National Organization for Women

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FL NOW CONDEMNS NETANYAHU GOVERNMENT FOR DELIBERATE TARGETING OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

The Florida National Organization for Women (FL NOW) condemns the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children, actions identified by an independent United Nations Commission of Inquiry as part of ongoing mass killing of the Palestinian people. The UN commission’s latest report documents continued killing, injury, trauma, and systemic harm inflicted on children in Gaza and the West Bank, even after the October 2025 ceasefire.

According to the UN commission, Israeli forces have continued to commit war crimes by deliberately targeting children, causing “unprecedented death, injury and trauma” to Palestinian children. The report identifies the intentional targeting of children as a key indicator of genocidal intent by Israeli authorities.

“The deliberate killing and maiming of children is a crime against humanity,” said FL NOW President Julie Kent. “The Netanyahu government’s actions violate every principle of human rights, international law, and basic human decency. We stand with global human‑rights organizations demanding a stop to the carnage and accountability.”

Children Continue to Be Killed After the Ceasefire

The UN commission found that children have continued to be killed and seriously injured even after the ceasefire, with Israel showing “continued disregard” for its obligations under international law to protect children. Eight months after the ceasefire, Israel has carried out near‑daily airstrikes, killing more than 250 children according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Systematic Attacks on Hospitals and Reproductive Facilities

The report documents a systematic pattern of Israeli attacks on hospitals, clinics, and reproductive‑health facilities, causing devastating long‑term harm to children’s physical and psychological wellbeing.

Children Shot Near Expanding Occupation Lines

The commission also reports that Israeli forces have expanded territorial control to 70% of Gaza under Netanyahu’s direction, creating shifting “yellow” and “orange” occupation lines where hundreds of Palestinians—including children—have been shot dead for coming too close.

Violence Against Children in the West Bank

The report highlights a sharp increase in violence against Palestinian children by Israeli settlers and concludes that Israeli forces have used “unreasonable, excessive and punitive force against children” as a tool of intimidation and control.

Mass Arrests and Disappearances of Children

The commission cites mass arbitrary arrests and detentions of children, many of whom remain unaccounted for in Gaza, their whereabouts unknown.

FL NOW’s Demands

FL NOW calls for:

  1. Immediate cessation of Israeli military operations targeting civilians and children

As urged by the UN commission, Israel must halt military operations and comply with its obligations under international law to protect children.

  1. International accountability for Israeli officials responsible for war crimes

FL NOW supports the UN commission’s call for member states to arrest Israeli officials wanted by the International Criminal Court, halt arms transfers, and impose sanctions on officials and settlers responsible for crimes against children.

  1. Full humanitarian access and reconstruction in Gaza

Israel’s continued blockade of medical and humanitarian aid has caused “multi‑layered harm” to children’s survival and development.

  1. Protection of Palestinian families and children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

The rise in settler violence and military brutality demands urgent international intervention.

  1. Demands coverage by all major media of the continued mass killings in Gaza and the West Bank. The press has taken its eye off this ongoing catastrophe.

FL NOW’s Statement of Solidarity

“The intentional killing of children is never collateral damage—it is a moral catastrophe,” Vice President Debbie Deland said. “FL NOW stands with Palestinian women, families, and human‑rights defenders demanding justice, safety, and liberation. These are crimes against humanity.”

FL NOW joins global human‑rights organizations in calling for an immediate end to the mass killing, full accountability for perpetrators, and protection for all Palestinian children.

Media Contact: Debbie Deland, VP FL NOW, 407 234-6408, vp@flnow.org

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Four-Part Virtual Educational Series – Introduction to Abolitionist Feminisms

Introduction to Abolitionist Feminisms

Join Florida NOW for a four-part virtual series exploring abolitionist feminism, transformative justice, community care, and the work of building a world beyond surveillance, punishment, and policing.

Through film screenings, a panel discussion, and our book club, we’ll explore how abolitionist feminisms challenge systems of incarceration and violence while imagining new approaches rooted in safety, accountability, care, and collective liberation.

[Read more…]

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Acknowledging and Apologizing

We want to apologize to anyone at the FL NOW conference who was upset, harmed, or distracted by unauthorized literature being handed out during presentations. Presenters may distribute literature to support their presentations, but materials that were not part of a presentation should not have been distributed during sessions. It did not occur to us that we would need to establish or enforce clearer boundaries around this, and we recognize that this created an unnecessary disruption.

We apologize and will work to prevent this from happening at future Florida NOW conferences by establishing clearer expectations around the distribution of materials and ensuring that those expectations are communicated to participants in advance.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the conference, and especially to the many people who engaged respectfully with one another, even when conversations were difficult or perspectives differed. We are grateful to our speakers, panelists, workshop leaders, volunteers, and attendees who contributed so much to making this a powerful weekend of connection, learning, and movement building.

As we continue to learn from one another and work toward building a more diverse, inclusive, and robust organization, we also want to acknowledge the people who have historically been excluded from, marginalized within, or made to feel unwelcome in the narrow, white, middle-class idea of who a “feminist” is and is not.

Florida NOW is committed to continuing to examine how we create space for people with different lived experiences, identities, perspectives, and histories within our movement. Building a stronger feminist movement means not only celebrating our differences, but listening when people tell us where we have fallen short and taking meaningful steps to do better.

Thank you for being part of Florida NOW and for continuing to build this movement with us.