The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
November 16, 2023

Majority of National Book Award Finalists Call for Ceasefire During Prize Ceremony
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the prestigious National Book Awards ceremony in New York last night,
20 of the 25 nominated authors made a collective statement on stage
calling for a ceasefire. This is author Aaliyah Bilal.

Aaliyah Bilal: "On behalf of the finalists, we oppose the ongoing
bombardment of Gaza and call for a humanitarian ceasefire to address the
urgent humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians, particularly
children. We oppose antisemitism and anti-Palestinian sentiment and
Islamophobia equally, accepting the human dignity of all parties,
knowing that further bloodshed does nothing to secure lasting peace."

One of the event's sponsors, Zibby Media, withdrew its support ahead of
the prize ceremony, after learning of the authors' plan to speak out
against the war.

Meanwhile, Black Christian faith leaders have been meeting with White
House officials and members of the Congressional Black Caucus to call
for an end to the violence. Last week, over 900 Black faith leaders
representing churches across the U.S. took out a full-page ad in The New
York Times to call for a ceasefire and a commitment to a meaningful
peace process.


.