Jews Say No: Not In Our Name!

October 6, 2014

Press Release

CONSTITUENTS OPPOSE NEW YORK SENATORS’ SUPPORT FOR

ISRAEL’S ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Protest in Front of Their Offices to Last Eight Hours

 New York City — Today, a coalition of more than twenty community groups will stand from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in front of the New York City offices of Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (780 Third Avenue) to protest their ongoing support for the Israeli government’s systematic violations of the Palestinian people’s basic human rights and their refusal to meet with constituents who do not support these policies. (See letter being delivered to the Senators this morning http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/ny-senators-letter)

“Senator Schumer has repeatedly supported Israeli government aggression against the Palestinian people, including the latest assault on the Palestinians of Gaza,” said Candace Graff from Jewish Voice for Peace-NY, one of the co-sponsors of the day’s protest. “And both senators have failed to seek enforcement of laws requiring U.S. funding to be cut off to units of a country’s armed forces that have committed a ‘gross violation of human rights.’”  This law, known as the “Leahy Law,” applies to the Department of Defense and the State Department.

During Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza this summer, the Israeli military killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, at least 1,400 of them civilians, according to the UN, including 500 children. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented numerous instances in which Israeli forces violated the laws of war, employing disproportionate, reckless, and indiscriminate violence against the occupied and besieged population of Gaza, including attacks on hospitals, schools, and mosques, and the destruction of thousands of homes and civilian infrastructure. The coalition demands that both of New York’s senators hold Israel accountable to the letter and spirit of the Leahy Law, and support the holding of hearings to apply these laws to Israel, as to other human rights violators.

This protest is part of a broader movement gaining momentum worldwide. It is bringing together people from multiple communities who share a common commitment to justice and human rights. As articulated by Mohammad Hamad from The New School’s Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the day’s endorsing groups: “From Ferguson to Palestine, communities are joining one another to challenge oppressive structures and re-commit ourselves to stand for justice and against all manifestations of racism and bigotry.”

Today is a day to make these voices heard.

The day’s demonstration and events are co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace/NY and Jews Say No! and endorsed by Adalah NY; Brooklyn ForPeace; Center for Constitutional Rights; CODEPINK NYC; CUNY4Palestine; Defense for Children InternationalPalestine; ; Direct Action Front for Palestine (DAFP); Granny Peace Brigade; JVP-Westchester; Middle East Crisis Response; Palestinian Rights Committee of Upper Hudson PeaceAction; Palestine sub-committee, NationalLawyers Guild; Northern Manhattan Neighbors for Peace and Justice; Queers Against Israeli Apartheid; Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Brooklyn College, SJP College of Staten Island; SJP SUNY New Paltz; SJP The New School; Veterans for Peace, Woodstock, NY chapter 058; World Can’t Wait; WESPAC Foundation; WE WILL NOT BE SILENT; Women in Black Union Square.