Israel, the US government, and Europe,
YOU ARE THE MINORITY.You do not speak for us. You do not kill for us.
Your wars and occupations are a threat to the
lives of all those living in Palestine,
the broader region and the rest of the world.
Your unfettered quest for and blatant disregard
for resources, exploitable labor
and human life threaten the very sustainability
of this planet.
Sara Kershnar
International Jewish Solidarity Network
Speech delivered at the opening session of the Cairo
Conference against Occupation, March 27, 2008
Conference against Occupation, March 27, 2008
It is an honor to stand with you today as part of a growing
international network of anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist Jews
whose identities are not based on Zionism but on long histories
of Jewish participation in liberation struggles from Eastern
Europe and Iraq to Brooklyn. Our participation in this
conference reflects our commitment to these legacies
and to current struggles against colonization and imperialism.
Central to this commitment is solidarity with Arab liberation
struggles against US imperialism and Zionism.
international network of anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist Jews
whose identities are not based on Zionism but on long histories
of Jewish participation in liberation struggles from Eastern
Europe and Iraq to Brooklyn. Our participation in this
conference reflects our commitment to these legacies
and to current struggles against colonization and imperialism.
Central to this commitment is solidarity with Arab liberation
struggles against US imperialism and Zionism.
Our opposition to Zionism is first and foremost rooted in its
impact on the people of Palestine and the broader region.
As such, we struggle against Zionism and its manifestation
in the State of Israel’s historic and ongoing ethnic cleansing
of the Palestinian people and the confiscation of their land.
This colonial project has hijacked Jewish histories of resistance.
It dishonors the persecution, displacement and genocide of
European Jews by using their memory to justify and
perpetuate European racism and colonialism.
impact on the people of Palestine and the broader region.
As such, we struggle against Zionism and its manifestation
in the State of Israel’s historic and ongoing ethnic cleansing
of the Palestinian people and the confiscation of their land.
This colonial project has hijacked Jewish histories of resistance.
It dishonors the persecution, displacement and genocide of
European Jews by using their memory to justify and
perpetuate European racism and colonialism.
It is responsible for the extensive displacement and
alienation of Mizrahi Jews (Jews of Arab, Persian and
African descent) from indigenous identities, languages,
histories, cultures and homelands. Mizrahim have a history
in this region of over 2,000 years. Zionism wants to destroy
this history. As such, it implicates us in the oppression of the
Palestinian people and in the debasement of our own heritages,
struggles for justice and alliances with our fellow human beings.
alienation of Mizrahi Jews (Jews of Arab, Persian and
African descent) from indigenous identities, languages,
histories, cultures and homelands. Mizrahim have a history
in this region of over 2,000 years. Zionism wants to destroy
this history. As such, it implicates us in the oppression of the
Palestinian people and in the debasement of our own heritages,
struggles for justice and alliances with our fellow human beings.
In this year of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
colonial State of Israel that displaced over 800,000
indigenous Palestinians from their homeland, we stand
before you outraged but not surprised by Israeli Deputy
Defense Minister’s threat of a “shoah”, a holocaust, against
the 1.5 million people of Gaza. Israel, with the support of the
US government and its allies, has effectively cut off food,
water, electricity, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies.
Such brutality is the logical continuation of Israel’s long
history of ethnic cleansing and colonization.
colonial State of Israel that displaced over 800,000
indigenous Palestinians from their homeland, we stand
before you outraged but not surprised by Israeli Deputy
Defense Minister’s threat of a “shoah”, a holocaust, against
the 1.5 million people of Gaza. Israel, with the support of the
US government and its allies, has effectively cut off food,
water, electricity, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies.
Such brutality is the logical continuation of Israel’s long
history of ethnic cleansing and colonization.
As the 5th year of the US occupation of Iraq passes,
we hold our governments accountable for their continued
support of the US/Israel agenda for military, economic and
political control of the region. This agenda threatens the
lives of all living in the region and undermines self-determination
and self-governance across the region. In the United States,
this agenda bring with it a divestment from education and
health care, rising rates of unemployment and low wages,
mass incarceration and police repression, and the ethnic
cleansing of African Americans from places like New Orleans.
we hold our governments accountable for their continued
support of the US/Israel agenda for military, economic and
political control of the region. This agenda threatens the
lives of all living in the region and undermines self-determination
and self-governance across the region. In the United States,
this agenda bring with it a divestment from education and
health care, rising rates of unemployment and low wages,
mass incarceration and police repression, and the ethnic
cleansing of African Americans from places like New Orleans.
We decry the farce of democracy in the United States and Israel
—both are democracies that privilege the rights of some based on
White or Jewish ethnicity and class access. We condemn the
undermining of democratic processes in Gaza, Iraq, the broader
region and other parts of the world.
—both are democracies that privilege the rights of some based on
White or Jewish ethnicity and class access. We condemn the
undermining of democratic processes in Gaza, Iraq, the broader
region and other parts of the world.
We are committed to the liberation of Palestine.
We reject the Israeli apartheid state as well as the Zionist ideology
upon which it is built. We support the Palestinian Right of Return
and the call from Palestine for boycott, divestment and sanctions
against Israel. We condemn the atrocities Israel and its Western
allies are committing in Gaza. We hold our governments accountable
for their roles in the crimes against the Palestinian and Iraqi people,
the people in the broader region, and the people living in our
own countries.
We reject the Israeli apartheid state as well as the Zionist ideology
upon which it is built. We support the Palestinian Right of Return
and the call from Palestine for boycott, divestment and sanctions
against Israel. We condemn the atrocities Israel and its Western
allies are committing in Gaza. We hold our governments accountable
for their roles in the crimes against the Palestinian and Iraqi people,
the people in the broader region, and the people living in our
own countries.
We say, “Never again!” Never again means never again for all
people. Never again for the people of Palestine, never again for
the people of Iraq, never again for the people of Afghanistan,
Lebanon, and Iran, never again for Islamic, Arab and South
Asian communities facing islamophobia and persecution in the
United States and Europe, never again for African Americans
facing the neo-slavery of the US prison system and police state.
people. Never again for the people of Palestine, never again for
the people of Iraq, never again for the people of Afghanistan,
Lebanon, and Iran, never again for Islamic, Arab and South
Asian communities facing islamophobia and persecution in the
United States and Europe, never again for African Americans
facing the neo-slavery of the US prison system and police state.
I am part of a growing movement of anti-Zionist Jews who are
part of a growing Palestine solidarity movement that is part of
a growing anti-imperialist, anti-globalization struggle rising
from the global south from Palestine to Chiapas, from
Venezuela to the US/Mexico border. We stand here today
united with the vibrant popular resistance movements of
our time—the movements of those most impacted by
imperialism and globalization, the struggles for indigenous
land rights, immigrant and refugee rights, economic and racial
justice, the rights of women and children, and labor rights that
imperialism, Zionism and capitalism threaten everyday,
everywhere.
part of a growing Palestine solidarity movement that is part of
a growing anti-imperialist, anti-globalization struggle rising
from the global south from Palestine to Chiapas, from
Venezuela to the US/Mexico border. We stand here today
united with the vibrant popular resistance movements of
our time—the movements of those most impacted by
imperialism and globalization, the struggles for indigenous
land rights, immigrant and refugee rights, economic and racial
justice, the rights of women and children, and labor rights that
imperialism, Zionism and capitalism threaten everyday,
everywhere.
Israel, the US government, and Europe,
YOU ARE THE MINORITY.
YOU ARE THE MINORITY.
You do not speak for us. You do not kill for us. Your wars and
occupations are a threat to the lives of all those living in Palestine,
the broader region and the rest of the world. Your unfettered
quest for and blatant disregard for resources, exploitable labor
and human life threaten the very sustainability of this planet.
occupations are a threat to the lives of all those living in Palestine,
the broader region and the rest of the world. Your unfettered
quest for and blatant disregard for resources, exploitable labor
and human life threaten the very sustainability of this planet.
You are no friend to democracy, freedom, laborers,
women or children.
women or children.
BUT, YOU ARE THE MINORITY. WE ARE THE MAJORITY.
We stand here today with the majority of people in the world
whose daily survival is an act of resistance.
We stand here today with the majority of people in the world
whose daily survival is an act of resistance.
As the 5th anniversary of attacks on Iraq passes, and the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel approaches,
we are honored to participate in an international campaign
against Zionist and American occupation and for a just peace
in Palestine, the broader region, and the communities under
attack in the United States and Europe.
anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel approaches,
we are honored to participate in an international campaign
against Zionist and American occupation and for a just peace
in Palestine, the broader region, and the communities under
attack in the United States and Europe.
Long live our united struggles for liberation,
self-determination, democracy, freedom and justice.
self-determination, democracy, freedom and justice.
L’chaim al-Intifada!
Free Palestine.
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