https://ifnotnowmovement.org/

 

Anti-War Action Against Violence in Gaza/Israel - Mourner's Kaddish - If Not Now, When?

 

Anti-War Action Against Violence in Gaza/Israel - Mourner's Kaddish - If Not Now, When?


Published on Aug 8, 2014

 

On August 1st, 2014, hundreds of Jewish activists and their supporters gathered to stand together against the ongoing violence in Gaza and Israel at a ceremony in New York City's Washington Square Park. Under the Banner "If Not Now, When?", they read the Mourner's Kaddish, sang anti-war/anti-occupation songs and read the names of the hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis killed in the previous week as a result of the conflict.

 

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photos from previous "If Not Now, When?" action:

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IfNotNow

 

IfNotNow About Us

 

During the violence of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions came together under the banner of IfNotNow to demonstrate their resistance through the beauty of Jewish ritual. Moved to act by moral anguish and inspired by Hillel’s three questions, they organized Mourner’s Kaddish actions in nearly a dozen cities across the country and lamented the loss of both Israeli and Palestinian life. They had three demands: Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.

 

The demand for American Jewish institutions to end their support for the occupation has only grown more urgent and clear since that summer. While the out-of-touch establishment claims to speak for our community, we know that American Jewry is eager for change.

 

We are building a vibrant and inclusive movement within the American Jewish community, across generations and organizational affiliations. This movement is open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the occupation.

 

Our logo, inspired by the burning bush, symbolizes our generation’s call to leadership in the Jewish community. Just as Moses was commanded to return to Egypt and fight for the liberation of his people, we too feel called to take responsibility for the future of our community. We know the liberation of our Jewish community is bound up in the liberation of all people, particularly those in Israel and Palestine. The bush burns bright but is not consumed – the fire is not a mechanism of destruction, but rather a force of inspiration and transformation.

 

We will be the generation that ends our community’s support for the occupation. Will you join us?

 

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http://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg | #ifnotnow

Courageous Jewish Opposition to Israel's Gaza War
Published on Aug 5, 2014

 

A faint voice emerging from a new generation of American Jews, - Appalled at the image of the Israeli flag with its Star of David, drenched in the blood of mostly the innocents. infants, children, women and the old. A worldwide symbol of "done by the Jews," but it's not that simple, and certain not all the Jews, and here, in this film, they are saying "not in our name" "enough already".


So off they go to the voice of American Jewry, the headquarters of the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA) in Washington, DC. Challenging them to represent this voice of Jewish dissent - demanding that they represent this voice too.

 

An IfNotNow protester in Boston holds up a sign reading "Dayenu #LiberationSeder" while picketing outside of the office of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). (Photo: Michelle Weiser)

If Not Now, When? Young Jews Refuse to Stay Silent on the Occupation This Passover
 

Truthout Op-Ed
By Sammy Sass
April 22, 2016

 

This Pesach (Passover), young Jews across the United States under the banner of IfNotNow are calling for a sea change in American Jewish consciousness and an end to American Jewish support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. On April 19, I stood with 100 young American Jews in the office lobby of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to say we support freedom and dignity for all Palestinians and Israelis. This week, in New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago and San Francisco, hundreds of young American Jews are holding ritual protests and getting arrested to say we have had enough. I feel the yearning of a generation to tell a new story of what it means to be Jewish.

 

IfNotNow holds a ritual seder outside AIPAC's office with a hundred people in attendance. (Photo: Sam Boaz)

 

Standing with this community, I feel a call to end my own silence. I used to think of myself as brave, speaking what is tacitly left unsaid, writing poetry about queerness and anger, war and assimilation. But as I've grown into adulthood I've felt the corners of my jaw ache as I keep my mouth shut to stop the words of dignity and occupation rising in my throat from pouring out. And it has been painful.

 

I am surprised, but more to the point, I am disturbed. How did my voice dim and my jaw tighten and my hands begin to hesitate? These lessons in silence are learned; and most devastatingly, I learned them from the place that once taught me to know myself by the power of my own voice: Judaism.

 

I feel a call to reawaken my voice. Read more

 

An IfNotNow member leads a collective scream during the action. (Photo: Michelle Weiser)
An IfNotNow member is arrested for chaining herself to a ritual seder table inside AIPAC's office lobby. (Photo: Sam Boaz)