Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza strip—the gruesome culmination of decades of ethnic cleansing, dispossession, erasure, humiliation, war crimes, and torture. What every human rights organization and all people of consciousness recognize clearly is being willfully denied by almost every institution positioned to intervene in the genocide. As members of and contributors to these institutions—universities, businesses, and governments at every level—we have a responsibility to expose and oppose their and their leaders' indefensible complicity. The Western Mass People’s Tribunal aims to contribute to this project by illuminating and exposing the material and ideological resources that Valley institutions have committed to the slaughter of thousands.

Our universities and governments will someday undoubtedly be held accountable. But we must do everything we can to accelerate this timeline. The People’s Tribunal is an opportunity to organize and build towards this goal. In light of our institutions’ support for genocide, their refusal to engage with our democratic demands, and their backing of violence at home and abroad, we are compelled to build our own popular institution to pursue justice—to present evidence of of their complicity and hold those most responsible to account. 

The People will put the institutions of the Connecticut River Valley on trial. Organizing to disrupt current violence requires building a community that understands the history and mechanizations of the institutions they seek to change. To everyone who recognizes the need to build such a community here, join us at the Western Mass People’s Tribunal.