Today, IfNotNow announced that Rep. Ayanna Pressley and 11 other Democrats have publicly taken the pledge to reject any contributions from AIPAC.
This is just the beginning. Next Thursday, June 13 at 8pm EST, join us and our coalition partners for a national call. We'll share what we've got planned for the next phase of the campaign to #RejectAIPAC, & how to get involved.
HAPPENING NOW: A week after the world witnessed an unspeakable massacre of over 40 innocent Palestinians sheltering in Rafah — Boston-area Jews and allies have assembled in grief and rage.
"BREAKING: Hundreds of Harvard students and faculty have walked out of commencement in support of Palestine and the 15 seniors having their degrees withheld for protesting a genocide."
@ifnotnowboston I know someone who had their degree withheld from Harvard. NEVER got it. NEVER. It was a seriously fucked up, racist move on their part.
Today we mark 76 years since the #Nakba, or catastrophe, when over 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and countless villages were wiped off the map during the establishment of the State of Israel. The Israeli government has continued the Nakba by carrying out a policy of land expropriation and deprivation of Palestinians’ fundamental rights from 1948 through today. (1/4)
This history — together with our history as Jews of facing ethnic cleansing and mass slaughter — compels us to call for an end to the Israeli military’s genocidal assault on Gaza and to work towards an equal, just, and thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis, free from ethnic cleansing, violence, apartheid, and oppression that reckons with and addresses the Nakba and other injustices. (3/4)
As we bear witness to the continuation of the Nakba over the decades, we recognize the chilling parallels between 1948 and today’s catastrophe in #Gaza, as the Israeli military slaughters tens of thousands of Palestinians and forces over a million people from their homes – the largest displacement of Palestinians since 1948. (2/4)
UPDATE: Protestors at the MIT encampment just knocked down the barricades MIT had erected to pin it in. Supporters streamed in and formed a human chain to protect the encampment.
BREAKING: Police are attempting to clear the #MIT#encampment. Protestors were given half an hour notice to clear out or be suspended. MIT Coalition Against Apartheid is streaming live on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mit_caa/
#Boston-area Jews and allies are here at the #MIT encampment with MIT Jews for Ceasefire, uplifting students’ demands, singing for Palestinian liberation, and calling for an enduring ceasefire.
@palestine While pro-Israel counter protestors gather across the street, we will not be intimidated. Until Palestine is free, we will chant, scream, and sing together: "Let Gaza Live! NOT IN OUR NAME!"
As American Jews, we know #AIPAC does not represent us. We keep trying to tell this to Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-05) but she won’t listen.
If she would, she'd realize that the McCarthyite “Antisemitism Awareness Act” she voted for yesterday does nothing to keep us safe. In fact, it does the opposite.
We know that crackdowns on free expression have always ended up being used to target Jews. We know that Jewish safety cannot come at the expense of Palestinian freedom. We know we will not be free until everyone is free.
Rep. Clark, we’re begging you: stop ignoring the voices of your Jewish constituents who are pleading for peace. We need you to #RejectAIPAC, and stand up for the freedom and safety of Jews and Palestinians, in your district and around the world.
URGENT: Within hours, Congress will vote on legislation that criminalizes student protest under the guise of fighting antisemitism. Write your rep now and tell them to vote NO on this authoritarian campus crackdown.
IfNotNow's statement on House passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act:
As American Jews, we see this McCarthyite crackdown on speech under the guise of Jewish safety as extremely dangerous. We know that Jewish safety cannot come at the expense of Palestinian freedom. Jewish safety and Palestinian safety are inextricably intertwined. This bill would criminalize criticism of Israel on college campuses in the name of protecting American Jews, but its impact would be the opposite. (1/2)
Fearmongering by political and communal leaders and right-wing organizations like AIPAC overrode the strong opposition of the ACLU, Jewish representatives including Jerry Nadler, and even Kenneth Stern, the author of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which was codified in the bill. President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer should make clear their opposition to this attempt to stifle the pro-peace, antiwar movement. (2/2)