let us commemorate Palestinian Land Day this year with a clear message: This must not be a moment of resignation - it must be one of escalation.
Today’s struggle in Palestine, and in solidarity spaces all around the world, is a struggle for humanity and a global order based on values of justice, freedom, and equality for all.
We call on you to join BDS groups and solidarity partners of the BDS movement in your countries to:
- Shut It Down – Peacefully disrupt the institutions complicit in Israel’s genocide. Organize strikes (when feasible), walkouts, and sit-ins. No business as usual under genocide.
- Expand Apartheid-Free Zones – Demand your university, workplace, union, or city cut ties with apartheid Israel and respect the BDS guidelines.
- Pressure Governments for Lawful Sanctions – Governments must impose targeted sanctions on Israel, including a comprehensive military embargo. This isn’t a choice but a legal duty. Ending direct and indirect complicity with Israel is a legal obligation for all states, following the ICJ decisions in 2024.
- Build Broad-tent Coalitions - Intersectional anti-racist coalitions for justice are needed now more than ever.
- Amplify Palestinian Voices – Showcase Palestinian culture, resistance, and visions of liberation through film screenings, art exhibitions, teach-ins, and public discussions.
Channel your rage, frustration, and grief into effective, strategic BDS action and pressure to stop the genocide and dismantle Israel’s regime of settler-colonial apartheid, the root cause of this oppression and unspeakable violence.