US | IJAN

The United States IJAN chapter has members across the country, from the West Coast to the Midwest to New England. We focus on issues and campaigns that are specific to our context, while remaining in close conversation and consultation with international partners and points of reference. Within the US, we work closely with a variety of organizations and networks within, or in solidarity with, the Palestinian liberation movement, as well as those who are struggling against racism, colonialism, class rule, and state violence more broadly within the US, but who understand the importance of the Palestinian struggle to all of our movements.

ACTION ALERT: Support Rasmea Odeh

TheInternational Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) protests in the strongestpossible manner the arrest and detention of civil rights worker Rasmea YousefOdeh, on October 22, 2013, from her home in Chicago.

Ms. Odeh, aPalestinian lawyer, arrived in the United States 20 years ago after sufferingbrutal arrest by the Israeli military for her work for Palestinian freedom andrights. Rasmea's arrest led to years of unspeakable,inhumane, and illegal torture by Israeli prison authorities. Since her arrival,she has worked for the civil and human rights of Palestinians and Arabs. Since2004, she has worked with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) as theAssociate Director. She also managed the Arab Women's Committee of the AAAN andfought to defend women's and immigrants' rights. She recently won theOutstanding Community Leader's Award from the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

Ms. Odeh wascharged with an immigration violation, but we believe that this is an excuse toremove an effective human rights worker from the American society and instillfear in others who dare to work for human rights and equal rights forPalestinians. As with the Grand Jury subpoenas of the 23 Palestinian humanrights and anti-war activists in Minneapolis and Chicago in 2010, theinhumanely long prison sentence of the Holy Land 5, and the infiltration andtargeting of Muslim groups by FBI informants, the arrest of Ms. Odeh is meantto send a message to those who work for and believe in human rights for allpeople: the U.S. will not tolerate criticisms of its pro-Israeli policies andsupport.

Thisreflects a long history of collaboration between the United States and Israeligovernment, military and police in repressing popular movements for justice andliberty and organizations that work on their behalf. Beyond the Palestineliberation movement, this includes the Black Liberation Movement, the SouthAfrican anti-apartheid struggle, the United Farm Workers, the Center forConstitutional Rights and countless others. Most recently, the US NationalSecurity Administration was exposed for spying on its general population andsharing the information it gathers with the State of Israel. The leadcontracting agencies the NSA partners with in its spying are run by formerpersonnel of the intelligence branch of the Israeli military.

IJAN callson the US Attorney Barbara McQuade to drop the charges against and immediatelyrelease Rasmea Yousef Odeh, and the cessation of policies to instill fear inhuman rights activists and workers.

Please signthe petition at http://www.stopfbi.net/sign-petition-rasmea-odeh.Then, please take the following action items

Petition in support of California's striking prisoners

This Yom Kippur, September 14th 2013, (10th of Tishrei 5774) will mark the 69th day of the California prisoner hunger strike. Extraordinarily, prisoners have massively organized throughout the state overcoming every race division, to end the various forms of brutal punishment and profiteering they suffer, beginning with long-term solitary confinement officially recognized internationally as torture. From California to Palestine to Guantanamo, prisoners are resisting the torturous conditions for which they were never sentenced.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement just following the Jewish New Year, and is traditionally observed with fast, prayer, reflection and action. It is a day of taking collective responsibility for injustice and committing oneself to repairing the harm in our world. We are Jews who relate to this holiday and this time in the calendar in a variety of ways - through religion and spirituality, through language and culture, through ethical and political histories.

Stop the JNF Campaign Growing in the U.S.

The Campaign to Stop the JNF is growing in participation,visibility, and momentum. This spring, Jonah Aline Daniel represented the Stopthe JNF campaign in many cities across the Midwest and East coast of the United States to bring areport back from the Plant-a-Tree in Palestine delegation. The tour was a success indrawing crowds of various sizes, recruiting new campaign activists andprompting many helpful questions to further the strategic development of theCampaign.

At each event most people signed postcards bombardingthe IRS with demands to revoke the charity status of the JNF. Many peoplesigned up to stay in contact with the campaign moving forward. There was muchinterest in increasing knowledge about the JNF across environmental movements andin a legal campaign against the JNF. Here is the Stop the JNF Campaign presentation thatwas used on the tour and is available for use by Stop the JNF activists.

The Stop the JNF Campaign created this shortvideo as an introduction to the true purpose of the JewishNational Fund. It was screened at every location on the Report Back Tour and isavailable to share with all of your networks.

Additionally, the Stop the JNF Campaign was invited to submit adocumentary film this fall about the Jewish National Fund and theresistance to it at the Zochrot Film Festival, Nakba and Return, in Tel Aviv.This film will be made available to Campaign activists to use in our educationwork and to expose the historical and ongoing role of the JNF in thecolonization of Palestine.

S.F. Bay View: Stand Behind Striking Prisoners from Palestine to California

by IJAN http://sfbayview.com/2013/stand-behind-striking-prisoners-from-palestine-to-california/ From Palestine to California, prisoners are organizing to end torture in prison and prison as a form of repression of popular movements and poor communities of color. Members of IJAN have been following and supporting the organizing of California prisoners, who are prepared to go on indefinite hunger strike starting July 8 ...

Electronic Intifada: Prisoner solidarity from Palestine to Pelican Bay

by Nora Barrows-Friedman http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/prisoner-solidarity-palestine-pelican-bay Persons incarcerated in Pelican Bay prison in northern California are preparing to go on a mass hunger strike starting today, 8 July, demanding the end of human rights violations including long-term solitary confinement. Palestine activism groups are also launching days of action in support of the US hunger strikers in California, strengthening ...

Letter to SF Pride in Support of Bradley Manning

We urge you tore-instate Bradley Manning as Grand Marshall for this year's Pride march. As anetwork of Jewish people committed to the end of all occupations and war and tohuman emancipation for all people - particularly those most impacted byoppression and repression - we commend Manning's actions.

As a network committedto the historic struggles of queer and transgender people, we also askthe Board to remember the lives and courage of the fierce transgender men andwomen, the queens and dykes, many of whom were also people of color, who hadthe courage to stand up against the repression and violence against their communitiesby the police. This led up to theStonewall uprisings in 1969, a significant foundation for the LGBTTQ movementand what Pride itself is built on.

We reject theunfounded claim that Manning's actions endangered soldiers' lives. We remindthe Board that from 2003 to 2012, an estimated 180,000 Iraqis died as a resultof combat and an estimated 650,000 Iraqis died of war- and sanction-relatedcauses. More than 4,800 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since 2003. Certainlyamongst all of those killed in Iraq as a result of the aggression of the U.S.and its allies, many were queer.