Education
A great first step to getting involved is to learn about the issue. If you feel like you don't have a solid grasp of the history and the current situation in Israel and Palestine, this primer by MERIP is a good introduction. You can also come to some of the educational events that SFP holds each semester. Finally, you can find more educational websites and resources on our links page. Even if you're an expert, there is always more to learn.
Work with SFP
You should never stop at just educating yourself, however. To paraphrase Marx, the point of studying the world is to change it. Getting involved with SFP is a great way to make a difference from Oberlin.
Contact us or come to a meeting.
If you just want to help out with some of the day-to-day stuff that our group does, we always need more people to help with things like tabling, contacting speakers, and putting up flyers. If you have an idea for some sort of action or event, we would love to work with you to help make it happen.
Other Organizations
There are many other organizations doing important work to help Palestinians and bring about justice in the Middle East. These groups are probably all looking for volunteers and donations. You can find many of them in our list of links.
Speak Out
Write a letter to the editor of the Oberlin Review or another publication. You can also contact your representatives in Congress or other national officials and tell them to put pressure on Israel to stop human rights abuses and end the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel receives more U.S. aid than any other country in the world, so the U.S. government has the responsibility and the power to hold Israel accountable for violations of human rights and international law.
Ohio's representatives in the U.S. Senate are Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich. Marcy Kaptur represents Oberlin in the House of Representatives.