International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network: We will not be silent on Gaza

Source: Global Research, 18-01-2009

By International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)

IJAN Call to Action on Gaza
We stand with the majority.
We will not be silent on Gaza.

We write with grief and rage as we watch the horrifying "Israeli" air and ground attacks on Gaza. As Jews committed to ending Zionism, the founding ideology of "Israel", and all forms of colonialism, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who continue to struggle in the face of these attacks, much as they have against more than 60 years of ethnic cleansing and racism. As Joseph Massad recently wrote, Gaza is in uprising against genocide, and is receiving today the same indifference from the capitals of the West that the rebels in the Warsaw Ghetto received in 1943.

We stand with the hundreds of thousands who have taken the streets in solidarity with Gaza's resistance. We stand with all those who struggle against racism, dispossession and genocide.

We stand with the majority. We will not be silent on Gaza.

We reject "Israel's" pretense to act in response to rocket attacks on "Israel" by Hamas. "Israel" broke the ceasefire on November 4, 2008, while world attention was focused on U.S. elections.

What the "Israeli" government calls "security" is fundamentally opposed to the real safety of all people living in the region. ‘Residents' (occupation settlers) of Sderot and other towns (occupation settlements) bordering Gaza have begged the government of "Israel" to maintain the cease-fire and accused it of "wasting that period of calm, instead of using it to advance understanding and begin negotiations." With United States, European Union, and Egyptian collusion, "Israel" imposed on Gaza a siege and blockade for over two years, intentionally preventing its economic recovery, degrading its civilian infrastructure, attempting to dismantle self-governance, and preventing travel and obstructing humanitarian aid. That siege, which was and continues to be a gross violation of human rights and a crime against humanity, led directly to the present escalation. As of today, "Israeli" forces have killed over 1300 people and injured thousands. "Israel" has bombed mosques, universities, police headquarters, roads, office buildings, and residential neighborhoods, and schools, causing indescribable and horrible destruction.

This isn't defense. This isn't a war between two sides. This is terrorism. This is genocide.
We stand with the majority. We will not be silent on Gaza.

As Jews, we have an additional responsibility to speak and to act against these despicable acts, because we are heirs to the victims of a genocide, because "Israel" is claiming to "defend" us through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine with the ultimate goal of erasing the Palestinian people, and also because of the role played by the Jewish organizations in the United States and the West in justifying, perpetrating, and escalating "Israeli" state terrorism against Palestinians.

We recall that the violence in Gaza today is the inevitable outcome-the latest link in a chain of terror-that results from an ideology based on the dispossession of the indigenous people of Palestine in favor of European Jews. Just as the ideology of White racism was the backbone of Apartheid in South Africa, so the ideology of Zionism explains the history of violence in Palestine, the ethnic cleansing of 1948, the occupation of the West bank and Gaza in 1967, and the many massacres that "Israel" perpetrated periodically since 1948 to the present one in Gaza. The maintenance of the "Israeli" state as a state founded on and perpetuating 'Jewish' (Zionist) privilege requires the denial and attempted annihilation of the Palestinian people.

We recall that unless this ideology is delegitimized and defeated, the violence in the Middle East will continue to escalate until either Palestinian or 'Jewish' (Zionist) existence in the area ends, and possibly both. Racism and colonial domination will never be the basis for peace.

We stand with the majority. We will not be silent on Gaza.

We insist on an immediate end to "Israel's" assault, a complete withdrawal of all "Israeli" forces, a complete and unconditional end to the siege, and the restoration and extension of the ceasefire. We insist on the establishment of a special international tribunal for investigating the crimes of the "Israeli" leadership of this siege.

We affirm the urgent need for Jewish resistance to Zionism and stand committed to the extrication of Jewish history, politics, community, and culture from the grip of Zionism.
We situate our work in a long legacy of Jewish people throughout history who have stood in solidarity with others in common struggles against all forms of racism, empire building, and repression. As a growing sector of the Palestine solidarity movement, we call upon all Jews of conscience to take a strong stand against the current escalation of violence, as well as the murderous ground upon which Zionist ideology and the "Israeli" state has been constructed. We call on Jews to put an end to complicity, to break the silence, and to confront the fallacy of a Zionist consensus. We call on anti-Zionist Jews around the world to organize in escalation against the massacres on Gaza, and to continue to support Palestinian resistance through campaigns of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, and through actions that target their own governments' financial and political support for "Israel".

We stand with the majority. We will not be silent on Gaza.

WE call on you to JOIN US in continued ACTION!

>> Mobilize creative actions to disrupt and confront pro-"Israel" events, propaganda and businesses. Zionists and their supporters should not have their events, propaganda or business contributions in support of "Israel" go without confrontation. Creative actions are those which use creative tactics, visuals and art to convey a message about the reason for the disruption such as die-ins, projections of images on the outside of Zionist organizations, public art displays, street theater, etc. Targets may include Zionist organizations that have been mobilizing a lot of support for this attack, events to fundraise for the siege on Gaza, or billboards or poster campaigns to justify "Israeli" violence.

For people in North America:
The United Jewish Communities Federation of North America is sponsoring a Rallies Across North America: A week of solidarity with "Israel". Click here for a list of activities to disrupt.

Other ways to take action...

>> Join or organize emergency protests and direct actions in partnership with Palestine solidarity and social justice organizations in your area.

>> Contact government officials and call on them to act by denouncing the attacks and demanding an immediate cease-fire.

>> Flood "Israeli" embassies and consulates with letters and calls decrying the attacks. Find contact info for "Israeli" embassies around the world.

>> Continue circulating the petition in support of UN General Assembly President Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann who has spoken out to condemn "Israeli" "Apartheid" and call for boycott, divestment and sanctions. He has received death threats for his statement.

>> Call to Jewish Students: Efforts are underway to make visible and support the activism of Jewish students who condemn "Israel's" actions in Gaza and who support the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions. Join the "Jewish Students Condemn "Israel", Support BDS Campus Campaigns!" Facebook cause. Email to be added to the contact list for when IJAN student campaigns are launched and send reports for the website about Jewish student participation in Gaza solidarity actions.