Jewish Voice for Peace: "...settlements continue to expand, bombs to drop, repression to intensify, and innocent people continue to suffer..."

Lettera ricevuta: Sono iscritta da anni a Jewish Voice for Peace, un gruppo costitutito da ebrei e palestinesi che vorrebbero far sentire la loro voce.
Ci terrei che la leggeste questa lettera, pervenutami il 22 marzo u.s., scritta da un giovane ebreo. Ditemi che ne pensate. Cristina


..........

Dear Cristina, I am so upset.

It's been over a month since Young Jewish and Proud (YJP), the youth wing of Jewish Voice for Peace, got accepted to have a booth at Tribefest, the Jewish Federations of North America's (JFNA) annual gathering of young people. We've signed contracts for the booth, sent materials, paid a hefty registration fee, booked our rooms, and planned our flights. And then, with no explanation or apology, we just got a call from Tribefest organizers kicking YJP out!

If you are like me and you are tired of Jewish community institutions stifling open conversation and silencing young Jews, please sign our open letter to the JFNA right now.

I was thrilled when the TribeFest organizers accepted our application to present to the largest annual gathering of young Jews in the United States. When we applied we thought it was unlikely they'd let us in—we had tried to have direct meetings with the JFNA but had been rebuffed—and so their welcome seemed like the sign of a new era of openness. We even used social media to share our excitement— it felt important to be completely transparent that we were coming to talk!

I thought that TribeFest was demonstrating its commitment to Jewish values, which have always emphasized the importance of learning and open debate.

Sadly, TribeFest's organizers, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), have decided that young Jews are not entitled to learn about the full range of Jewish ideas on Jewish issues. When we asked why YJP is being banned from an event that was supposed to be ABOUT being young, Jewish and proud, we were told only that the person calling to inform us was "not at liberty to share all the details."

While it's painful for us to be excluded from and marginalized within spaces that claim to represent our community, it's not ourselves that we're worried about here.

What we're worried about is the future of a community that allows its institutions to dictate which ideas are allowed to be discussed, and who is fit to discuss them.

We are worried that, as we're told we can't talk about it, Israel's policies of massive violence, collective punishment, and ethnic discrimination continue.

A large and rapidly growing number of people who are Young, Jewish and Proud have come to the conclusion that to be committed to Jewish values requires them to not only criticize policies with which they disagree, but to actively seek to change them.

At Tribefest, we intended to host a booth inspired by the Babylonian Talmud's call to "go and learn". We wanted to provide a space to talk about how we believe Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) can play a vital role in pursuit of Tikkun Olam. And we wanted to give other young Jews the chance to make up their own minds about it.

But instead of welcoming the chance for young Jews to exchange ideas about the issues most important to us, the JFNA leaders are shoving us out the door and locking the gates.

Jewish institutional leaders are spending their time silencing young Jews as settlements continue to expand, bombs continue to drop, repression continues to intensify, and innocent people of every ethnicity continue to suffer.

We need your support to help tell Jewish community leaders that gatekeeping and silencing have never served Jews. We need your support to tell them that young Jews will go elsewhere if communal institutions increasingly reject and marginalize us. We need your support to tell them that muzzling debate will not make the problem of Israel’s human rights abuses go away.

Please sign the letter today. We will hand deliver it to the JFNA ourselves. Tell Jewish community leaders to let us go and learn!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9925

Abe Greenhouse, Organizing Fellow
Jewish Voice for Peace
info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org


Contact us directly at Jewish Voice for Peace. 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 550. Oakland, CA 94612 510-465-1777 info@jvp.org

Stop the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem: "March 30, 2012, massive nonviolent Global March to protest the judaization of Jerusalem"

I cani sono benvenuti...


Israel revokes Jerusalem residency of 70,000 Palestinians

According to the Wadi Helwa Information Centre (see below), the Mayor of Jerusalem has announced that the Palestinian population of Jerusalem is being reduced by 70,000 persons with the stroke of a pen. The disenfranchised population consists of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who had earlier been isolated behind towering walls from the rest of Jerusalem, cutting them off from their work, education and other civic facilities.

Many of the affected had previously been forced to make enormous detours in order to maintain their normal commute activities on both sides of the wall. As a result, economic activity and social services became increasingly separated, which is what the wall was designed to accomplish. The disenfranchisement of the isolated population is therefore the final step in expelling persons whom Israel considers to be of the wrong ethnicity and religion (Christian or Muslim). Henceforth, they will need a special permit ("visa") to visit areas of the city that were once only a short walk away. If history is any guide, that permit will become increasingly difficult to obtain.

This is only the latest in the long history of the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem and Palestine, which includes the prohibition of building permits to Palestinians, the confiscation of land, the denial of public services, the demolition of living quarters, the separation of families and many other measures that are applied exclusively to Palestinians. In the meantime, Israel heavily subsidizes Jewish housing and services in order to encourage Jewish Israelis to replace expelled Palestinians wherever possible.

Please stop the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem
On March 30, 2012, a massive Global March to Jerusalem will take place with people from around the world gathering in Palestine and neighboring countries for a nonviolent march to Jerusalem, to protest the "Judaization" (ethnic cleansing) of Jerusalem. Here is what you can do to help:

Ask your organization to endorse the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ). Send the endorsement to organize@gmj-na.org. Endorsing organizations in North America are also welcome to become part of the North American organizing committee and participate in decision making and implementation through their representatives.

Ask prominent individuals with whom you are in contact to also endorse and even to participate in the GMJ, if they are willing. Send the endorsements to organize@gmj-na.org.

Register at www.gmj-na.org/register to become part of the North American GMJ association of volunteer participants in the march.
Help support the march with your donations, which will be used to send volunteers who cannot otherwise participate, to provide regional representation at planning meetings and to educate the public through events, print and electronic media.
CLICK HERE FOR DONATION INFORMATION

70,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites to be re-classified as West Bank citizens
http://silwanic.net/?p=23183
Monday, 26 December, 2011 | 23:27
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) --

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakat has announced that the city Municipality will now classify 70,000 citizens of Jerusalem as non-residents, furthering the right wing Israeli campaign to achieve a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem. Seventy thousand Palestinian residents already cut off from the rest of Jerusalem by Israel’s Apartheid Wall will now be cast out on paper as well, with their affairs turned over from the Municipality to the Israeli military’s West Bank civil administration.

Palestinian Jerusalemites vehemently reject the segregation of their city, criticizing the “false justification of security that Israeli authorities peddle in order to take over our lands and separate us from our families – amidst a disgraceful silence from the international community.”