IfNotNow Leads 'Jewish Day of Resistance' Against Trump and Appointees
This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence on November 30.
Demonstrators are gathering in over 30 U.S. cities today as part of a "Jewish Day of Resistance" against President-elect Donald Trump and his appointment of Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. The group responsible for organizing the day's events is IfNotNow, an organization of Jewish youth concerned with the rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia characterized by the rhetoric of Trump and his appointees.
In New York City, protesters will line up on the Brooklyn Bridge and outside the midtown office of Birthright Israel. In Washington, D.C., protesters already entered the lobby of the Republican Jewish Coalition, or RJC, holding signs to "Draw the Line" against policies that threaten to tear the country apart and calling for the coalition to stand against Bannon. The group was "violently forced" from the building by RJC private security, according to IfNotNow organizer Ethan Miller. The incident was recorded on Facebook Live.
"The political lines are being redrawn right now," said New York-based IfNotNow organizer Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff. "We're concerned that our institutional leaders are trying to cozy up to power, believing that will protect them." One of those leaders, according to IfNotNow, is the Zionist Organization of America, or ZOA, which endorsed Bannon's appointment. In response, IfNotNow helped organize a protest on Nov. 20 outside a ZOA gala dinner in New York where Bannon was scheduled to appear. The demonstration drew over 700 protesters, and when Bannon failed to show, Lerman-Sinkoff said the group counted this as "a major victory."
Miller described Wednesday's actions as building on the growing dissent catalyzed by Trump's election, saying, "This is bigger than Bannon or Trump, it's about what they represent." He sees IfNotNow as representing the growing number of Jewish youth who are demanding a stronger moral stance from their leaders. "We refused to be sold down the river by institutions silently supporting Trump because he supports right-wing policies in Israel and supports the occupation."
Opposition to the occupation was the founding objective of IfNotNow, which formed in reaction to the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza. IfNotNow aims to bridge political divides by focusing first on dismantling the occupation. "Other organizations are focusing on policy, but we think all solutions will be stronger once the occupation has ended," Miller said. The occupation is "a moral crisis" in the Jewish community, Miller continued, adding that Jewish leaders must recognize the "freedom and dignity" of the Palestinian people as integral to their community's future.
IfNotNow, which has seven official chapters across the United States, has seen a surge in first-time activists since the election and has provided advice, support and two-day training sessions to meet the growing interest. They also work closely with fellow grassroots movements like the migrant justice group Cosecha, while maintaining a uniquely Jewish framework, by organizing actions around Jewish holidays and traditions, and singing Hebrew songs.
"There is a long Jewish tradition of having public moral discussions," Miller said. "That's what we want to do -- to bring issues of justice into the public arena."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence on November 30.
Demonstrators are gathering in over 30 U.S. cities today as part of a "Jewish Day of Resistance" against President-elect Donald Trump and his appointment of Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. The group responsible for organizing the day's events is IfNotNow, an organization of Jewish youth concerned with the rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia characterized by the rhetoric of Trump and his appointees.
In New York City, protesters will line up on the Brooklyn Bridge and outside the midtown office of Birthright Israel. In Washington, D.C., protesters already entered the lobby of the Republican Jewish Coalition, or RJC, holding signs to "Draw the Line" against policies that threaten to tear the country apart and calling for the coalition to stand against Bannon. The group was "violently forced" from the building by RJC private security, according to IfNotNow organizer Ethan Miller. The incident was recorded on Facebook Live.
"The political lines are being redrawn right now," said New York-based IfNotNow organizer Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff. "We're concerned that our institutional leaders are trying to cozy up to power, believing that will protect them." One of those leaders, according to IfNotNow, is the Zionist Organization of America, or ZOA, which endorsed Bannon's appointment. In response, IfNotNow helped organize a protest on Nov. 20 outside a ZOA gala dinner in New York where Bannon was scheduled to appear. The demonstration drew over 700 protesters, and when Bannon failed to show, Lerman-Sinkoff said the group counted this as "a major victory."
Miller described Wednesday's actions as building on the growing dissent catalyzed by Trump's election, saying, "This is bigger than Bannon or Trump, it's about what they represent." He sees IfNotNow as representing the growing number of Jewish youth who are demanding a stronger moral stance from their leaders. "We refused to be sold down the river by institutions silently supporting Trump because he supports right-wing policies in Israel and supports the occupation."
Opposition to the occupation was the founding objective of IfNotNow, which formed in reaction to the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza. IfNotNow aims to bridge political divides by focusing first on dismantling the occupation. "Other organizations are focusing on policy, but we think all solutions will be stronger once the occupation has ended," Miller said. The occupation is "a moral crisis" in the Jewish community, Miller continued, adding that Jewish leaders must recognize the "freedom and dignity" of the Palestinian people as integral to their community's future.
IfNotNow, which has seven official chapters across the United States, has seen a surge in first-time activists since the election and has provided advice, support and two-day training sessions to meet the growing interest. They also work closely with fellow grassroots movements like the migrant justice group Cosecha, while maintaining a uniquely Jewish framework, by organizing actions around Jewish holidays and traditions, and singing Hebrew songs.
"There is a long Jewish tradition of having public moral discussions," Miller said. "That's what we want to do -- to bring issues of justice into the public arena."
This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence on November 30.
Demonstrators are gathering in over 30 U.S. cities today as part of a "Jewish Day of Resistance" against President-elect Donald Trump and his appointment of Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. The group responsible for organizing the day's events is IfNotNow, an organization of Jewish youth concerned with the rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia characterized by the rhetoric of Trump and his appointees.
In New York City, protesters will line up on the Brooklyn Bridge and outside the midtown office of Birthright Israel. In Washington, D.C., protesters already entered the lobby of the Republican Jewish Coalition, or RJC, holding signs to "Draw the Line" against policies that threaten to tear the country apart and calling for the coalition to stand against Bannon. The group was "violently forced" from the building by RJC private security, according to IfNotNow organizer Ethan Miller. The incident was recorded on Facebook Live.
"The political lines are being redrawn right now," said New York-based IfNotNow organizer Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff. "We're concerned that our institutional leaders are trying to cozy up to power, believing that will protect them." One of those leaders, according to IfNotNow, is the Zionist Organization of America, or ZOA, which endorsed Bannon's appointment. In response, IfNotNow helped organize a protest on Nov. 20 outside a ZOA gala dinner in New York where Bannon was scheduled to appear. The demonstration drew over 700 protesters, and when Bannon failed to show, Lerman-Sinkoff said the group counted this as "a major victory."
Miller described Wednesday's actions as building on the growing dissent catalyzed by Trump's election, saying, "This is bigger than Bannon or Trump, it's about what they represent." He sees IfNotNow as representing the growing number of Jewish youth who are demanding a stronger moral stance from their leaders. "We refused to be sold down the river by institutions silently supporting Trump because he supports right-wing policies in Israel and supports the occupation."
Opposition to the occupation was the founding objective of IfNotNow, which formed in reaction to the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza. IfNotNow aims to bridge political divides by focusing first on dismantling the occupation. "Other organizations are focusing on policy, but we think all solutions will be stronger once the occupation has ended," Miller said. The occupation is "a moral crisis" in the Jewish community, Miller continued, adding that Jewish leaders must recognize the "freedom and dignity" of the Palestinian people as integral to their community's future.
IfNotNow, which has seven official chapters across the United States, has seen a surge in first-time activists since the election and has provided advice, support and two-day training sessions to meet the growing interest. They also work closely with fellow grassroots movements like the migrant justice group Cosecha, while maintaining a uniquely Jewish framework, by organizing actions around Jewish holidays and traditions, and singing Hebrew songs.
"There is a long Jewish tradition of having public moral discussions," Miller said. "That's what we want to do -- to bring issues of justice into the public arena."