Statement on Charlottesville

Memorial to Heather Heyer. Photo: Bob Mical/Flickr 

August 18, 2017: Palestine Legal issued the following statement regarding the deadly Charlottesville attack on anti-racist protesters, and the ensuing national attention to brazen displays of white supremacy:

Last weekend, we witnessed horrific displays of racism, antisemitism, and bigotry as white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in the death of an anti-racist protester and the wounding of many others. Such exhibitions of ultra-nationalist racism, while always present in the U.S., have recently intensified with an administration that is openly hostile to people of color, religious minorities, women, LGBTQ people, immigrants and dissenters in general.

Palestine Legal stands with the brave individuals on the frontlines protesting and organizing against this hateful bigotry.

As a legal organization dedicated to defending the movement for Palestinian rights, we are all too familiar with attempts to equate the expressions of supremacist ideologies and racist state violence with the voices of those who stand for justice and equality. We reject this false equivalency. We will continue to stand for the rights of those fighting for justice and equality, and against institutional systems of racism and oppression.