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WHO WE ARE

Never Again Tour in New Jersey: what happened

On January 29, 2011, the Never Again tour visited the Rutgers campus in New Jersey. Prior to the event, hate blogger Pamela Geller and Zionist pundit David Horowitz put out a call for demonstrations. Rutgers Hillel, with support from the local Jewish Federation, called for protest of the event. They objected to the humanitarian message of the event - Never Again for Anyone, including Palestinians.

They were threatened by the clear voices of criticism of Israel by Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer and holocaust refugee Hedy Epstein. Both condemned the exploitation of the holocaust by Israel and Zionist to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Not able to reasonably argue with the universal message of our common rights and dignity, protesters looked for a technical issue on which to challenge the event.

A week prior to the event Rutgers changed the contract over to one of the national sponsors, American Muslims for Palestine. In doing so two things happened: the room cost went up to $1200 (more than all of the other venues put together) and sponsors were able to charge for the event. The additional cost of the room and the cost of additional security necessary due to the call for protest resulted in a decision to charge a minimum admission fee of $5.

The video below shows the organizers of the protest offering for Rutgers Hillel to reimburse those who pay the $5 to attend the event. Contrary to claims that Jews were not allowed into the event, the video shows that anyone was allowed in if they were willing to pay the admission fee. Of course, Jews organized the tour, attended the event and were on the platform, including two Jewish survivors of the holocaust as well as the co-coordinator of IJAN.

Popular Tribunal in Sao Paolo Focuses on Israel’s Role in Brazilian Repression

On August 16^th, 2014 the Front in Defense of the Palestinian People (Frente em Defesa do Povo Palestino) hosted a popular tribunal charging Israel with grave crimes for its attacks on the Palestinian people and its role in contributing to state repression in Brazil. The event, Popular Tribunal: Israel on the Defendant’s Bench featured powerful testimony from many important sectors affected by the Brazilian government’s close relationship with Israel, particularly its purchase of millions of dollars worth of Israeli weapons. Testimony from members of important social movements included the Homeless Workers' Movement (MTST), Quilombo Race and Class (Black caucus), the Students' Federations (ANEL and UNE) and Palestinians living in Brazil. The verdict presented by Judge Joao Batista Damasceno condemned Israel’s role in repression in Brazil itself and for supplying military equipment that Brazil uses in the UN occupation of Haiti. The tribunal follows the people’s movement assembly organized at the World Social Forum Free Palestine in Porto Alegre by IJAN, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the Palestinian Youth Movement with testimony from organizers from across the globe. Here are links to the 7 part video of this assembly: pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6 and pt 7. The full verdict and sentence from the Sao Paulo tribunal is posted below in English. To read more about the tribunal in Portuguese, click here.

Statement by Jewish Activists and Organizations active in BDS against Israel

Because academic, cultural and commercial boycotts, divestments and sanctions of Israel:

are being called for by Palestinian civil society in response to the occupation and colonization of their land,
are a moral tool of non-violent, peaceful response to more than sixty years of Israeli colonialism, and,
rightfully place accountability on Israeli institutions (and their allies and partners) that use business, cultural, and academic ties to white-wash Israel’s responsibility for continuing crimes against humanity,

The undersigned organizations and individuals stand firm in our support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives against Israel until it meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law.