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An email from "Jewish Voice for Peace" by Jay Knott (12/26/12)       ⇌ (Zionist opposition to freedom of speech)       

Here is an email sent out to various supporters of Palestinian rights by the organization Jewish Voice for Peace.

The author describes her first encounter with overt racism against Palestinians, talking to a fellow Jew on a flight to Tel Aviv: "the woman with whom I had been chatting pleasantly for hours suddenly started talking about 'the Arabs' with a cruelty that felt like I had been transported to the Jim Crow South".

This is not an atypical experience - surely these experiences say something about the uniquely persistent character of Jewish racial supremacy, in contrast to the "Jim Crow" variety, which has disappeared.

She then claims to have experienced someone talking about her as a Jew in the USA "in the same dehumanizing way". Someone stopped it by saying "Stop now, you are wrong". Really? Even if the story is true, there is no equivalence between hurting someone's feelings and killing their children. The Palestinians are racially oppressed, something she has never experienced. 
    "Jewish Voice for Peace members made sure that Jews were heard saying: we reject this bigotry because of our history as Jews.".
Why do they want make sure that Jews were heard saying this, rather than people in general? Is it a tactical ploy? Do they really "reject this bigotry" because of Jewish history?

Obsession with the persecution of Jews in the past does not lead to rejecting bigotry in general. It  leads to rejecting bigotry against Jews. The phrase "Never Again!" refers to the Nazi holocaust. It inspires the world to support Israel. It didn't stop the genocide in Rwanda. It means "never again for Jews".

JVP is against "the Occupation", which means lands occupied by Israel since 1967. This is completely arbitrary: all of Israel is occupied. To argue for the Jewish state to withdraw to the 1967 borders is to say that ethnic cleansing was OK before then.

They want to put "real pressure on the US and Israel to change harmful policies". But the problem isn't particular policies, it's the nature of a state in Palestine whose definition of citizenship includes all Jews around the world but excludes most Palestinians.

Most of all, JVP is among the groups whose members get very angry with challenges to their approach. For example, they "disavowed" Gilad Atzmon:

http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jvp-statement-regarding-gilad-atzmon


In 'The Wandering Who', Atzmon explains how the fact that his grandfather was an open Jewish supremacist made it easier for him to break with Zionism. For his grandfather, Jewish identity led to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. People like JVP put a lot of effort into claiming that it doesn't. They argue that being Jewish logically leads to opposing Zionism. So all those Jews who support Israel unconditionally are making a mistake. And just in case they are wrong, JVP try to prevent people hearing about it, by 'disavowing' the opposite point of view.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "..., Jewish Voice for Peace" < info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org>
Date: Dec 24, 2012 9:25 AM
Subject: "Stop now. You are wrong."
To: < ...>

 
Speaking up.
Speaking the truth.
Speaking now.

These are the reasons I work at
Jewish Voice for Peace.
And, they are what you support when you make a tax-deductible year-end gift today.
 
Dear ...,
Years ago, on my first flight to Tel Aviv, the woman with whom I had been chatting pleasantly for hours suddenly started talking about "the Arabs" with a cruelty that felt like I had been transported to the Jim Crow South.


That encounter would change my life. But in that moment, I was inexperienced and scared. I said nothing.

Not long after, back in the U.S., someone started talking about Jews, about me, in that same dehumanizing way. But this time, a friend stood up and said:

Stop now, you are wrong.

That act of courage, of being a true ally to someone else, will stay with me forever. And that kind of courage to stand up for what is right is the essence of Jewish Voice for Peace, this amazing, one-of-a-kind organization you're helping to build when you make a year-end contribution today.


Our entire reason for being is to unleash the courage of people like you and me to speak up, to speak the truth, and to do it now - all to prevent the dehumanization and oppression of entire peoples. 


When an anti-Muslim hatemonger put up ads calling Palestinians "savages," Jewish Voice for Peace activists in San Francisco, New York, and DC quickly acted in support of Muslim and Arab allies and said NO.


When UC Irvine students protesting Israel's Operation Cast Lead which killed over 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza were criminalized because they were Muslim, Jewish Voice for Peace members made sure that Jews were heard saying: we reject this bigotry because of our history as Jews.

I've worked in movements my whole life, but no organization comes close to what we do here at Jewish Voice for Peace in giving so many people the courage and the tools to fight for a world that recognizes our shared humanity.


In the 10 years that I've been here we've grown from 1 to 35 chapters, launched our brave Rabbinical Council, grown a vocal and proud youth branch, and built a network of 135,000 online supporters. It's a lot for our small organization - but it's working. It's working to shift a culture of hate and fear to one of dignity and equality. And it's working to generate real pressure on the US and Israel to change harmful policies.


But there are no short-cuts. Our work costs money. That's why I hope, hope, hope you'll pitch in what you can right now to help. Please make a donation today and let our donors match your gift dollar-for-dollar.
I can tell you, for certain, that every dollar donated to Jewish Voice for Peace has an impact far beyond our bottom line. Every gift activates a network of courageous voices, like yours. Every gift enables those life-changing moments when someone stops being silent, and starts speaking out.


I can't believe how far I've come since that time on the airplane long ago. Here's the truth: I changed because I found Jewish Voice for Peace, because we all found each other. And together, we are continuing to make change. Day by day, minute by minute. Your gift - your gift is part of that. Thank you.


Sincerely,
...


PS: Your support has been a huge part of JVP's growth up to this point. Thank you so much for all you have done to help us build an unstoppable movement for justice.

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