The US campaign to end the Israeli occupation is a pro-Palestinian advocacy organization

Foreign policy interest group

A foreign policy interest group, according to Thomas Ambrosio, is a domestic advocacy group which seeks to directly or indirectly influence their government's foreign policy.-Historic development:...

 based in the U.S. It is a coalition of more than 250 member organizations working to influence United States policy as it relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...

. According to its website , the US Campaign "is based on human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 and international law

International law

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

, providing a non-sectarian framework for everyone who supports its Call to Action." The Call to Action summarizes US Campaign's goals and strategy, which include educating and mobilizing the public to challenge U.S. policies "that sustain the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and deny equal rights for all."

In 2006, member organizations voted to adopt an anti-apartheid framework in its educational and advocacy work. This framework stresses the similarities between Israeli policy toward Palestinians and the apartheid system in 20th century South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. In 1973, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, which declared apartheid a crime against humanity. Prominent individuals who have talked about apartheid in the context of Israeli policy toward Palestinians include former U.S. president Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

, Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...

 and former South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

.