FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 1, 2020

CONTACT:
Yonah Lieberman, press@ifnotnowmovement.org 

Brooklyn, NY and San Francisco, CA – This morning, as the Netanyahu government pushed back its move toward formal annexation of large swaths of the West Bank, young Jews affiliated with the anti-occupation group IfNotNow gathered coast to coast, outside the homes of Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in protest of the political leaders’ failure to hold the Israel government accountable for violating international law. The protestors sought to show the Jewish community’s support for the letter put forward yesterday by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-16), Pramila Jayapal (WA-7) and nearly a dozen others that advocates for conditioning military funding should the Israeli government move forward with annexation.

The coordinated protests occurred in the early morning hours, and the protesters wore masks with “Don’t Fund Annexation” written across the mouth, banged pots and pans, played klezmer music, blew shofars, and held banners and signs displaying slogans such as “Wake Up Chuck, Statements Won’t Stop Annexation,” and “Wake Up Nancy, Annexation is a Nightmare.”

“Annexation formalizes what the Israeli government has been working towards for decades: permanent control over all the land and total dispossession and oppression of the Palestinian people,” said IfNotNow New York spokesperson Jimmy Schnieder. “The Israeli government has crossed a thousand red lines that should never have been crossed, and statements from politicians like Schumer have had no effect. We are here to demand that our political leaders join their bave progressive colleagues in calling to condition military funding based on human rights violations immediately.”

The coordinated protests this morning is just the latest public demonstration of American Jewish backing for AOC and Jayapal’s proposal to respond to Israeli abuses by conditioning military funding. Yesterday, IfNotNow announced that five other letters circulating in the Jewish community — collectively signed by over 3,200 American Jews — demanded that the Israeli government be held accountable for annexation and for Jewish institutions to take actions beyond issuing statements. The number of signatures on the Jewish community letters would indicate widespread support from American Jews for Rep. Ocasio Cortez’ policy proposal to begin holding the Israeli accountable by conditioning military funding.

Three of the letters were written by alumni of various communities: 1,000 alumni of J Street U, the campus arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby; 450 alumni of Habonim Dror, a Jewish summer camp; and 200 alumni of Israel gap-year Fellowships, including Dorot, Bronfman, and NIF. In addition, 400 alumni of various Jewish institutions and fellowships signed an open letter and over 1,200 signed an IfNotNow petition to Jewish progressive members of Congress.

“Right now, Nancy could schedule a vote on the House floor and make it clear that our political leaders will hold the Israeli government accountable for abusing the human rights of Palestinians. However, she is refusing to lead,” said Michael Tal, a spokesperson for IfNotNow Bay Area, “American Jews from coast to coast are demanding that our elected officials respond to Israel’s violation of international law by using the power they have: condition military funding to Israel.”

This upsurge in Jewish support for supporting actions to hold the Israeli government accountable comes in direct response to years of Israel abusing Palestinian rights, culminating in the proposal to annex nearly 30% of Palestinian territory in the West Bank. The Israeli plan, for decades seen as a far-right fringe idea, got the green-light from the Trump Administration in January, when they unveiled their “Deal of the Century.” No Palestinian leadership were consulted in preparing the annexation plan, which experts consider to be a blatant violation of international law.

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IfNotNow is a 501(c)3 nonprofit to cultivate, support, and train a volunteer-led movement to shift the American Jewish community to end our community’s support for the occupation and stand for freedom and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians. Find out more at www.ifnotnowmovement.org.

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IfNotNow is a 501(c)3 nonprofit to cultivate, support, and train a volunteer-led movement to shift the American Jewish community to end our community’s support for the occupation and stand for freedom and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians. Find out more at www.ifnotnowmovement.org.