Mission Statement

This and other statements may be modified to better reflect a mutual position born out of understanding through dialog and action.

 

Mission statement:

The Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East (AJP) brings together Arab Americans and Jewish Americans who advocate for an end to US unconditional economic and military support for Israel in its occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. This occupation is a source of great instability and violence that threatens to engulf the region of the Middle East. The AJP supports a peaceful resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that ensures peace, justice and security for both peoples.

Organizing Principle:

A human rights strategy will provide the framework for the development and implementation of AJP’s activities.

Organizing Strategy:

Thinking, planning and working together to reach, educate and mobilize American public opinion to change U.S. government’s policy in the Middle East focusing on Israel’s occupation of Arab lands:

First, Arab Americans and Jewish Americans need to find a way to speak together, in one voice, regarding this issue.

Second: The idea of bringing together people in the Arab and Jewish community to act together to effect change on this issue is an important initiative, given the large Arab and Jewish communities in the Chicago-land area.

Third: The goal is to reach the broader sectors of American society. The inaction and apathy of Americans will not only worsen the situation in the Middle East, but will also have grave consequences for the American people. However, in the initial stages of this group’s formation, we should focus on identifying the individuals and organizations who support AJP’s mission and invite them to join us in building support and momentum for AJP’s mission among the broader sectors of American society.

This organization does not exclude the participation of people who are not Arabs or Jews. However, the idea is to organize ourselves first and then reach out to other diverse communities, together. We hope that more Arabs and Jews will see the potential of such an organization and will be more willing to participate and give their time to be a part of its activities and successes.