In this newsletter:
- ACTION ALERT: Ask Your Senator to Support New Resolution by Sens Van Hollen/Kaine/Sanders
- National “Children’s Shroud” For Gaza Stops In Philadelphia
- BDS Targetted by US Congress In New Bill
- Products made with Uyghur slave labor are reaching US customers
- Freedom fighter Yasin Malik Calls for Death Sentence in Protest
- UN Report: Rohingya Trapped Between Armed Groups as Burma’s War Economy Expands
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Salaam,
Philadelphia Hosts First Stop of National “Children’s Shroud” Vigil for Gaza
On September 1, hundreds gathered at Philadelphia’s City Hall North to hand-write the names of Gaza’s slain children onto The Gaza Children’s Shroud, launching a year-long global remembrance campaign. Organized by Justice For All, Doctors Against Genocide, Priests Against Genocide – USA, Prayers for Peace Alliance, a coalition of local Philly groups, the event drew families, faith leaders, healthcare workers, and activists.
From 1:00 to 6:00 PM, over 300 participants inscribed children’s names onto the cloth, echoing the practice in Gaza where parents wrote names on their own bodies for identification after bombings. An interfaith vigil followed from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, with Imam Saffet Catovic, Director of UN Operations for Justice For All, leading faith leaders in prayers and a reflection that moved many to tears:
“These children are not guilty… Their only ‘fault’ was being born Palestinian. Today, we ask their forgiveness—for our silence, our complicity, for a world that looked away. We will write your names. We will speak your names. We will fight for justice. We will stand for Palestine.” Organizers noted the significance of launching in Philadelphia, birthplace of American independence, during the nation’s 250th anniversary, asking: “Do our founding promises extend to the children of Gaza?” The Shroud travels next to New York City on September 16, then Washington, D.C., in October, and to a new city monthly. Organizers say the project restores identity to each child lost, “not a number, but a name.”
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US House passes bill penalizing universities that participate in boycott of Israel
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican-backed bill that would penalize universities that participate in boycotts of Israel, or attempt to prevent students from taking part in exchange programs with the country. The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act passed by a 237-169 vote, with 33 Democrats breaking with the rest of their party to vote in favor, and only two Republicans opposed. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Measure targets the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and raises serious First Amendment and free speech concerns. The bill does not explicitly name BDS, but critics argue the movement is its intended target. They also point out that no US university has adopted an institutional boycott of Israel, calling the legislation a “solution in search of a problem.” |
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Bipartisan letter signed by 8 lawmakers to DHS raises concerns that products made with Uyghur slave labor reach US customers
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is requesting a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the agency’s implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The bipartisan letter, addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, asks the agency to address 10 concerns the committee has, including what work DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are doing to update the list of companies and entities on the UFLPA Entity List.
The letter closed with “We look forward to working with you to ensure that U.S. law is fully enforced, that American markets remain free from goods made with forced labor, and that American workers and industries are protected from illegal and unfair trade practices.”
Justice For All was at the forefront of advocating for the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which aims to ensure that goods made with forced labor in East Turkistan do not enter the United States market.
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Save Uyghur |
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Yasin Malik Rejects Indian Judicial Process, Calls for Death Sentence in Protest
Jailed Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik has said he will no longer contest a case in which he has been implicated in what he describes as a false charge, saying he has lost faith in India’s judicial system.
In a 25-page affidavit filed before a Srinagar court in early September, Malik said he would accept whatever punishment the court imposed and asked that he be sentenced to death. He stressed that accepting a sentence should not be treated as an admission of guilt, describing his decision as a protest against what he called political persecution and a judicial process incapable of delivering justice.
Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, has spent years in Indian prisons and has been held in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for over eight years. The affidavit also became a deeply personal account of prolonged incarceration. Malik announced his decision to end his marriage to Mushaal Hussein Mullick after istikhara and wrote to his mother, wife and 13-year-old daughter, Raziya Sultana. He said he had not heard his daughter’s voice for eight years.
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Kashmir Action |
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Hindutva Violence Expands: Christians Face Growing Threats in India
Hindutva extremists have long targeted Indian Muslims, but attacks on Christians are also increasing. In Maharashtra, Christians are reportedly being asked to sign statements declaring that they attend church voluntarily and without coercion, a troubling sign of how religious practice is being monitored and politicized. West Bengal has also seen a reported increase in attacks against Christian communities.
Our work: Justice For All has previously raised the risk of expanding Christian persecution in India with evangelical partners. This work must now be strengthened with the right allies, including American and Indian American Christian groups that understand the threat Hindutva supremacy poses to religious freedom, equal citizenship and democratic rights.
Building these partnerships is essential. The same ideology that targets Muslims today can be used to intimidate Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and other communities tomorrow.
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Save India Campaign |
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UN Report: Rohingya Trapped Between Armed Groups as Burma’s War Economy Expands
Nine years after the 2017 military attacks against the Rohingya, and five years after Burma’s military coup, a new U.N. report documents worsening violence against Rohingya and other ethnic communities.
The report, covering June 2025 to May 2026, says Rohingya civilians in Arakan were trapped between the Burma military and the Arakan Army, facing airstrikes, arson, displacement, blocked aid and systematic persecution.
In areas under its control, the Arakan Army has denied Rohingya identity by calling them “Bengali,” while subjecting communities to arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, forced labor and land confiscation.
Local sources recorded 2,353 instances of forced Rohingya labor in northern Arakan in January 2026 alone, including 75 involving children.
The report also warns that unregulated rare earth mining in Kachin and Shan states is devastating the environment while helping fuel Burma’s conflict economy. Full UN report.
SPONSOR ROHINGYA
EDUCATION HUB |
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Nine Americans Killed. No Accountability. Tell the Senate to Act on Israel
Nine Americans have been killed by Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank since 2022. Their families are still waiting for justice.
Meanwhile, Palestinians face escalating settler attacks, military violence, displacement and the detention, with billions of OUR dollars.
Senators now have an opportunity to do more than issue another appeal to the Israeli government. A new resolution led by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine and Bernie Sanders would use U.S. law to compel the State Department to report what it knows about these killings and Israel’s wider human rights practices.
call-to-action
Contact your senators today. Urge them to cosponsor and vote for the Van Hollen-Kaine-Sanders Section 502B(c) resolution, oppose any attempt to block it and demand full accountability for Israeli violence against Americans and Palestinians. No country receiving U.S. weapons and taxpayer dollars should be exempt from U.S. human rights law.
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