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We Demand the Disability Establishment End Its Relationships with War Profiteers
July 1, 2024
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"Disability justice cannot exist under settler colonialism, military occupation, imprisonment, and apartheid. We write this in support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, dignity, and self-determination." - The Abolition and Disability Justice Coalition, 2021
We are a collective of disabled individuals who have joined together to call for a free Palestine and the end to the U.S. disability establishment's partnership with war profiteers and complicity with genocide and colonialism. Some of us are affiliated with organizations in the U.S. disability advocacy space and some of us are not. We come together as comrades and reject the elitist and ableist idea that critiques from disabled people who are affiliated with disability advocacy organizations carry more validity than critiques from disabled people who are not affiliated with them.
During Disability Pride Month, we call on disabled individuals to recognize that there is no disability justice and no disability pride without a free Palestine.
According to Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a Palestinian surgeon who had to perform amputations on wounded Gazan children, Palestine now has the largest cohort of child amputees in history. The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that "half of the population of Gaza, more than one million people, is expected to face death and starvation by the middle of July." According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Israel's offensive in Rafah cut off almost 3,000 children from receiving treatment for malnutrition, putting them at imminent risk of death.
Disabled Palestinians in Gaza, already suffering from lack of access to medical care and assistive technology due to Israel's 16-year illegal blockade of Gaza, are disproportionately at risk of dying. The Israeli blockade has cut off access to food, water, medication, and assistive devices. People with mobility, chronic illness, visual, hearing, mental health, or developmental disabilities may not be informed about evacuation orders or be unable to evacuate quickly enough to avoid further disablement or death. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have systematically targeted and bombed critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools, and roads, leading to a total collapse of Gaza's health system and the decimation of Gaza's education system.
Many disability organizations and their appointed leaders have been silent about the mass disabling event and genocide that has been happening since last October. Silence is complicity.
In the months since the escalation of the genocide of Gaza began, many U.S. disability rights organizations have continued to foster financial and collaborative relationships with companies that profit from the oppression and genocide of Palestinians. Several disability rights organizations, which advocate for equal rights and treatment for disabled Americans, accept funding and have fostered partnerships with major war profiteers and weapons manufacturers including Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen, Boeing, RTX/Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, and Google. These companies manufacture and profit from the weapons, vehicles, aircraft, and technology that Israel is using to wage its genocidal campaign to kill and maim as many Palestinians as possible. The United Nations has called on weapons manufacturers to cease the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel or risk being complicit in violations of international human rights laws. We cannot build a movement for disability equality on funding that comes from the genocide of our disabled peers in Palestine and elsewhere in the Global South.
Disability rights organizations go further than accepting money from war profiteers: they honor them with disability inclusion awards. For instance, The 2023 Disability Equality Index, presented by Disability:IN, awarded HP, Siemens, Barclays, Chevron, Intel, and eleven weapons manufacturing companies with the top score 100 of "Best Places to Work." All 16 companies are corporate partners with Disability:IN. The companies give Disability:IN their sponsorship money. Meanwhile, Disability:IN and its state affiliates award them the title of "best places to work" for disabled people, all while those exact same companies build and send their weapons and technology to the governments and militaries committing genocide against disabled Palestinians, Congolese, Sudanese, Tigrayans, and Haitians. In light of the central role student movements on college campuses have played in organizing actions for Palestine, it is essential to note that Disability:IN has a program for disabled college students, NextGen Leader Initiative, that matches them with mentorships at these companies, thus directly guiding many disabled youth into working at companies profiting from the colonization of Palestine and the Global South. This years-long pattern is just one example of several disability rights organizations having connections with exploitative corporations in the name of advancing disability inclusion. These relationships are a feature of the systems, not a bug.
Disability Pride Month ushers in the 2024 Disability Equality index on July 15 and the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26. Disabled individuals must recognize it is our collective responsibility to protest and reject the weaponization of disability for profit at the cost of disabled lives in Palestine and Global South, and at home on Turtle Island, particularly in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.
In order to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people and all people of the Global South:
1. We demand disability advocacy organizations refuse donations, sponsorships, and partnerships from corporations that:
- Create, finance, and sell the weapons and technology used to perpetuate the mass-disabling and genocide of Palestinian infants, children, and adults.
- Invest in the exploitation of Palestinian land
- Are otherwise complicit in or profiting from Israel's war crimes
2. We demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine.
3. We demand that disability rights organizations end the practice of honoring war profiteers with disability inclusion awards, as this practice uses the idea of workplace equality to manufacture disabled people's complicity and consent with the mass disablement and genocide of our disabled peers in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tigray, Sudan, Haiti, and elsewhere in the Global South.
It is imperative that we center the lives of disabled Palestinians and disabled people in the Global South, listening to them and following their lead.
A better world is possible if we realize all of our struggles are interconnected and recognize the humanity inherent of all people.
With respect and solidarity,
Disability Divest
Signatories
Ronja Abraham
Yael Acker-Krzywicki
Folusho Akinkunmi
Stephanie Allen
Azza Altaraifi
Hannah Alvard
Adele Amaro
Fabiola Amaya
Husam Rashed Arafat
Gina Aruanno
June aruanno
Loretta Arvizu
Jamie Aster
Joan Autio
Dara Baldwin
Colby Ball
Sasha Banaga
Lindsay Baran
Jacqueline Barnes
Ellie Barrow
Emory Bartholet
Nelly Basilly
Kristen Beaulieu
Morgan Beisner
Heather Benfield
Braia Benjamin
Gloria Bennett
Owen Berson
Faith Bissen
Reija Blades
Sarah Blahovec
Katie Blecker
Seven Blond
David Bobier
Jamie Bolland
Ashley Boyd Ferman
Heather Boyer
Ella Bradwell
Bri Bratsman
Clint Bratton
Daniel Brodsky
rebecca brown
Danielle Bruce
Aidan Bryant
Miche Budin
Robin Burgess
Candace Cable
Lalo Caldera aka Leona Love
Allie Cannington
Sarah Canoy
Saverio Cantoni
Nicole Canzoneri
Borealis Capps
Gwen Cariker
Caelen Carleton
Neal Carter
Riz Carthins
Stephanie L Cartwright-Karlsson
Lizzie Cass-Maran
Joshua Castro
Ass Catchum
Keidra Chaney
Leanne Charette
Sunshine Cheng
Chris Churchill
s churng
Moriah Claire
Erin Clancy
maya clark
Sarah Colero
Carolyn Collado
Roberta Collison
Leigha Comer
Brenton Cooney
Oberon Cornish
Neuro Cosmos/Ezra Star
Ashley Cowan D’Ambrosio
Nu Metal Cowboy
Kristen Cox
Chloe Cran
Sebastian Sean Crow
Maddie Crowley
Sky Cubacub
Cillian Cullina
Dylan Dailor
Hex Damelio
Latifa Daud
Bek Dawson
Mia De Vos
Dia Dear
Jen Deerinwater
Nika Deitch
Olivia Dellston
Laura DeMarco
Ianthe MP Dempsey
Kathleen DeNicola
Donnie TC Denome
Marcia Dernie
Priya Desai
Rin Desikan
Phoenix Lenore Devaroux
Sophie Di
Michelle Diaz
Kelsey Dinoia
Sam Docteur
Megan E Doherty
Nora Dondero
Anna Donnell
Themme Drag
Rosenriot Drag
Emily Drennen
Nicole Dutzman
El Eckert
Caolan Eder
Amanda Eisenhour
Leigh Eldridge
Nicole Enfield
Shay Erlich
Lisa Evans
Margaret Evans
Lu Everman
Brad Evoy
Isra Fakhruddin
Alexa Farrah
Samantha Feder
Mateo Fertig
Megan Fialkowski
Briana Fields
Ashlee Fisher
Thiana Fitzhugh
Sierra Fleenor
Marie Follayttar
Olive Folsetter
Kathryn Foote
Ludo Foster
Casey Froehlich
Sarah Fukami
Rads G
Daniel Gajewski
Elizabeth Gamberg
Mama Ganuush
Maya Garcia
Rebirth Garments
Jennifer Gates
Élaina Gauthier-Mamaril
David Gayes
Connor Gephart
Elise Gerhart
Leigh Gibbons
Dustin Gibson
Giovana Giscomé
Laura Gluckman
Jules Good
Pierce Gravenstine
Lilith Graves
Katherine Greenstein
Julie Greiner
Molly Griest
Eiryn Griest Schwartzman
Scott Gruber
Sylvie Gunderson
Natalie Gustin
Violet Gutshall
Rhys Hague
Laura Halvorson
Kelan Hammons
Maeve Hanna
Evan Hansen
Kenzie Harris
Leah Harris
Jolee Harston
Tyler Hartley
Rebecca Hayes
Ashlei Heffernan
C Heis
Julieanne Hensley
Sophia Hernandez
Stiffy Hice
emrys hicks-santos
awal hidayat
Casey Hidekawa
Gwendolyn Hill
Elizabeth Hinsdale
bennett hixson
Sandy Ho
Abigail Houghton
Nikkole Hughes
Jessica Hughes
Em Indelicato
Liz Jackson
Jerome Jackson
Amba Jagnarine
Cameron Jette
Katie Johnson
Ari Jones
Jude Joubert
Belén Jurado
Georgia Tania Karalioliou
Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu
Aiza Kaulitz
Khushi Kaushik
Margaret Keating
Hila Keller
Dom Kelly
Karis Kelly
Áine Kelly-Costello
Alexia Kemerling
Elliott Kenney
Beth Kenny
Sulaiman R. Khan
Kiyun Kim
Helen Kim
Janette Kirchner
Tiwari
Adam Klager
Marlee Koenigsberg
Kristin Koga
Alexa Korogodsky
Tiffany Kostan
Emilie Kowalczewski
Jack Kretzmer
Sage Krims
Mar kummerman
Tula Kurashige
Jo Lacangan
Elaine LaFay
Julia LaFond
Anna Landre
Grace Lapointe
Sarah LaRue
Alayna Lassen
Keira Lau
Amelia Laumann
Neal Lawrenz
Robyn Leadbeater
Grace Lee
Henri Lee
Leona Lee
Whitney Lee Geertsen
Louise Legun
Madi Lekei
Madisen Lewis
Ezme Fern Lillian
Amad Lindblom
Joseph Lindros
Crystal Liu
kati llewellyn
Elliott Lloyd
Alex Locust
Jordan Lome
Rex Long
Nicole Lopez-Jantzen
Ama Love
Jim Loveland
thai lu
Rachel Lucarz
katherine luken raz
Alan Luppino
Touretta Lynn
Gracielx López
Jynx macTavish
Krissy Mahan
Meghadeepa Maity
Fiona Maley
Nicole Malinoff
Ilah Mallari
Sindhu manjunath
Kara Mannor
Clarissa Mansfield
Larissa Mansura
Michele Mashburn
Eleanor Matthews
Jess Matthews
Blake McCreery-Cullifer
Kaitlen McElroy
Alex McEwin
Lauren McGehean
Spirit McIntyre
Emily McIntyre
Harper McKenzie
Tina McKim
Devon McKnight
Jordan McNeil
Dylan McNulty-Holmes
Blaire McRae
Lily Mei
Alyxx Melendez
Holly Melton
Keva Melvin
Caitlyn Menchaca
Veralucia Mendoza Arana
Mariah Menendez
Hannah Mesouani, Ph.D
Ariel Mihic
Sylvia Miller
Alyssa Minor
Hadiel Mohamed
Reid Moore
Pete Morency
Zack Morris
Nathan Morse
Nic Mueller
Alessandra Muller-Thym
Kate Myer
Alex Naase
Auromita Nagchaudhuri
Mari Nero
Trinh Nguyen
Lachair ni Chochlain
Payge Nilsestuen
Vex Noa
Aleta Norris
Alison O'Connell
Katie O'Connell
Rhiannon Olivaw
Stéfanie Olivier
Huong On
Andrea Ortega
Agata Ostaszewska
Kristen Otenti
Faro Palazzolo
Lindsey Pamlayne
Rose Panke
Adrian Parks
Emmett Patterson
Jessica Paulino
Dina Peone
Jennifer Pereira
Caitlin Perry
Isaac Philip
Leo Pineda
Olivia Pollock
Blow Pony
Sophie Poost
Emory Pringnitz
Samantha Puc
Marion Puvvadi-Daniels
romham pàdraig gallacher
seeley quest
Jennifer Radomski
Aurora Rahman
Tara M. Rai
Isabella Ramirez de Arellano
Leila M Randall
Hilary Rasch
Weslyn Rawlins
Xander Rettino
Heidi Reyes
rin rin
Colleen Roche
Arianna Rodriguez
Zig Rorer
Amanda Rosado
Gregory J. Rosmaita
Mysha Ross
Rebel Rouser
Bee Rutchik
Maddy Ruvolo
Hyunjung Ryu
Raika Sailing
Marina Salman
Lexi Salt
Ruth Sangree
Monica Santis
Miriam Saperstein
Emily Sara
Jhinuk Sarkar
Sami Schalk
Dawn Schelthelm
Erin Schick
Erin Schilling
Sophie Schmitter
Nicole Lee Schroeder
Katharine Schulman
Maggie Scotece
Madeline Scott
Finnegan Shannon
Moya Shpuntoff
Andy Simon
William Simpson
Mister Sister
Man Slaughter
Millie Sloan
Alexandra Smith
Kathryn Smith
Megan Smith
Ryan Soller
Michele Sommerstein
Jen Soriano
Veronica Sousa
Grace Stangroome
Rebecca Steckle
K Stofer
Nina Stoller
Katie Sullivan
Kendra Sullivan
Mary Sullivan
Emma Taylor
Sophia Taylor
Bug The Drag Thing
Mudd The Two Spirit
Trisha Thompson
Nicole Thomte
Paul Timmons
Marie Tobiassen
Shannon Tonetta
Clint Torris
Hannah Tralka
amanda tran
Trixa Treat
August Trepanier
zeph True
Amelia Tuller
Isobel Turner
L Tuthall
Leticia Urieta
Kaera Utsumi
Ana Vallejo
Kasper van Dijk
Faatima Vasser 'FaatiTheStreet
Jasmine Velasco
Sophia Vicencio
Sophia Vlahakis
Elliot Wallace
Caitlin Waugh
Isiah Waybright
Siatta Weeks
Marlow/Blake Weiss L
Sara Westrop
Alison Wheeler
Logan Wilkowski
Georgia Williams
Kate Williams
Kasey Wilson
Aubrianna Wilson
Lynne Wilson
Kate Wilson-Burnett
Kathryn Wiltz
Brit Witherspoon
Kaitlyn Wittig Menguc
Katherine Rose Wolf
Alice Wong
bailey woodruff
Hayden Yap
Tamara Yousef
Jillian Zdepski
Roxanne Zech
Tannis Zimmer
Lucy Zimmerman
Isaiah Zirilli
Endorsed By
Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights
All Black Errrythang
Anakbayan DC
Arlington for Palestine
Basically Wonderful
Claudia Jones School for Political Education
Clean Air Solidarity
cripple
Crushing Colonialism
DC for Ceasefire Now Coalition
Disability Drag Collective
Disability Justice Network of Ontario
Fairfax 4 Palestine
Food Not Bombs DC
Good Trouble Cooperative
Halal and Queer Collective
Irish Americans for Palestine
Jewish Voice for Peace DC Metro
Making Mensches
People's Power Assembly
Project LETS
Sunrise Movement DC
Winchester4Palestine
Women & Gender Studies Students Association at the University of Toronto, Scarborough (WGSSA UTSC)
About Disability Divest
We are a collective of disabled individuals who have joined together to call for a free Palestine and the end to the U.S. disability establishment's partnership with war profiteers and complicity with genocide and colonialism.
![The Disability Divest logo, a wheelchair user icon, but the wheel of the wheelchair is the inside slice of a watermelon. At the center of the watermelon is the rainbow neurodivergence infinity sign.](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/v/v/c/temp-kbnysxmnnltiukygfvvp/image-high-i0xpkd.png?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1080%2C1080%2Cx0%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=170&height=170)