Tag: Jewish Voice for Peace

Actions Throughout CT Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

by Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven

In the past months there have been rallies and demonstrations in many Connecticut towns and cities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and other demands such as access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians, an end to the occupation, a free Palestine, and no military aid to Israel.

The New Haven Board of Alders has scheduled a hearing for public testimony on the ceasefire resolution. The hearing is set for Wednesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Sign up TODAY if you want to speak, by emailing: [email protected]. You do not need to submit your testimony at this time. Just write, “My name is ___ and I would like to sign up to testify in support of the ceasefire resolution.”

If you are a New Haven resident, please include that in your email as well. The sooner you sign up, the more likely it is that you’ll have an opportunity to speak.

Many thanks from JVP New Haven!

Ceasefire Now

by Joan Cavanagh, NH Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice

November 26, 2023: The actions of the terrorist organization HAMAS on Oct. 7, 2023, were an atrocity, a war crime against innocent civilians, with a death toll of 1,200 people, accompanied by rape and other forms of torture, as well as the taking of hostages. We condemn these actions with horror and without equivocation.

The actions of the Netanyahu government in response, murdering more than 14,000 people, reducing Gaza to rubble, destroying any means by which survivors can treat their wounded and sick, and cutting off their food, water, and access to the outside world, have only amplified that villainy.

Whatever you know, believe, or have been told about the current U.S. funded and supplied Israeli government war on Gaza, or indeed about the history of Israel and Palestine, please recognize that there is no moral, political, ethical, or legal justification for genocide—the deliberate elimination of an entire group of people.

Shamefully, most of our elected officials from the executive branch on down refuse to call this siege what it is and are doing nothing to end it. Indeed, they are voting to continue it by sending money and armaments to further fuel it, even while asking for brief “humanitarian pauses” out of the other sides of their mouths. And, as usual, the arms merchants are making a handsome profit each day the war continues. They are the only beneficiaries of this all-out assault on a population with nowhere to go to escape. This war must end, and it must end now.

The good news is that from all the corners of Earth, there comes a concerted human outcry against this inhumanity. Resistance actions, led by Jewish Voice for Peace and other organizations, are happening all over this country and throughout the world. There have been nonviolent shut-downs, blockades, and takeovers of congressional office buildings, headquarters of war-profiteering companies (including Colt, in Hartford), the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, and many more, involving in total millions of people.

Please find a way to join that outcry. Speak out, write, march, demand accountability from our own government. Here in Connecticut, contact directly—and repeatedly—all of your federal representatives to demand that they act to stop this war. Ignore their perfunctory form letter replies. Keep up the demand, no matter what justifications or evasions that they give. RESIST THIS ENDLESS WAR

Jews Call on CT Labor Unions to Support Ceasefire and Free Speech

Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2023: Today the New Haven chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVPNH) released an open letter criticizing the retaliation against former SEIU CT State Council Executive Director Kooper Caraway and urging SEIU to support a ceasefire in Israel-Palestine and to defend workers from retaliation and firings based on support for Palestinian freedom.

“As Jews, we know that conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism only makes Jews less safe. Instead of retaliating against its members for speaking out for Palestine, the CT labor movement should be joining us in calling for an immediate ceasefire,” said Shelly Altman of JVPNH.

“We are living in a time of McCarthyite repression and as a rabbi, I affirm that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Speaking critically of the Israeli government and its actions, demanding a ceasefire, and supporting Palestinian rights are not anti-Semitic,” said Rabbi May Ye of Mending Minyan, a Jewish congregation based in New Haven.

“In Connecticut, we have free speech rights vis-a-vis our private employers. It is illegal for a private employer to fire, discipline, or threaten any employee for speech protected by the First Amendment,” said James Bhandary-Alexander, an experienced civil rights and labor attorney who teaches at Yale Law School.

The statement, released on Instagram, describes Kooper Caraway’s resignation as “a great loss” for movements for justice in Connecticut and affirms that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism. It urges the Connecticut and national labor movement to “stand up for all workers who are facing retaliation and firings for speaking out and organizing for freedom and ceasefire” as well as “demand a ceasefire, halt the provision of weapons to Israel, and end the occupation and Israeli apartheid.”

To find out more about Jewish Voice for Peace, visit our website www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org for campaigns, news, local organizing chapters, and ways to take action.

Oct. 18 Rally: Hundreds Demand Action to Prevent Genocide of Palestinians

by Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven 

Hundreds of Jews and friends of Jews assembled at New Haven City Hall and at the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro to urge our elected officials to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and to call on the U.S. government to stop supporting the Israeli military’s genocidal war on Gaza. Talks were delivered on the catastrophe in Gaza caused by Israeli bombing and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Gazans who are trapped in the locked-down Gaza Strip. Letters were delivered to Mayor Justin Elicker and to Rep. DeLauro. The protest was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven and the Mending Minyan Solidarity Committee.

In her remarks, Mikveh Warshaw of the Mending Minyan noted, “We are strong and wise enough to hold up the sacredness of all life; to mourn for our Palestinian and Israeli family, friends, and comrades. It is our sacred task as Jewish people in the US to fight for the humanity of everyone.”

On Friday [Oct. 13], the Israeli military called for all civilians of Gaza City — 1.1. million people — to relocate within 24 hours, as it amassed tanks for an expected ground invasion. The UN said evacuating everyone was impossible with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after Israel placed Gaza under total siege, and said it would have “devastating humanitarian consequences.” The Gaza Health Ministry reported that over 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 9,000 have been wounded as of yesterday. A thousand of those killed have been children.

Israel has openly stated an intention to commit mass atrocities and even genocide, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying the Israeli response will “reverberate for generations.” President Biden has indicated his full support, sending additional weapons to the Israeli military. Today, he planned a highly unusual personal visit in support of the military.

In his remarks, Shelly Altman responded to this, saying, “Never again. The ‘again’ of our lifetimes is underway in Gaza right now. And we refuse to stand by and watch.”

[See newhavenindependent.org/article/never_again_is_now_for_palestinians_warn_new_haven_jews]

Anti-Fascism Yesterday and Today

by Frank Panzarella, New Haven activist

On Nov. 28, 2022, about 90 people, mostly on Zoom, participated in a program at SCSU that addressed the part of World War II history largely ignored. The event was sponsored by Promoting Enduring Peace, The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at SCSU and Jewish Voice for Peace. Speaking from London, authors Merilyn Moos and Steve Cushion spoke of anti-Nazi Germans and other partisan resistance rarely given credit in mainstream accounts of the war. These experiences are documented in their book Anti-Nazi Germans, about the hidden history of working-class resistance to Nazism. Many were young people who courageously fought the rise of fascism and were communists, socialists, anarchists (survivors of the destruction of the Spanish Republic), social democrats and Jewish activists.

The two-hour program explored the complex relations of political parties and conditions that led to the rise of Nazism. This included divisions that pitted social democrats against communists at a time when unity against Nazism was critical.

The book contains many individual stories of people brutally murdered who dared spread literature, post flyers, organize factory resistance (even within concentration camps), sabotage war industries, and engage in street battles against Nazi thugs. Another part of the book details resist-ance to collaboration governments, including thousands of prisoners of war forced to work in German factories in France, Germans who left Germany and joined the Under-ground and veterans of the Spanish Civil War who fled into southern France, as well as Jewish partisans who fled Germany continuing to fight in France.

The discussion included how to recognize the dangerous signs of extreme nationalism today. Many countries grappling with economic chaos, climate change, mass migrations and multiple wars are collapsing back to extreme ideologies that blame immigrants and rival nations. Participants mentioned Orbán in Hungary, Le Pen in France, the AFD (Alternative for Germany), Meloni in Italy and Donald Trump. Democrats and Republicans continue supporting authoritarian regimes and their floundering global capitalist empire. Discussion included Russia’s new imperial dreams under the fascist Putin regime, his invasion of Ukraine and China’s global capitalist ambitions.

Copies of this book are available for $15. Please call 203-562-2798.

Dozens Protest Israel’s New Massacre

by LouAnn Villani, Middle East Crisis Committee

Sixty or more people held signs and banners in Middletown on August 17 in outrage over Israel’s new massacre in Gaza. Many held the pictures and names of Palestinians killed in Israel’s brutal early August “Op.” One person held a picture of a Palestinian girl who lost two legs and an arm in the assault.

The cosponsors of the event were the Middle East Crisis Committee, the Bristol Anti-Racism Brigade (BARB), Bristol Advocates for Marginalized Families (BAMF), Workers’ Voice CT, the Tree of Life Education Fund, Promoting Enduring Peace, and Jewish Voice for Peace (New Haven). Most of the turnout came from local Islamic centers.

Besides expressing horror and anger, protesters expressed disgust at Connecticut members of Congress who vote immense amounts of money to Israel each year without question. This year it was $1 billion on top of $3.8 billion in regular money approved during the Obama presidency.

Favorite chants were “Gaza, Gaza, don’t you cry, Palestine will never die”; “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes”; and “Free Palestine.” Ghoufran Allababidi from Tree of Life Education Fund, Dan from Workers’ Voice and Phil Brewer from Jewish Voice for Peace spoke to the crowd.

People were especially encouraged by the many honks from cars and trucks passing by.

To see video of the protest, go to thestrugglevideo.org. For more info on how to be involved, email [email protected] or call 203-444-3578.

Connecticut Must Oppose Israeli Apartheid

by Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace, New Haven

This is an excerpt from a viewpoint published in the CT Mirror on March 2, 2022. The entire article can be read at ctmirror.org/2022/03/02/connecticut-must-oppose-israeli-apartheid-shelly.

In 1982, Connecticut took the lead among states to be on the right side of history by passing legislation requiring divestiture from South Africa for its practice of apartheid.

In February, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and University of Connecticut President Radenka Maric led a delegation to Israel, seeking to strike deals with Israeli businesses to locate in Connecticut. Lamont says “Israel is a perfect fit because they are the leading innovators in life sciences, biotech and the defense industry — all the groups that we’re bringing over.” The Israeli defense industry has for years used Gaza and the West Bank as testing grounds for weapon and surveillance technology.

On Feb. 1, Amnesty International released a report based on four years of field research, concluding that Israel maintains a “system of oppression and domination over Palestinians” which “amounts to apartheid.” The crime against humanity of apartheid under international law is committed when serious human rights violations are perpetrated in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another, with the intention to maintain that system.

Some Israeli and American politicians and organizations have been quick to label the Amnesty International report as “false” and “antisemitic.” Middle East scholar Jennifer Lowenstein reports on the frequent charge of antisemitism against any criticism of Israel, noting “it is easier to shout at, label, condemn, and discredit the bearers of the message than to rebut the facts.”

Israeli journalist Gideon Levy questions the critics. Levy asks “What, precisely, is incorrect in the apartheid report?… Does Israel not maintain a regime of oppression and control of Palestinians in Israel and in the occupied territories for the benefit of Israeli Jews? Is the nation-state law not apartheid? Is there a single sphere, in Israel or the territories, in which there is true, absolute equality, except in name?”

In ignoring Israel’s well-documented practice of apartheid, Governor Lamont, UConn President Maric and their delegations are on the wrong side of history. It’s a disservice to the students of UConn to promote work/study opportunities in an apartheid state. It’s a stain on Connecticut’s name to seek out this partnership.

Answer the ADL with the Truth

by LouAnn Villani, secretary, MECC

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the CT Jewish Federation sponsored a film praising a particularly violent Israeli Prime Minister of the 1980s, Menachem Begin. Upon hearing about it, the Middle East Crisis Committee held an online panel on December 11 to spread the truth about Begin and about the ADL itself. Our Executive Director Stanley Heller talked about Begin’s career using terrorism in the 1940s, the role his Irgun played in the infamous Deir Yassin massacre of 1948 and his war in Lebanon in 1982 which killed an estimated 17,000 people.

Dr. Emmaia Gelman, who wrote her doctorate at NYU about the ADL spoke about both that organization and Jewish Federations as a whole. She explained that both groups were formed about a hundred years ago to support Jewish civil rights, but also to maintain the hold of the Jewish upper class on the Jewish community. Both the ADL and the federations became Zionist decades ago. The ADL claims itself as the go-to organization after acts of bigotry, but that’s pretty odd since its basically all-white and supports an apartheid state enthusiastically.

Shelly Altman of Jewish Voice for Peace talked about a program JVP has sponsored for a number of years to counter an ADL program. The ADL brings Israeli police to the US and US police to Israel for training. JVP believes they learn the worst practices of both forces from each other. US police learn to treat all minorities as potential terrorists. The JVP calls this program the “Deadly Exchange” and has worked to combat the program. Several years ago it picketed the ADL office in Hamden over this issue.

Parts of the program can be seen on TheStruggleVideo.org.

Jewish Voice For Peace 2017 National Membership Meeting

Susan Bramhall, Jewish Voice for Peace

Seven members of Jewish Voice For Peace New Haven traveled to Chicago to join over a thousand others at the semiannual national membership meeting of Jewish Voice For Peace (JVP) March 31 – April 2.

This year’s conference reflected the intentional efforts of JVP to become more inclusive and delve deeply into the implications of intersections with related social justice movements. Many speakers presented information on the underlying colonial and racist nature of the Zionist project leading us inevitably to understanding the many separate struggles as one movement with common goals.

The first day of the conference was devoted to the first-ever gathering of Jews of color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in solidarity with Palestine and in partnership with JVP (JOCSM). A general session presented by Ilise Cohen titled “Understanding Israeli State Racism and Hierarchy through Mizrahi History, Accommodation, Struggles, and Resistance” was an eye-opening tour of racism within the Jewish community. JOCSM and JVP stand in strong support of the #BlackLivesMatter Vision For Black Lives platform.

Growing out of this deepening connection is a new campaign that will be kicking into high gear this summer: Deadly Exchange. The project will focus on the deadly falsehood that violence against some communities will create security for others as has long been perpetuated by the policies of both the U.S. and Israeli government. The focus will be exposing and working to stop the training of U.S. police by Israeli forces in the art of occupation. And, yes, it happens in Connecticut as well as Ferguson and Atlanta. Stay tuned for more information.

A last note we’d like to share is that the New Haven chapter was honored to facilitate a well-attended train-the-trainers workshop on conducting Anti-Islamophobia workshops. We have just completed the second of these self-study sessions in partnership with members of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut and hope to offer more in the future. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Videos of keynote sessions by Judith Butler, Linda Sarsour, Rasmeah Odeh and others are all available online at nmm.jewishvoiceforpeace.org.

Jewish Voice for Peace Gathering on Chanukah to Challenge Islamophobia and Fight Against Racism

by Shelly Altman, JVP New Haven

In this time of rising Islamophobia and racism, Jewish community members will gather at 5:30 p.m. on the Green at the corner of College and Chapel streets to publicly rekindle their commitment to justice during the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, Dec 21. Activists of all faiths will gather holding nine signs listing commitments to fighting injustice in the shape of a Chanukah menorah.

This action is organized by the Network Against Islamophobia, a project of Jewish Voice for Peace, inspired by the Jewish tradition to work for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all the people. JVP chapters across the country will be participating on Dec. 21.

The election of Donald Trump has contributed to the already rising Islamophobia and racism in the United States, both on interpersonal and systemic levels. Hate crimes against Muslims were already on the rise and have been accelerating in the wake of the election. Existing policies of heightened surveillance and policing of Muslims and other communities of color as well as U.S. state violence against communities of color both domestically and internationally, will soon be augmented by the even more blatantly racist policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump.These include banning Muslim immigrants and limiting immigration from largely Muslim and/or Arab countries.

The members of Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven believe that challenging Islamophobia and fighting against racism are part of our obligation within our communities and as partners in the broader struggle for justice and dignity for all peoples.

  • We refuse to be silent about anti-Muslim and racist hate speech and hate crimes
  • We condemn state surveillance of the Muslim community
  • We protest the use of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism to justify Israel’s repressive policies against Palestinians
  • We fully stand with the Vision for Black Lives Platform
  • We welcome Syrian refugees and stand strong for immigrants’ rights and refugees’ rights
  • We honor indigenous rights and support the courageous resistance led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to protect their land and water.

Email: [email protected] Online: http://www.jvpnh.org.

Ben Ehrenreich to Speak in New Haven Nov. 11

by Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace

Ehrenreich

Ehrenreich

Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven (JVPNH) is partnering with Shalom UCC to present a book talk by Ben Ehrenreich on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 at the First Presbyterian Church in New Haven, 704 Whitney Ave. Ben is the author of the recently published book, The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine. His book was reviewed in the New York Times this past July. The review is available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/books/review/ben-ehrenreich-the-way-to-the-spring-palestine.html.

Over the past three years, Ben Ehrenreich has been traveling to and living in the West Bank, staying with Palestinian families in its largest cities and its smallest villages, including Nabi Saleh, Hebron, and Umm al-Kheir. Along the way he has written major stories for American outlets, including a remarkable New York Times Magazine cover story, “Is This Where the Third Intifada Will Start?”.

The book offers a first person view of life in the West Bank: the daily challenges, pain and triumphs of resistance while living under oppressive military occupation. Reviewer Andy Shatz wrote: “As heart-breaking as it is, The Way to the Spring is also a strangely joyful book, because Ehrenreich grasps the essence of the Palestinian struggle. It’s not Islam, nor even nationalism, but the stubborn refusal of injustice, the restless search for ‘how it would feel to be free.’”

Reach JVP New Haven on the web: http://www.jvpnh.org, by email: [email protected], or facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jvpnewhaven, or twitter: @jvpnewhaven.

Jewish Voice for Peace Film Series

Shelly Altman, JVPNH

Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven (JVPNH) is presenting a Film Series “From the Jordan River to the Sea: Israel-Palestine in Film,” starting Sunday, Jan. 24 and continuing to Friday April 1. Films will be screened on Sundays at 1 p.m. at the Guilford Free Library, 67 Park St, Guilford and on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. at the Whitney Center Cultural Arts Center, 200 Leeder Hill Drive, Hamden. See film details at http://www.jvpnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/JVPNHFF1.pdf.

These films offer a human face to the news we hear about the contentious and often violent relationship between Israelis and Palestinians in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The films may shatter some myths and open a candid discussion about the reality of the Middle East.

  • The Other Son – Guilford Jan. 24 and Hamden Feb. 12
  • Salt of this Sea – Guilford Feb. 14 and Hamden Feb. 19
  • The Wanted 18 – Guilford Feb. 28 and Hamden March 4
  • Roadmap to Apartheid – Guilford March 6 and Hamden April 1

Last month, JVPNH conducted anti-Islamophobia vigils and lit the menorah in downtown New Haven on the fifth and eighth nights of Chanukah. This was part of an event echoed nationwide by over 15 chapters of JVP. The New Haven Register published an editorial the following week praising our action. See it at http://www.nhregister.com/opinion/20151216/editorial-some-jews-leading-the-charge-against-islamophobia. JVPNH will be continuing its work countering Islamophobia. If you are interested in participating in this work, please contact us at [email protected].
You can reach JVP New Haven on the web: http://www.jvpnh.org, by e-mail: [email protected], or Facebook: jvpnewhaven, or twitter: @jvpnewhaven.

Report on Jewish Voice for Peace National Meeting

by Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace

Several members of the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) New Haven chapter were among the 600 attendees at the bi-annual JVP national membership meeting in Baltimore, March 13-15. The weekend was filled with inspiring keynotes, fact-filled breakout sessions, hands-on workshops and planning exercises, and a somber and moving Jewish memorial service for those who lost their lives during the brutal assault on Gaza by the state of Israel this past summer.

A significant focus of the event was the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS is a non-violent call by over 150 organizations in Palestinian civil society for three actions by Israel: ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall; recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194. The call is conditional on these, and includes an end to BDS once they are implemented. BDS is not punitive but simply a means to achieve Freedom, Equality, and Justice for Palestinians long denied these fundamental human rights.

While the Israeli election occurred 2 days after the end of the JVP meeting, the racist rhetoric of Benjamin Netanyahu, his promise to maintain the occupation indefinitely, and the endorsement of his values by the Israeli electorate only serve to raise the importance of using BDS as a tool to achieve human rights for Palestinians. Find out more about the BDS movement at http://www.bdsmovement.net.
Rabbi Brant Rosen of JVP spoke from the heart: “I’d like to suggest that a deeper understanding of this value [love of the Jewish people] should not stop at love just for fellow Jews. After all, while the word Yisrael does refer to the Jewish people, it also literally means ‘one who wrestles with God.’ Seen thus, we might interpret it as love for all who struggle, to love all who fight as we have for freedom and justice and tolerance in the world, to stand in solidarity with those who struggle against tyranny, and are beaten, imprisoned, tortured or killed for doing so…these are the members of our tribe, perhaps our most sacred tribe.”

Angela Davis concluded her stirring plenary by remarking “We are compelled to speak back with the voices of our humble solidarity, and one of the most important of these voices is Jewish Voice for Peace. Carry on!”

JVP New Haven contact info: web: www.jvpnh.org; email: [email protected]; facebook: jvpnewhaven; twitter:@jvpnewhaven.

Jewish Voice for Peace National Gathering in March

by Shelly Altman, Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) will be holding its bi-annual National Membership Meeting (NMM) in Baltimore on March 13-15. Over 500 activists united for human rights in Israel and Palestine will share experiences, discuss and debate, learn new skills, and strengthen the activist community.

JVP has grown from one modest local organizing group in Berkeley in 1996 to a national organization with 72 chapters across the country in 2015. New Haven’s JVP chapter formed in 2014, and will be represented by 7 attendees. JVP nationally has over 9,000 members and nearly 200,000 on-line supporters–people who are demanding equal justice for all, building dynamic new alliances, and transforming Jewish community.

The National Membership Meeting is called “We’re Not Waiting” because the phenomenal work and successes of the last year show that JVP is breaking through into the mainstream, and that no one’s permission is needed to stand up and put it all on the line now in the the fight for justice.

Attendees at the 2013 NMM found it transformative. The 2015 schedule includes plenary sessions with keynote speakers Angela Davis, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Sa’ed Atshan, representatives from Badil and Zochrot, Eran Efrati, and JVP executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson. There are close to 50 breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics. Some examples: “From the Southwest Border to Palestine: Occupation, Militarization, and Resistance,” “Beautiful Trouble: Creative, Strategic Organizing Tactics, Tips, and Tools for Victory,” and “Theatre of the Oppressed: Building Solidarity by Recognizing our Privileges and Oppressions.”

Shabbat services will be held Friday and Saturday, with Havdallah marking the end of Shabbat on Saturday evening.

You can reach the New Haven JVP chapter at the following: www.jvpnh.org, email: [email protected] facebook: jvpnewhaven, twitter: @jvpnewhaven
We’ll be reporting back in a future PAR newsletter on the highlights of the NMM.