http://notimetocelebrate
*May 10, 2008...6:55 am*
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*San Francisco: 20 Jews Arrested in protest of 60th Anniversary Event*
Yesterday 20 of us were arrested in the lobby of the San Francisco Jewish
Community Center at an event organized by the Jewish Community Relations
Council's 'Israel @ 60″ Educational Symposium. Many other Jews and allies
joined us inside as well as outside to voice our opposition to an
organization that continually claims to speak in our name as it supports the
continued project of Israeli colonialism. By staging the action inside the
lobby, we hoped to move our action from a binary of Jews/inside and
protestors/outside, to recognize that indeed we are dissent from within the
Jewish community
Below is our press release, as well as some links to photos and media
gathered so far. Check back for more.
* *
*20 Jewish Activists Arrested, Disrupting Jewish Community & Relations
Council's (JCRC) 60th Anniversary of Israel Celebration*
* *
*Jewish Activists Draw Attention to 60 years of Palestinian Forced Exile and
Dispossession *
San Francisco―In response to Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations, 20
Jewish activists were arrested, demonstrating Jewish opposition to Israel's
60-year-old policy of dispossession, and highlighting the often-silenced
struggle of Palestinian refugees. For over two hours, 30 Jewish activists
and supporters disrupted San Francisco's anniversary event, bunkering
against the main atrium of the Jewish Community Center (JCC). In
conjunction, over thirty Jewish and Palestinian supporters held a rally
outside the center to call attention to ongoing Israeli policy of apartheid
against the Palestinian population. With banners reading, 'Jews in
Solidarity with 60+ years of Palestinian Resistance,' activists declared
anniversary, 'No Time to Celebrate.'
'As Jews of conscience, acting in solidarity with 60-plus years of
Palestinian resistance, we're here today to promote an 'Independence' that
does not depend on an ethnically or religiously exclusive state or on the
displacement of indigenous people,' said Eric Romann, International Jewish
Solidarity Network (IJSN) organizer. 'We want is joint liberation, not
isolation.'
The action in San Francisco, organized by the local IJSN, is part of 'No
Time to Celebrate,' a national Jewish campaign opposing Israel's 60th
Anniversary celebrations, while simultaneously amplifying the American
Jewish community's critique of Israeli policy. The Israeli Consulate and the
Jewish Community and Relations Council (JCRC), who have attempted to silence
any and all criticism of Israeli policy, were the sponsors of this event.
The activists presented the JCRC with a statement, with the following
demands:
- To stop the targeting of non-Jewish organizations, particularly of
organizations serving communities of color in the San Francisco Bay Area and
beyond, that criticize Israel and/or express solidarity with Palestine
- To stop claiming that anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel are
anti-Semitic
- To acknowledge that they do not speak for the full organized Jewish
community―that Jewish voices that criticize Israel and Zionism are
legitimate voices of dissent within Jewish communities
- To criticize Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, Matan Vilnai threat of
a 'shoah' against the people of Gaza and demand a public apology for the
exploitation of the Nazi genocide against the Jewish people for the
continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
*pictures removed. see link.*
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* *
*Some news generated so far:*
- San Francisco Bay Guardian Politics
Blog<http://www.sfbg.com/blogs
- IndyBay <http://www.indybay.org/newsitem
-KCBS<http://www.kcbs.com/Protests
for audio
<http://podcast.kcbs.com/kcbs
-The Arabist
<http://arabist.net/arabawy
>(Hossam el-Hamalawy)
- Flickr photoset
<http://www.flickr.com/photos
- check back for more!
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