IfNotNow’s Commitment to Being Co-Led by Jews on the Margins

We believe we will be more powerful when we are co-led by Jews who have long been marginalized by the American Jewish establishment and society at large, especially Jews who have been marginalized by race, class, and ethnicity. 

The reality of the Jewish past, present, and future is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and includes Jews of diverse class backgrounds. But our Jewish communities – including IfNotNow – haven’t always reflected that reality.

We know our movement will be more capable of reclaiming power from the American Jewish establishment when we have a vision for collective liberation that understands how racism, Ashkenazi dominance, and classism have prevented us from fighting for both Palestinians and Israelis, and enables us to build powerful coalitions alongside movements for racial, economic, and climate justice. 

Jews who have long been marginalized by race, class, and ethnicity understand most deeply what we have to gain from this vision, but have been exploited by our mainstream Jewish institutions to justify ongoing policies that reinforce exclusion and undermine collective liberation, including Israel’s system of apartheid and occupation. Those that unconditionally support Israel are tokenized and/or offered material and communal incentives, and those that speak openly about apartheid and occupation are silenced, excluded, and repressed.

We are committed to building a movement that is truly co-led by Jews who have long been on the margins – which is a shift that requires all of us, regardless of our identities. 

This work is evolving and moving at the speed of relationships. Currently, this includes:

• A BIJOCSM Leadership Team that is taking responsibility for building community and organizing strategies for Jews of color, Black, Indigenous, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews to find belonging and agency in the fight against apartheid and occupation. 

• Leadership stipends available to affirm, support, and increase access to leadership for Jews who have experienced marginalization and/or experience financial hardship.