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Jewish Voice for Peace on Howard Zinn

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) honors the remarkable work of Howard Zinn. As former JVP board member Penny Rosenwasser said:

Our beloved Howard Zinn died yesterday of a heart attack in Los Angeles; he was 87. What a huge loss for us as Jews, as progressives, as human beings who care deeply about the world and the people in it.

Zinn was a founding member of JVP's Advisory Board and he was a tremendous supporter of our work and vision for justice and full equality in Israel and Palestine. He spoke out on behalf of the Shministim, Israel's young conscientious objectors who waited in jail for refusing to serve the occupation. He spoke frankly about the intolerable subjugation of millions of Palestinians, and how it hurt both peoples. And he stood up for the full humanity of all people everywhere.

He always spoke the truth with humor and and with hope. How lucky we were to share this world and this time with him.

As Zinn wrote in his autobiography, 'You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train' (1994), 'From the start, my teaching was infused with my own history. I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than 'objectivity'; I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it.'

We were all his students, and we at JVP will continue to do our best to live up to his lessons.

Rebecca Vilkomerson
Executive Director
Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace Hits Anti-Semite Slurs

Suppose you are called an anti-Semite at Daily Kos or some such place in the blogosphere for opposing U.S.-Israeli militarism. Happened to me twice, and recently in a Wisconsin blog.

But I'm in good company that includes Jewish Voice for Peace, the American Friends Service Committee, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky among many other human rights activists.

Jewish Voice for Peace is fighting back.

Sydney Levy, of Jewish Voice for Peace, asks, "Do you know what it's like to be called a 'virulent anti-Semite' simply for defending the rights of Palestinians? Chances are that you do."

Writes Levy:

We know what it's like too.

Upset about the inclusion of a film about Rachel Corrie at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Koret--one of California's largest Jewish foundations--issued a statement calling movie sponsors Jewish Voice for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee (yes, pacifist Quakers) 'virulently anti-Israel, anti-Semitic groups.'

We need your support to counteract these lies.

Jewish Voice for Peace is an organization that includes Israelis, Jewish educators, rabbis, Holocaust survivors and their children and grandchildren. We've written extensively about the issue of anti-Semitism, and our members are an essential part of a burgeoning Jewish cultural and spiritual renaissance.

For years, we have defended principled critics of illegal and immoral Israeli actions. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with so many who have braved false, and terribly painful charges of anti-Semitism, in order to speak to a higher moral truth. Heroes like President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Professor Rashid Khalidi, and so many others.

Like our Israeli counterparts, we're used to being viciously attacked for our work. But for years, we've co sponsored films at the Jewish Film festival, and there was nary a peep. What changed? Why now?And how is the backlash here linked to the backlash against pro-democracy activists in Israel?

We think it's because now, the world's attention is on settlements, and for the first time in recent memory, a US administration is creating pressure on Israel. That means that this is a historic opportunity and that we need your financial support to take full advantage of this moment.

With JVP-organized Congressional visits happening in key districts at this very moment, we are the United States' largest Jewish group calling on Congress to stop US military aid to Israel until Israel investigates war crimes committed in Gaza, and until Israel agrees to abide by U.S. and international law including withdrawing settlements.

From Ezra Nawi in the south of Hebron, to New Profile, to the Shministim and more, we are the largest American group providing ongoing support to Israel's nonviolent resistance.

We've challenged AIPAC at their annual meeting, and we continue to monitor the right-wing Israel Lobby's unethical tactics in silencing voices of dissent.

But we must do more. And all of our work takes money. If you haven't already, please make a donation today. We need to raise $100,000 in the next two months to maintain and expand our campaigns. Your gift of $60, $100, $250 or whatever you can give will help us reach our goal.