Archiv: the Jewish Left
Israel’s Smotrich met by hundreds of protesters in Washington, DC
Protesters descended on the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, where Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was giving a speech to an Israel Bonds convention on Sunday.
Israel’s Crisis Must Be Our Call to Action
For fifteen years, J Street has been warning of the dire threat posed to the future of Israel — its democracy, its values and its security — by the agenda of far-right ultranationalists and religious zealots.
We have spoken out about these looming threats because we care so deeply about the state and the people of Israel who are our family, our friends and our colleagues.
We’ve centered our work opposing settlements, demolitions and creeping annexation precisely on the point that never-ending occupation will ultimately take a toll on the occupier, not just on the occupied — and will lead to the erosion of Israel’s very democracy itself.
Sadly, the far-right — and the settlement movement at its core — that has single-mindedly pursued permanent control over the West Bank and dominance over the Palestinian people is now firmly in control of the government of Israel.
J Street Bashers Back Off: AIPAC Backs America and Israel’s Most Dangerous Right-wingers
AIPAC demands that American Jews leave their consciences and values at the door. But we will no longer automatically back a ‚pro-Israel‘ organization that supports those who subvert democracy – at home and in Israel
IN PHOTOS: U.S. Jews Protest Netanyahu Government Outside Israeli Embassy in Washington
(02.04.2022)
WASHINGTON – Dozens of liberal American Jews on Monday demonstrated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new extremist coalition, warning of the dangers it poses for U.S. Jewry, the two-state solution and Israeli democracy.
Organized by Americans for Peace Now, the protest was largely meant to support similar protests in Israel organized by its sister organization Peace Now.
As a Dangerous Government Takes Over Israel, Top Hadash Leader See an Opportunity
(14.12.2022)
“At times like these, we must see the silver lining from an unfortunate situation. There is a new horizon we haven’t seen before,” said Odeh, speaking with Haaretz in his Washington hotel suite ahead of addressing J Street’s annual conference last week. Odeh said he began discussing such a renewal with figures in Meretz and Labor immediately after the election and promised that “in the next few months, the level of Jewish-Arab partnership will grow immensely.”
‚I am worried for my own children‘ | Hadash Leader Ayman Odeh Addresses #JStreet2
(04.12.2022)
„It is not despite these challenges, but because of them, that I have not given up.“
J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy advocates.
Kanye West praising Hitler and Nazis is abhorrent and disgusting. Whether it is anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, sexism or homophobia there are always those who want to divide us up. Our job is to unite people around a progressive agenda that improves life for all.
NYC council members were in Jerusalem today on a @JCRCNY trip. Palestinian, Israeli and international activists invited them to Sheikh Jarrah to learn about and stand against the dispossession & racist violence Palestinians face daily. The councilors were defensive & dismissive.
Last Working-Class Jewish Settler Residents Evicted from Givat Amal
Givat Amal is one of Tel Aviv’s poorest neighborhoods, despite being situated in one of the city’s wealthier locations. The area has been described as “one of the most sought-after real estate areas” in the country, which is what led to the legal battle that began in 2005 when a development project led by business tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva was first approved for Givat Amal. The company’s plans called for tripling and gentrifying the area’s population by constructing seven luxurious high-rise buildings, and displacing the previously settled Jewish population, many of whom had lived there since the early years after the founding of the state, but without ownership rights. In fact, the last legally recognized residents of the area were the Palestinian Arabs of Al-Jammasin Al-Gharbi, numbering some 1,250 persons in 1948, who were uprooted during the 1948 war and whose rights to return to or be compensated for their abandoned property have been systematically denied by Israel ever since.
„Wir können eine große Bewegung aufbauen“: Israelischer Aktivist über seine Friedensvision für den Nahen Osten
watson hat mit Alon-lee Green gesprochen, einem der Direktoren von „Standing Together“. Er hat die Organisation im Jahr 2015 gegründet. Heute hat sie tausende Mitglieder und deutlich mehr Sympathisanten. Wir haben mit Green darüber geredet, was aus seiner Sicht geschehen muss, damit der Konflikt zwischen Israel und den Palästinensern nicht immer wieder ausbricht, wie seine Vision für eine friedliche Zukunft aussieht, was er Antisemiten in Europa zu sagen hat – und warum er trotz der Gewalt der vergangenen Wochen Hoffnung hat.
Bernie Sanders calls Hamas a ‚terrorist group‘ but says Israeli government has ‚overt racists‘
Pressed on how the U.S. can take an „evenhanded“ approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when the Hamas terrorist group does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, Sanders slammed the Netanyahu government, saying it is not innocent in the hostilities.
„What you have got to do is also understand that over the years the Netanyahu government has become extremely right-wing. And that there are people in the Israeli government now who are overt racists,“ Sanders told the CBS program. „You have in West Jerusalem people being evicted from their homes. Tremendous pressure on people within Israel, the Arab community, as well as Gaza.“
Yesterday we marched with our allies in Sheikh Jarrah to put an end to the evictions of Palestinian residents from their homes. We marched in the WB calling for an end to the Occupation. We were attacked and threatened, but this will not hamper our resolve
Jewish safety & Palestinian freedom are not opposing causes. Do not let anyone position them that way.
No the War, Yes to Jewish-Arab Partnership
Support here the Jewish-Arab movement for freedom, equality and justiceAll donations are tax-deductible in the US and UK Standing Together is the Jewish-Arab grassroots people’s movement of Israel. In the past 5 years, we have been organizing people locally and nationally, and have mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to the streets in the struggle for peace, freedom, equality, and social justice.
Now is the most critical time in our shared existance here. Those who despise peace, social justice, and progressive values are ramping up against us. Please consider supporting us in digitally, physically, financially, or morally. We need your help.
.@JeremyBenAmi on The @mehdirhasan Show: „This occupation is now 54 years old. It is strategically terrible for the State of Israel, but it’s also morally reprehensible and runs counter to not only democratic principles, but I would say to Jewish values.“
WE ARE HUMBLED. For the the 3rd time this week, thousands of Jewish and Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel are responded to our call and filled the county with hope. In more than 100 local protests, we called for an immediate ceasefire and against the Occupation.
OPINION: To end the violence, we must end the occupation
We reject the suggestion that it is only certain kinds of Jews of certain nationalities who abhor the violence of the occupation. Our members include rabbis, youth movement leaders, Jewish professionals and others who are deeply committed to Jewish communal life.
We come from every mainstream denomination and our conviction for justice is informed by our commitment to Judaism.
We care profoundly about our community and feel compelled to actualise the Jewish values by which we have been taught to live; values such as chesed (loving-kindness), tzedek (justice) and pikuach nefesh (the sanctity of each human life).
J Street Conference Marks ‚A New Day in Washington‘ for U.S.-Israel Relations
J Street concluded their 12th annual conference on Monday, virtually hosting nearly 5,000 activists who listened to lawmakers, experts and activists discuss the current respective political moments in Israel and the United States, as well as the current state of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
The event served as a sort of victory lap for the pro-Israel, left-wing organization, whose leadership and staff frequently reiterated how the conference marked “a new day in Washington.”
The brutal attack on me because Israeli security forces allowed Ma’aleh Ahuvia to rebuild after evacuating it yesterday, and didn’t stop the flocks from entering Dir Jarir lands to eat (steal) what is growing there.
(08.04.2021)
Settler Brutally Assaults Rabbi Defending Palestinian Bedouin
The former president of Rabbis for Human Rights was violently assaulted by a far-right Israeli settler on Wednesday, April 7 near the illegal Maale Ahuvia outpost in the occupied Palestinian territories. Video footage of the brutal attack shows Rabbi Arik Ascherman conversing with a masked settler, then suddenly being attacked by another who repeatedly beats him with a long wooden club while, off-camera, cries of “No violence” are intoned.
According to Zo Haderech, Ascherman arrived at the scene after he had been contacted by local Palestinians.
Israel Police injure lawmaker during clashes with protesters in Jerusalem
Lawmaker Ofer Cassif, the sole Jewish member of the predominantly Arab Joint List faction, had his glasses broken and shirt torn, outlet N12 reported.
The out-of-ordinary incident occurred in a weekly rally of some hundreds of people who came to protest against the evacuation of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for Jewish residents, according to outlet Haaretz.
Netanyahu’s Shameful Speech: When Holocaust Remembrance Day Becomes a Campaign Event
For the prime minister, it’s all about him. Always. For him, Holocaust Remembrance Day is just another opportunity to make a political speech, a self-serving tirade. As a bonus encore, just to make things even more politicized, this year’s speech also included a warning to President Joe Biden on Iran.
Israel, Mr. Netanyahu declared, “will not be committed” to a new agreement with Iran, if such an agreement is reached as a result of renewed nuclear negotiations. In Mr. Netanyahu’s world, the year is always 1938, Iran is Nazi Germany, the world is intoxicated with appeasement and he is the improved reincarnation of Winston Churchill.
Thousands Protest Police Brutality in Israeli Arab Community Despite Police Warning
„We’re here to protest police violence and also to call on the police to act against criminal gangs in our communities. We don’t have a violent message, we just want to live safely in our towns,“ Mahamid said.
Residents of nearby towns also joined the protests, as well as a number of Jewish Israelis and representatives from the Ra’am and Meretz political parties.
If There Were an Israeli Left
In the first 100 days of its imaginary government, the left would carry out a revolution. Mainly, not entirely, in its relation to the occupation, the topic that defines Israel’s identity more than any other. The first resolution passed by the left-wing government would end the siege of the Gaza Strip. In one day, as with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Strip would be liberated, its 2 million inhabitants would be free people. The sea would be open, and the border with Israel would be open and controlled. …
We support steps from the international community that will hold the Israeli government accountable for violating Palestinian human rights.
We are Na’amod
We are a movement of British Jews seeking to end our community’s support for the occupation, and to mobilise it in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis.
On Friday, the International Criminal Court ruled that it has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories. Netanyahu has already tried to label the ICC investigation as antisemitic – it isn’t.
.@BtSIsrael is the org of IDF veterans telling the horrific truth abt what really happens under Occupation. Their work is critical. They are under attack by an extreme right-wing group now & need support.
(04.02.2021)
We are appalled that Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour Party and the whip withdrawn. He has a proud record of fighting all forms of racism and antisemitism. This is an attack both on Jeremy and on the majority of party members. Do not leave, organise, fight back
(29.10.2020)
U.S. Jews Are Clear: We Won’t Back Bibi’s Conspiracies, Colonial Inclinations or Corruption
We believe in a Jewish and democratic Israel. We feel no obligation to defend Netanyahu’s pathological viciousness, monumentally stupid annexation, incitement and self-enrichment
Coalition Against Annexation Meets Israeli Diplomats in 18 Cities Worldwide
Meetings like this have also taken place at the Israeli consulates in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco, as well as at the Israeli embassies in Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Copenhagen.
“In each meeting we have between three to ten representatives of local Jewish groups attend, because it’s important for us to show that this isn’t a concern just among the ‘usual suspects’ of the left.
Israel: 400 Jewish studies professors condemn annexation as ‚crime against humanity‘
The annexation, the letter argues, will result in a system where small Palestinian enclaves in the annexed territories are effectively controlled by Israel in, what it alleges, will amount to „conditions of apartheid.“
Apartheid is seen as a crime against humanity under the international law, the letter warns, adding that Israel could grant citizenship to residents of the target areas, but the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided against that.
Israeli Leftists, Apologizing for Your Beliefs Won’t Spare You. Get Off the Defensive
Even if you say “Jewish left” instead of “Israeli left” because it sounds more patriotic, they’ll always have another loyalty test on the way. Because groveling, stammering and apologizing for what you believe in won’t spare you.
The right is ready to go on television, on radio, online, wherever necessary, to defend an apartheid plan, to defend billions being spent at a time of deep recession and to defend a corrupt prime minister. They’re ready to defend the most galling things, and you’re not ready to defend the truth? Try it sometime. Believe me, it’s easier.
I would be very proud to be the first Jewish president. Together, we will counter the hatred and bigotry of the Trump administration. Thank you @jewsforbernie for standing with us.
Refugees From the Zionist Left: How the Jewish Vote for Arab Party Spiked in Israel’s Election
Meital, 31, also from Tel Aviv, had been a lifelong Likud voter. But this week, she voted for the Joint List. “I voted Likud thinking that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is a leader with experience who can be relied on. I didn’t see anyone who could replace him,” she says. “But recently I started thinking about it differently – not to vote according to the question of who would be prime minister, but who would best reflect my values and my desire for a more tolerant society.”
Our statement on the news that both @PeteButtigieg and @amyklobuchar are joining @BernieSanders and @ewarren in not attending @AIPAC ’s conference. This is a watershed moment and a major victory against the bigotry that AIPAC has legitimized for decades. #SkipAIPAC
.@BernieSanders responds to „What does your Jewish identity mean to you and why would it be significant for you to be the first Jewish president in the history of our nation?“ #CNNTownHall
Rabbi peace activist beaten up by extremist Israeli settlers
Rabbi Moshe Yehudai, a peace activist, was beaten with an iron rod by five extremist settlers, their faces hidden by masks, while trying to protect Palestinian olive farmers. The assault comes during a severe spike in settler violence that has even included attacks on Israeli soldiers. Settler leaders have voiced condemnations, but Israeli human rights groups say that the impunity of these young extremist settlers shows the obstacles that stand in the way of any peaceful resolution to the conflict. CNN’s David McKenzie reports.
On the day of the Israeli elections, this is the one piece you need to read: by my friend @Rami_Hod & Yonatan Levi on how right wing US Jewish donors are turning Israel into their conservative fantasy (& why progressive donors should be just as strategic)
Gregor Gysi smears @maxblumenthal & @davidsheen then locks himself in Bundestag toilet
(11.11.2014)
Max Blumenthal, an US-American writer of Jewish origin, and the son of Sidney Blumenthal, the former advisor of President Bill Clinton and now a close adviser to potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, says in this video that he wants to sit down with German parliament member Gregor Gysi (The Left) in order to see if Gysi can explain the allegations against Blumenthal and if Gysi can explain why Blumenthal and Sheen should be silenced.
The Israeli friends of Volker Beck, Gregor Gysi and Petra Pau send their favorite German lawmakers a message of love at the entrance to the EU’s offices here
This is a big deal and a big win for Netanyahu – and a vehemently anti-Democratic act, affirming Israeli disenfranchisement of Palestinian citizens. It shows the Right has permeated every institution in the country, and that legality has no meaning.
Central election committee rules „Zazim“ initiative illegal
The injunction came after the Likud party submitted a petition arguing that Zazim, which is heavily funded by the US-based New Israel Fund, an organization that has butted heads with the Likud party before, was violating election laws with its initiative.
In 2017 the V15 law was passed in order to prevent foreign funded non-party political organizations from interfering with the elections.
Standing Up to Likud’s Voter Suppression
(12.09.2019)
Two days before the last Israeli election in April, Israel’s ruling Likud Party petitioned the Central Elections Committee to shut down a get out the vote operation by an Israeli campaigning organization called Zazim — an organization that Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN) and I co-founded with activist Raluca Ganea four years ago, which functions very much like an Israeli version of MoveOn.org. The government’s efforts were unsuccessful, and Zazim’s campaign went ahead as planned, bringing thousands of Arab Bedouin voters from unrecognized villages in southern Israel to their polling places.
Last week, the Likud Party once again petitioned the Central Elections Committee to prevent Zazim from helping citizens exercise their right to vote. Today, Israel’s Attorney General confirmed that Zazim’s activity is fully legal. Zazim’s organizers plan to help some 15,000 Arab voters cast their ballots next Tuesday.
Hadash MK Ofer Cassif: Netanyahu Deliberately Leading Israel to War
Hadash MK Ofer Cassif placed responsibility for the escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday, September 1, at the doorstep of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him “the serial criminal from Balfour Street.”
Cassif said “Netanyahu and his servants are responsible” for the recent clash, adding they mean to “occupy the seat of power with blood and to ensure the criminal [Netanyahu] will escape prison.”
Joint List leader, MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) agreed saying, “We will not be silent when the cannons roar” and warned that a further war “will not bring security, only death, destruction and victims on both sides.”
Let me say this to the president: I am a proud Jewish person and I have no concerns about voting Democratic. And in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States.
As seen in @BuzzFeedNews, our #unionmade „Resisting Tyrants Since Pharaoh“ T-shirts are available thru Wednesday at truah.org/shirts
American Jewish institutions need to stop smearing Ilhan Omar and instead defend her from the fascist in the White House who is trying to get her killed.
As the Trump and Netanyahu alliance grows stronger and moves the same racist policies forward, the movement grows stronger to fight back. We must join together and organize towards liberation for all.
Our members in NH just asked @BernieSanders if he’s also an anti-Occupation Jew and looks like the answer is YES! Learn more about us bringing the crisis of Israel’s military occupation over Palestinians to 2020 elections w/this exclusive from @Politico:
2020 elections: Progressive Jewish group IfNotNow expands forces for 2020
(29.06.2019)
The organization is also taking a page out of the playbook of groups such as Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union: It plans to “bird-dog” presidential candidates at public events to create viral moments and prod the Democratic Party leftward on the issue of Israel.
#NeverAgainMeans “The Boston rabbi crew doesn’t fuck around” @rabbibecky
200 Jews are shutting down an ICE detention center because we when we say never again we ?? fucking ?? mean ?? it. #NeverAgainIsNow
(30.06.2019)
Das rote (Wurm)Loch
(12.11.2014)
Neues aus Deutschplanet: Die „Linksfraktion“ verurteilt „auf das Schärfste“ einen „Angriff auf die Privatsphäre von Gregor Gysi“ durch David Sheen und Max Blumenthal.
Als Frage bleibt, ob das wenigstens als physikalischer Beweis eines Paralleluniversums durchgeht.
Today 3 minors were killed by IDF snipers as they protested the inhumane conditions Israel imposes on Gaza with its military blockade around the entire region. As American Jews, we need to be speaking out against these atrocities today and every day.
(30.3.2019)
Haaretz editorial denouncing Israel’s self declaration as an Apartheid state, although it’s too polite to use the word
In two weeks Netanyahu will be in Washington, meeting with Trump and giving the keynote speech at @AIPAC. As American Jews we must be clear: when Netanyahu claims to speak for the Jewish people, he is a liar, because he does not speak for us #NotMyJudaism
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour is a crucial ally in the fight against antisemitism .. Over 200 Jewish members and supporters of the Labour party sign a letter urging that anyone seeking an end to bigotry and racism should back Labour and Corbyn
Loving this new #KinderPolitics, even the rightwing of the party is getting on board by purging itself.
If I had a pound for every time someone claims I am taking Koch money, I wouldn’t need the Koch money I am currently not getting.
Tania (@tania_shew) worked on Jeremy Corbyn’s two leadership campaigns. She’s Jewish. And she’s got something to say
Jeremy Corbyn supporters claim anti-Semitism scandal a ‘witch hunt’ by the ‘British Israel lobby’ to topple Labour boss
Plunging the party into a fresh row over anti-Semitism, Jewish Voice for Labour’s Jonathan Rosenhead told a packed room of supporters that reports of anti-Jew hate in Labour, and its definition had been “distorted”.
And he claimed that there was less of a problem with anti Semitism in Labour than the rest of the country.
He said that Labour’s ruling body was “rolled over” in the face of a “political assault of lies and half truths” to accept the IHRA’s definition of Jew hate. And Labour’s NEC would “live to regret” adopting it.