PHILADELPHIA (December 22, 2025) – As Israel continues to expand apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, over 1000 communities have taken a pledge declaring themselves “apartheid-free.” Pledge signers commit to cut ties with Israel’s apartheid regime against Palestinians and to oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression. These 1000+ groups represent over a million constituents and include congregations, faith communities, solidarity organizations, non-profits, student organizations, veterans’ groups, businesses, and municipalities. There are apartheid-free communities in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. A map and full list of groups who have signed the pledge can be found here.
A video announcement of the “1000 communities” has also been released online.
“We voted to sign the Apartheid Free pledge because it is part of our heritage and current mission,” said Rev. William T. Young IV, Pastor of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ. Many in our congregation have been in social movements all their lives, particularly the Apartheid struggle of the 1980s. We give to educational institutions in Palestine and have been involved in the current anti-War movement. We are proud to join in the global movement to make ‘justice everywhere’ the order of the day.”
For decades, the Palestinian people have faced Israeli occupation and systematic human rights abuses. According to international law, apartheid is defined as a legally enforced system of separation and oppression based on race, creed, or ethnicity. Palestinian human rights groups have described Israel’s policies as apartheid for decades. Over the past few years, much of the international human rights community – including B’tselem, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International – have also joined the call for an end to Israeli apartheid.
"V'ahavtah: A Judaism Beyond Zionism Synagogue in Cambridge, MA is thrilled to join over 1000 communities working to end Israeli apartheid,” said Rabbi Greg Hersh, the synagogue’s founding rabbi. “The Torah teaches us three times that ‘The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who dwells among you.’ (Exodus 12:49, Leviticus 24:22, Numbers 15:15) If Israel seeks to represent Judaism, then it must emphasize equality and justice for all people, as the Torah commands."
The 1000th organization to take the apartheid-free pledge was the UMass Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. “As university workers, UMass FSJP understands that ‘Palestine is a picket line’ we must refuse to cross. We understand our working conditions as being powerfully linked with those of our Palestinian comrades, and we know that no one can be free until everyone is free. We are thus proud to join this campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in their historic resistance to genocide and apartheid.”
The Apartheid-Free campaign originated in 2022, when an interdenominational coalition of faith groups in North America, convened by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), came together to organize the pledge.
“It is easy to feel powerless in the face of apartheid and the immense suffering that Israel – with the full support of the U.S. – has wrought on the Palestinian people,” said Rev. Allison Tanner, AFSC’s national organizer for Apartheid-Free Communities. “But our faith and our conscience call us not just to witness but to take action against injustice. The apartheid-free pledge is a tool that anyone can take to their faith community, civic organization, or even their town to advocate for an end to apartheid and to act in solidarity with oppressed people in Palestine and around the world.”
Each community that signs the pledge commits to resisting apartheid and all forms of racism and discrimination. It is up to the communities themselves to decide what that looks like in practice; it can include community education, political advocacy, divestment campaigns, protests, or organizing ballot measures. Eight municipalities have already voted to become apartheid-free, and more are expected in the coming year.
Learn more at https://apartheid-free.org/
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.