FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 26, 2014

Contacts:

Pam Bailey, executive director, New Generations for Palestinian Youth & Children, pbailey@newgen4kids.org, 301-518-0100

Alli McCracken, CODEPINK National Coordinator, alli@codepink.org, 860-575-5692

DC-Area Residents Accept Gaza Rubble Bucket Challenge

When: Thurs., Aug. 28, 6 p.m.

Where: In front of the White House, Washington DC

Washington, DC – DC-area residents will accept the “Rubble Bucket Challenge” from the besieged residents of the Gaza Strip on Thurs., Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. in front of the White House. To show their support for an end to the eight-year Israeli blockade of the territory, participants will dump buckets of dirt and sand over their heads, emulating the wildly popular ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that has swept social media around the world.

“We started the Rubble Bucket Challenge to raise awareness about the horrors that families of Gaza experience when they are bombed inside their houses,” explained Maysam Yusuf, a Palestinian youth from Gaza who initiated the tongue-in-cheek campaign during an exchange with friends on her Facebook page. “Anyone who wants to donate as well should give money to help rebuild Gaza.”

With the ALS challenge, supporters were asked to pour a bucket of ice water over their heads. However, water is very scarce in Gaza due to the Israeli assault that began on July 7. In contrast, they do have plenty of rubble. The total number of homes demolished or damaged since the beginning of the latest war on Gaza now stands at 15,671.

“As silly as the ice bucket challenge for ALS seemed at first, it generated a lot of attention for a neglected disease,” says Pam Bailey, a freelance writer who has lived in Gaza and recently started a nonprofit called New Generations to amplify the voices of Palestinian youth. “Gaza has been neglected by the world as well, and we hope our response to the Rubble Bucket Challenge will both show our support for the Palestinians’ freedom and help educate passersby.”

Jes Grobman of CODEPINK adds that, “It’s been more than 50 days since Israel began its most recent assault on Gaza. It is important to acknowledge the destruction that our tax dollars have helped create and demand that the slaughter stop permanently and that the 1.8 million people there be allowed to travel and sustain their own economy. The Rubble Bucket Challenge brings the destruction of Gaza to the forefront and makes it impossible to ignore.”

The DC Rubble Bucket Challenge will be taped and posted to the Facebook page created by Yusuf, which already has attracted video submissions from Canada, the UK, Pakistan and Lebanon. The event is hosted by New Generations, CODEPINK: Women for Peace and the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN).

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