Archiv: the Jewish Left


28.04.2024 - 00:55 [ Ifnotnow Boston ]

JVP BOSTON AND IFNOTNOW BOSTON STAND WITH NORTHEASTERN STUDENT ACTIVISTS AND DENOUNCE FALSE CLAIMS OF ANTISEMITISM

As a new anti-war movement has sprung on campuses across the country, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Boston and IfNotNow Boston support the student encampment movement in solidarity with Palestine across this city and the country. We denounce Northeastern University’s discipline of student activists and Boston Police Department’s arrest of peaceful protesters. We denounce false claims from the Northeastern administration that protests were “infiltrated by professional organizers” who used “virulent antisemitic slurs.”

Video posted to X by GBH News reporter Tori Bedford clearly shows the incident in question, in which a pro-Israel counter-protester, holding an Israeli flag, attempts to be disruptive by yelling “kill the Jews.” He goes on to accuse student protesters of being funded by the Qatari government and imply that they are not US citizens. By using this event to slander their own students, the Northeastern University administration is acting in incredible bad faith. They owe pro-Palestine student organizers an apology.

27.04.2024 - 18:42 [ FacultyforPalestine.education ]

APRIL 22 Letter from Jewish Faculty Against the Weaponization of Antisemitism

Dear President Mills and Provost Dopico,

We write this public letter as Jewish faculty at NYU requesting that the university administration discontinue its practice of relying on specious charges of antisemitism when adjudicating matters of student conduct and faculty discipline concerning pro-Palestinian speech and protest. This matter has particular urgency as just this morning a coalition of NYU students has established an encampment in solidarity with Gaza, and already NYU has taken steps to limit and constrain their speech and mobility.

We reject outright the administration’s insistence that criticism of Israeli state policy is inherently antisemitic and so constitutes discrimination. There is nothing Jewish about supporting Israel’s destruction of Gaza or about the US bombs that have killed more than 10,000 children there, nor is it antisemitic to denounce Israeli state violence or to protest American imperialism. Moreover, by adopting a cheapened idea of “antisemitic” hate speech defined by the very same right wing political figures who have given energy and legitimacy to neo-fascist groups across the US and to the McCarthyite anti-intellectual assault on higher education unfolding today, the university degrades the discourse of antisemitism itself. With this in mind, we request that the university reverse all punitive Office of Equal Opportunity decisions in disciplinary proceedings that have depended upon the erroneous equation of anti-Israel speech with antisemitism.

27.04.2024 - 03:16 [ Middle East Eye ]

Why young Jewish Americans are turning on Israel

(April 26, 2024)

With college campuses all over the US gripped by intense battles around free speech, antisemitism, and Palestinian rights – the voices of young Jewish Americans have led the way.

One of the boldest and most prominent voices is that of Simone Zimmerman.

27.04.2024 - 03:09 [ Jacobin Magazine ]

Israelism Is a Powerful Indictment of Pro-Apartheid Indoctrination

(June 22, 2023)

After the movie was over, Simone Zimmerman and director Eric Axelman sat on the edge of the stage and took questions from the audience. One of the questions was from a Palestinian-American man who asked about how to respond to people who took offense when phrases like “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” were used to describe the treatment of Palestinians.

In his response, Axelman pointed out that recent polling shows that more than a third of American Jews under the age of forty agree with the statement, “Israel is an apartheid state.” The message is starting to get through. It’s about time.

27.04.2024 - 02:55 [ Israelismfilm.com ]

Israelism

Two young American Jews – Simone Zimmerman and Eitan – are raised to defend the state of Israel at all costs. Eitan joins the Israeli military. Simone supports Israel on ‘the other battlefield:’ America’s college campuses. When they witness Israel‘s mistreatment of the Palestinian people with their own eyes, they are horrified and heartbroken.

They join the movement of young American Jews battling the old guard over Israel’s centrality in American Judaism, and demanding freedom for the Palestinian people. Their stories reveal a generational divide in the American Jewish community as more young Jews question the narratives their synagogues and Hebrew school teachers fed them as children.

27.04.2024 - 02:45 [ Forward.com ]

Were young American Jews lied to about Israel? A new documentary says yes

(February 24, 2023)

From directors Eric Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, Israelism follows two millennial Jews — Simone Zimmerman, co-founder of IfNotNow and Eitan, an American former IDF soldier who didn’t want to use his last name in the documentary — as they talk about becoming disenchanted with the Israel they were taught to defend and believe in growing up within the American Jewish system. (Filmmakers Axelman and Eilertsen are also millennial Jews, and in a director’s statement, Axelman wrote about their own, similar arc with Israel.)

11.03.2024 - 16:46 [ Deadline Hollywood / Youtube ]

„Zone of Interest“ Wins Best Int‘l Feature | Academy Awards 2024

#oscars #academyawards
#oscars #academyawards

11.03.2024 - 16:40 [ Hollywood Reporter ]

‘The Zone of Interest’ Director Makes Gaza Statement in Oscars Speech

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people — whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization… how do we resist?” Glazer asked.

Glazer, who is Jewish, then dedicated the film’s win to Alexandria, a 90-year-old woman he met,while working on the film and who inspired one of the key characters in The Zone of Interest. She had worked for the Polish resistance at the age of 12, leaving apples for prisoners as she cycled through Auschwitz.

10.03.2024 - 19:09 [ CNBC-TV18 / Youtube ]

Netherlands Protest LIVE: Protest In Amsterdam Against Israeli President Herzog | Gaza War | IN18L

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is to attend the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam on Sunday amid a planned protest against Israel‘s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

10.03.2024 - 19:00 [ Diem25 ]

Never again is now: protest against Israeli president Herzog!

From Erev Rav:

„NEVER AGAIN IS NOW

We express our deep concern regarding the upcoming opening of the Dutch National Holocaust Museum, where Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog is scheduled to attend alongside Dutch king Willem-Alexander.

While we honor the memory of our ancestors who perished in the Holocaust and recognize the importance of preserving their memory, we cannot stand by silently while the genocide in Gaza continues to unfold.

We are organizing a peaceful protest moment during the opening ceremony of the National Holocaust Museum.

We as Jews deserve better than the instrumentalisation of our pain in order to justify an ongoing genocide!

10.03.2024 - 18:55 [ Ynetnews.com ]

Dutch pro-Palestinian group demands arrest of Isaac Herzog for ‚war crimes and genocide‘ in Gaza

(07.03.2024)

Ahead of president Isaac Herzog‘s scheduled visit to the Netherlands on Sunday, a local pro-Palestinian organization submitted a request to arrest him for war crimes in Gaza. The Foreign Affairs and Justice ministries are preparing to prevent embarrassment and to ensure that there will be no harm during the visit.

17.02.2024 - 20:24 [ NewArab.com ]

Pro-Palestinian groups file legal action against German politician over Gaza war

The charges, filed at five prosecutor offices across Germany, cite Beck‘s statements on social media, in opinion pieces and media interviews in which he expressed support for Israel‘s military operation in Gaza, calling for making humanitarian aid conditional on Hamas freeing Israeli hostages.

17.02.2024 - 20:12 [ Middle East Eye ]

Pro-Palestine groups file criminal charges of hate and war crime denial against German politician

Palestine Speaks and Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East filed the charges against Volker Beck, a former member of parliament and head of the German-Israeli Society.

„This is the first step in holding public figures who publicly make genocidal statements legally accountable,“ the groups posted on Instagram.

13.02.2024 - 19:20 [ Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator for Vermont / Twitter ]

No one in Congress should vote to send $10 billion in military aid to Netanyahu’s war machine when they are responsible for an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.

13.02.2024 - 18:52 [ IfNotNow / Twitter ]

The Senate just passed a package sending $14 billion in weapons funding to Israel and ending funding to UNRWA. Only three members of the Democratic caucus voted NO — @SenSanders, @SenJeffMerkley, and @SenPeterWelch.

Anyone who voted Yes is complicit in Israel‘s assault on Gaza.

01.02.2024 - 07:40 [ Tony Fumano / Twitter ]

NEVER AGAIN, TO ANYONE So simple, yet so difficult for some.

01.02.2024 - 07:30 [ Jewish Voice for Peace / Twitter ]

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, a JVP member and Holocaust survivor calls on President Biden to stop subsidizing the Israeli war machine that perpetuates these massacres in Gaza and asks for an immediate ceasefire.

(28.01.2024)

31.01.2024 - 18:35 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Racist Ben Gvir Warns Hadash Leader ‘Next in Line’ to Be Expelled from Knesset

Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to threaten Hadash MK Ayman Odeh with impeachment, tweeting out a picture of him with the message “next in line.” The photo shared by Ben Gvir shows Odeh holding the arm of Khalida Jarrar, a legislator and senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as she flashes a victory sign following her release from prison in September 2021. On last December 27, Jarrar was arrested again by occupation forces.

The far-right leader’s message comes hours after members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif, voting 14-2 to advance his impeachment to the Knesset plenum following two days of contentious debate. During Tuesday’s debate on Cassif’s impeachment, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi warned the Communist lawmaker’s ouster would “set a precedent” allowing for the impeachment of “all the Arab MKs in the Knesset.” “This is a black day for the Knesset,” Tibi declares following the vote.

31.01.2024 - 18:30 [ Adalah.org ]

Adalah: Motion to Expel Israeli Knesset Member for Supporting South Africa’s ICJ Case Is Unlawful

30/01/2024

Today, the Knesset’s House Committee voted to expel Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, based on his public support for South Africa‘s application to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide. Adalah: The motion is a deliberate attempt to suppress political dissent against Israel‘s brutal military campaign on Gaza

30.01.2024 - 14:00 [ Jonathan Berger / Twitter ]

“‘You can’t say that Cassif only wanted to stop the war, he’s accusing Israel of genocide,’ screams Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer ….” ? Ruckus at Knesset panel as deputy AG says expelling far-left MK lacks legal basis

30.01.2024 - 13:23 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

European MPs Call for EU to Oppose Removal of Hadash MK Ofer Cassif

On Monday morning, the Knesset House Committee is slated to hear arguments in an unusual debate that will determine the political future of Communist lawmaker Ofer Cassif, from the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction.

If the hearing goes badly for Cassif, he could soon face an unprecedented vote in the Knesset plenum to expel him from the legislative body, the result of his far-right MKs anger over his public support for a South African petition to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Four years ago, lawmakers attempted to gather the required signatures to bring similar charges against Hadash leader MK Ayman Odeh, but the effort never made it to the committee stage.

30.01.2024 - 13:09 [ Al Jazeera ]

‘Why I support ICJ Gaza genocide case against my country, Israel’

(11.01.2024)

Israeli politician Ofer Cassif announced his support for the Gaza genocide lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, and is now facing an attempt to get him kicked out of parliament. He explains why he did it.

30.01.2024 - 13:05 [ JNS.org ]

Knesset debates booting lawmaker who supported ICJ genocide case

Forer announced the move after Cassif signed a petition in support of the South African case against the Jewish state and claimed that members of the government were calling for ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Eighty-seven MKs subsequently signed on to the initiative, passing the minimum threshold required for lawmakers to remove a colleague who expresses “support for an armed struggle by an enemy state, or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”

23.12.2023 - 08:01 [ T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights / Twitter ]

Starvation, mass displacement, rampant disease. That is Gaza right now. During the Vietnam War, R‘ Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: „Our own integrity as human beings is decaying in the agony & merciless killing done in our name.“ If we turn away, we risk losing our own humanity.

23.12.2023 - 00:05 [ Jewish Voice for Peace - Boston / Twitter ]

„@WhipKClark needs to stand with the Jewish people who understand that NEVER AGAIN means NEVER AGAIN FOR EVERYONE.“

Eli on @GBHNews

Jewish constituents met with Clark who is „2nd in command“ in the House for the Democrats. She has not used her power to stop the genocide in Gaza

22.12.2023 - 23:40 [ Sumaya Awad / Twitter ]

At @AIPAC offices projecting the names of NY electeds + the amount of $$ they take from AIPAC, a right-wing lobby group that is openly, proudly supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. @RepJeffries: $500K from AIPAC @SenSchumer: $101,570 @SenGillibrand: $142,945

22.12.2023 - 23:39 [ Truthout.org ]

UAW and American Postal Workers Union Members Lead NYC March for Gaza

Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A; American Postal Workers Union (APWU); United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) Eastern Region; New York City’s arm of Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA); Adalah Justice Project, American Muslims for Palestine N.Y./N.J.; Jewish Voice for Peace-N.Y.; New York Communities for Change; the New York Working Families Party; and more took to the streets to call for “peace and justice for Palestine.”

They carried signs stressing U.S. worker demands for a cease-fire in the conflict that has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 8,000 children.

22.12.2023 - 23:22 [ IfNotNow/ Twitter ]

BREAKING: Thousands are marching on AIPAC headquarters in NYC, led by workers from @UAW, @APWUnational, and other unions. The people demand a ceasefire!

Banners at the front show how much $ @ChuckSchumer, @HakeemJeffries, & @SenGillibrand have taken from AIPAC.

@StatusCoup

14.12.2023 - 23:12 [ IfNotNow / Twitter ]

BREAKING: 75 American Jews & allies were just arrested shutting down a Los Angeles freeway to demand a ceasefire, and an end to U.S. funding of war crimes against the people of Gaza.

(13.12.2023)

14.12.2023 - 22:41 [ The Associated Press / Twitter ]

Protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza shut down the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles Wednesday morning. All lanes were blocked as protesters lined up, sitting down along the southbound side of the freeway. 75 people were arrested, according to the California Highway Patrol.

(22 hours ago)

08.12.2023 - 01:40 [ Jewish Voice for Peace / Twitter ]

The footage of Israeli soldiers torturing and humiliating detained Palestinian men in Gaza is horrific. We’ve seen terrible images like this from genocides throughout history. We know what this leads to. Never again means never again for anyone.

17.11.2023 - 08:22 [ Jewish Voice for Peace ]

Peace vigil demanding DNC call for ceasefire in Gaza violently attacked by police

(16.11.2023)

Washington, DC — Washington, D.C. police violently attacked nonviolent anti-war activists at a ceasefire vigil outside a fundraiser event held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Wednesday evening. Wielding pepper spray and pellet guns, the police rushed members of the interfaith vigil without warning, where some activists had blocked some of the doors of the Democratic DCCC’s candidate event, asking politicians to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The activists were joined by faith leaders in calling for a ceasefire to end the Israeli military’s massacre of Palestinians, to facilitate a hostage exchange, and to ensure that humanitarian and medical aid can reach Palestinians in besieged Gaza.

17.11.2023 - 08:16 [ IfNotNowMovement.org ]

FAQs on Nov 15 Protest

What happened on November 15?

On November 15, a multi-faith group of nonviolent peace activists led a vigil to mourn the lives of Palestinians and Israelis killed since October 7, followed by a moral act of civil disobedience calling on Democrats to support a ceasefire to save lives, and to end our government’s funding of violence against Palestinian civilians by Netanyahu’s far-right government.

Police brutally attacked these nonviolent anti-war activists who were bringing their messaging for a ceasefire outside of a fundraiser event held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Without any warning or request to disperse, the police rushed members of the interfaith vigil and protest, wielding pepper spray and pellet guns. Police threw protesters down the stairs, sprayed pepper spray, and hit protesters with bikes. They knocked one protester to the ground, dragged them by their hair, and then knocked them back down the steps.

Over 11,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and siege since October 7, including over 4,600 children.