CODEPINK activists and other peace groups will also deliver a “STOP ARMS TO ISRAEL-RESTORE UNRWA FUNDING FOR GAZA” letter to German UN missions, embassies and consulates nationwide, including in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Boston, and San Francisco. The letter urges German and US officials to cease the import and export of weapons and weapon parts to Israel.
“We are answering the call for solidarity with Palestinian-Germans who risk beatings and arrest when they protest Germany’s complicity in Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. Without US and German weapons, Israel’s genocide might well come to an end, sparing the lives of over a million Palestinians uprooted from their homes to struggle with mass starvation.
CODEPINK demands the US and German governments stop sending weapons to Israel and fulfill their obligations under the UN Genocide Convention, which requires them to both prevent a looming genocide and stop an ongoing genocide. The leaders of Germany, like those in the US, shirk their responsibilities under international law to shock the conscience of the world,” explained CODEPINK organizer Marcy Winograd.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), US arms constitute 69% of Israel’s arsenal, with Germany accounting for an additional 30%, while the remaining portion originates from elsewhere. Recent reports by Reuters indicate a nearly tenfold increase in German arms exports to Israel since October 7th. Nicaragua seeks ICJ intervention to halt Germany’s alleged arming of Israel and to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
The United States has submitted an Article 9 reservation to the Genocide Convention, contesting the ICJ’s jurisdiction; therefore, Nicaragua’s legal efforts are focused only on Germany, aiming to prevent the dismissal of the case under an Article 9 technicality. Activists believe that by applying pressure on Germany, they can further isolate and pressure the US to halt its weapons shipments to Israel, where the Biden administration has authorized 2,000 pound bunker buster bombs and tens of thousands of artillery shells to turn Gaza into a graveyard for children.
US and German weapons are used to destroy, in whole or part, the people of Gaza, where Israel has killed or maimed over 100,000 Palestinians, bombed hospitals, UN refugee centers, schools, destroyed every university in Gaza and established “kill zones” where “soldiers are under orders to fire on anyone who is not Israeli military personnel.” (Responsible Statecraft) Germany, like the US and a dozen other countries, suspended humanitarian aid to Gaza after reports that some UNRWA employees collaborated with Hamas.
Our Message:
UPHOLD THE UN CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF GENOCIDE, which Germany ratified in 1954. STOP THE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. FUND HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO GAZA.
Full letter to German Consulates
For more information about the event, please contact Marcy at marcy@codepink.org.
Event Details in Los Angeles:
- Date: April 8, 2024
- Time: noon-1:30 PM (PT)
- Location: Protest outside the German Consulate, 6222 Wilshire Blvd
Event Details in New York City:
- Date: April 8, 2024
- Time: Noon-1:30 PM (ET)
- Location: Germany UN Mission, 871 1st Avenue (at 49th Street)
Event Details in DC:
- Date: April 8, 2024; April 9, 2024
- Time: 2-2:45 PM (ET); All Day
- Location: German Embassy in Washington, 4645 Reservoir Rd NW
- Bring cameras, and flags if you have them, on April 9th!
Event Details in San Francisco:
- Date: April 8, 2024
- Time: 8:30-9:30 PM (PT)
- Location: German Consulate in San Francisco, 1960 Jackson St
