Nebraskans for Palestine Organize Pre-Election “Plant the Seed Days”
Event as Part of “Pal Dot Nebraska” Project
Press Release, November 4, 2024
This past weekend, Nebraskans demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Israel’s illegal occupation in Palestine demonstrated solidarity through a coordinated effort to place Pal Dot (short for Palestinian Dot) yard signs in and around residential yards, places of worship, and friendly local businesses across Nebraska’s Second Congressional District (CD-2).
Organizers called the event “Plant the Seed Days,” part of a larger campaign known as Pal Dot Nebraska, a nonpartisan project organized by the Nebraskans for Peace Palestinian Rights Task Force (also known as Nebraskans for Palestine) intended to focus attention on Palestine as Election Day approaches. Pal Dot yard signs were also staged in and around iconic Nebraska landmarks, including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium, home of the Nebraska Cornhusker college football team, as well as other high-traffic areas as far west as Grand Island, NE. Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nebraska–Omaha and Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska supported the action, including a Friday night art build.
The Pal Dot is a quartered watermelon and the central image for Pal Dot Nebraska. Since 1967, when Israel criminalized public displays of the Palestinian flag, watermelon iconography has been a symbol of Palestinian pride, solidarity, and resistance, a way to display the colors (red, green, black, and white) without flying the flag, creatively subverting Israeli state suppression. The Pal Dot is, therefore, an expression of solidarity with Palestine, a declaration that Nebraskans will not look away from or be silent about Israel’s genocide in Gaza—not during an election season, not until the genocide and occupation end. Pal Dot Nebraska demands an end to military and monetary support of Israel, as well as an end to Israeli genocide, occupation, and apartheid.
“The Pal Dot is both a prayer and a call to repentance,” said Pastor Kathy Gerking of St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Omaha and a member of the Interfaith Committee of the Palestinians Rights Task Force. “As Americans, we have long been complicit in building a war machine through our tax dollars. The machine has abandoned any moral grounding and the rule of law. Now it is time for our political leaders to find a new way. With faith and in hope, God gives us the capacity to love our neighbors as we seek peaceful, authentic pathways to solutions.”
“Regardless of which candidate wins on Election Day, Palestinians in Gaza will continue to suffer under Israel’s genocidal siege,” said Karima Al-Absy, a member of Nebraskans for Palestine. “No matter who you vote for, the Pal Dot represents a reminder that the majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza. We will not stop holding our elected officials accountable until the genocide ends.”
“We are unifiers, not dividers. We, as students, as humans, want an end to genocide,” said representatives of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nebraska–Omaha. “We want an end to occupation. We want an end to the ongoing apartheid and oppression of the Palestinian people. The Pal Dot is a demand for peace, a demand for ceasefire, and a demand for an arms embargo.”
“The Pal Dot allows us to reflect on a deeper issue than simply red versus blue. We want to urge those going to the polls to look deeper than the surface-level politics of our two-party system,” said Daniel Soloveitchik, co-founder of Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska. “Anyone who has thought ‘never again’ in relation to the Nazi genocide against Jews must show that same conviction in combating the next president and party who will continue the slaughter of innocents. Our fight for human dignity will stay the same, and we all must continue to meet it.”
Nebraskans for Peace Palestinian Rights Task Force (Nebraskans for Palestine) is a grassroots organization advocating for Palestinian liberation through education, activism, and community engagement.
Students for Justice in Palestine–Omaha (SJP Omaha) is committed to promoting justice, human rights, liberation, and self-determination for the Palestinian people. It aims to create a space that includes both Palestinian and non-Palestinian students, fostering self-determination and solidarity, with a focus on deferring to the leadership and vision of Palestinian students whenever possible.
Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska (JVPEN) is a local formation of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.
This past weekend, Nebraskans demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Israel’s illegal occupation in Palestine demonstrated solidarity through a coordinated effort to place Pal Dot (short for Palestinian Dot) yard signs in and around residential yards, places of worship, and friendly local businesses across Nebraska’s Second Congressional District (CD-2).
Organizers called the event “Plant the Seed Days,” part of a larger campaign known as Pal Dot Nebraska, a nonpartisan project organized by the Nebraskans for Peace Palestinian Rights Task Force (also known as Nebraskans for Palestine) intended to focus attention on Palestine as Election Day approaches. Pal Dot yard signs were also staged in and around iconic Nebraska landmarks, including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium, home of the Nebraska Cornhusker college football team, as well as other high-traffic areas as far west as Grand Island, NE. Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nebraska–Omaha and Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska supported the action, including a Friday night art build.
The Pal Dot is a quartered watermelon and the central image for Pal Dot Nebraska. Since 1967, when Israel criminalized public displays of the Palestinian flag, watermelon iconography has been a symbol of Palestinian pride, solidarity, and resistance, a way to display the colors (red, green, black, and white) without flying the flag, creatively subverting Israeli state suppression. The Pal Dot is, therefore, an expression of solidarity with Palestine, a declaration that Nebraskans will not look away from or be silent about Israel’s genocide in Gaza—not during an election season, not until the genocide and occupation end. Pal Dot Nebraska demands an end to military and monetary support of Israel, as well as an end to Israeli genocide, occupation, and apartheid.
“The Pal Dot is both a prayer and a call to repentance,” said Pastor Kathy Gerking of St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Omaha and a member of the Interfaith Committee of the Palestinians Rights Task Force. “As Americans, we have long been complicit in building a war machine through our tax dollars. The machine has abandoned any moral grounding and the rule of law. Now it is time for our political leaders to find a new way. With faith and in hope, God gives us the capacity to love our neighbors as we seek peaceful, authentic pathways to solutions.”
“Regardless of which candidate wins on Election Day, Palestinians in Gaza will continue to suffer under Israel’s genocidal siege,” said Karima Al-Absy, a member of Nebraskans for Palestine. “No matter who you vote for, the Pal Dot represents a reminder that the majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza. We will not stop holding our elected officials accountable until the genocide ends.”
“We are unifiers, not dividers. We, as students, as humans, want an end to genocide,” said representatives of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nebraska–Omaha. “We want an end to occupation. We want an end to the ongoing apartheid and oppression of the Palestinian people. The Pal Dot is a demand for peace, a demand for ceasefire, and a demand for an arms embargo.”
“The Pal Dot allows us to reflect on a deeper issue than simply red versus blue. We want to urge those going to the polls to look deeper than the surface-level politics of our two-party system,” said Daniel Soloveitchik, co-founder of Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska. “Anyone who has thought ‘never again’ in relation to the Nazi genocide against Jews must show that same conviction in combating the next president and party who will continue the slaughter of innocents. Our fight for human dignity will stay the same, and we all must continue to meet it.”
Nebraskans for Peace Palestinian Rights Task Force (Nebraskans for Palestine) is a grassroots organization advocating for Palestinian liberation through education, activism, and community engagement.
Students for Justice in Palestine–Omaha (SJP Omaha) is committed to promoting justice, human rights, liberation, and self-determination for the Palestinian people. It aims to create a space that includes both Palestinian and non-Palestinian students, fostering self-determination and solidarity, with a focus on deferring to the leadership and vision of Palestinian students whenever possible.
Jewish Voice for Peace Eastern Nebraska (JVPEN) is a local formation of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.
