This year, several large community Seders (a ritual meal in observance of the Passover holiday) were held using the IJAN Liberation Haggadah (a program for Seder). Many other people held smaller gatherings in their homes using this resource. Passover is traditionallya celebration of the Exodus story, and the IJAN Liberation Haggadah draws on themes that grapple with the concept of liberation as presentedin religious text as well as secular traditions that celebrate the human commitment to liberating ourselves. 

In the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 200 people attended a Seder which raised money for IJAN and the Stop the JNF Campaign. Hamilton, Ontario, had two Seders, with a total of about 90 people in attendance. In Atlanta, about a dozen people attended a Seder in an IJAN member's home.

These Seders were a part of the cultural work of de-linking Zionism and Judaism/Jewish identity. Consistent with the project of rejecting Jewish isolationism, all Seders were well attended by people who are not Jewish. Said one participant in the Hamilton Seder, "Theenvironment, the mix of people and the atmosphere were moving and inspiring." A participant in the Atlanta Seder reported, "It was an intimate space, and people really opened up. We talked about how to confront power. We laughed and sang and studied together. We parted witha prayer and a challenge, "Next year, may Palestine be free."

"There is no mystery why Canada acts almost blindly without critique or question in support of the State of Israel's colonial policies in Palestine: Canada and Israel's policies are marching in lock step because both Canada and Israel are colonial states."

-Robert Lovelace Address to Amnesty International, Toronto, November 01, 2011

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) supports Idle No More in its struggle for indigenous sovereignty and environmental protection. IJAN  is an international network of Jews who reject the premise that our own histories of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing justify the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. We are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human emancipation, of which the liberation of all colonized people and land is an indispensable part. We understand the destruction of indigenous people, land and ways of life as a threat to the survival of all people, living things and the planet.  We extend solidarity and continue our fight against colonization in the lands that we live and in Palestine.

Please also see the excellent statement: "Palestinians in Solidarity with Idle No More and Indigenous Rights" 

IJAN is part of organizing a US-Canada cross-movement delegation to the WSF Free Palestine. And we need your help to get there.

The delegation, initiated by the US Social Forum, includesProject South, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, and the Muslim Defense Project among other leaders at the forefront of grassroots movements. Click here to see the growing list of endorsing organizations.

Our aim is to promote joint strugglefor Palestinian liberation, indigenous self-determination, the rights of refugees and migrants, economic justice and labor rights, queer liberation and gender justice, the sustainability of the land and natural resources and the creation of a people’s economy. 

Comingtogether in Brazil will provide an opportunity to organize for Palestinian liberation in ways that strengthen all our struggles for justice. Donate now to support the Joint Struggle Delegation’s travel expenses to Porto Alegre. 

Formore information on why confronting Israel and Zionism is so central toour struggles for justice, freedom from repression and war, ecological preservation and indigenous sovereignty, watch a presentationby members of IJAN, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the Center for Constitutional Rights (all members of the Joint Struggle Delegation).