Over the past two years, Palestine solidarity organizing in Santa Cruz has emerged as a robust dimension of local grassroots organizing. Yet few people realize that for over half a century, Santa Cruz has been home to a local movement for solidarity with the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle for liberation. What can we learn from prior Palestine solidarity work and the challenges that activists faced locally?

This research project counters dominant imperial narratives that deny Palestinian freedom and life by documenting the rich history and evolution of the movement for a free Palestine in Santa Cruz. This research traces how local Palestine solidarity work evolved from an interfaith dialogue framework to encompass a vibrant spectrum of organizations today, both in the community and on the UC Santa Cruz campus.

Casting back to past movement work for Palestine while focusing on current struggles including the local fight for ethnic studies in which Israel’s structural violence toward Palestinians has emerged a contentious issue, this project focuses on local grassroots organizing for Palestine and the forms political engagement and education have taken, nationally and internationally, examining how this struggle has been organized in Santa Cruz County.