As of May 1, 2024, the first day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), the death toll in Gaza is at least 34,488, with more than 14,500 children killed and more than 8,000 missing. Israel “vows” to invade Rafah, where most of Gaza’s displaced population – around 1.4 million, including 610,000 children – is sheltering. Last week, Biden secured a $95 billion aid package to Israel.
This is the context and crisis we must center when we talk about APAHM.
Since October 7, public opinion on Israel and Palestine has definitively shifted. In part because of Palestinian journalists risking – and often losing – their lives to document this genocide in real time, the veil is lifted. We can’t unsee the carnage of Zionism and the West’s unwavering defense of it. The people are with Palestine, and AAPIs are with Palestine.
Earlier this year, AAPI Data published results from a survey assessing Asian American and Pacific Islander perceptions of Palestine. They found:
- 49% of AAPI adults believe that the US is not supportive enough of Palestinians. This is 18 percentage points higher than the national average.
- 45% of AAPI adults believe that the US is not supportive enough of Muslim communities in the US. This is also higher than the national average. (Palestine is in West Asia and many AAPIs are Muslims, so scholars argue that these findings aren’t necessarily a surprise.)
And yet, this APAHM, we have much to confront, reckon with, and divest from. With utmost urgency, we must not only get these numbers of support for Palestine higher, but strategically mobilize our communities to fight for a free Palestine with our voices, bodies, and dollars.
Now is not the time to waver. Now is not the time to lose steam. Now is definitely not the time to…
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