From:
To: City Council
Subject: Ceasefire resolution follow up
Date: Monday, February 19, 2024 4:26:58 PM
Hi again,
I had some follow up thoughts- our organizing efforts have been referred to as "anti-semitic" because we criticize the actions of the state of Israel. I would like you all to know, as Jews, this is extremely offensive, and in & of itself anti-semitic. I say that because this argument reduces our rich culture & religion, which has a long history of fierce resistance to facism and oppression, as well as solidarity with other persecuted groups, to being represented and spoken for by a settler-colonial state that operates on a foundation of land theft and apartheid. Our historical survival of persecution is being appropriated in the process for a young, illegal settler-colonial state trying to justify its existence on the world stage. The argument that criticisms of Israel are based in anti-semitism sound very much like "Why can't we have the right to colonize and oppress innocent brown people, just like the rest of Europe does?" It's not equality based on justice and liberation; it's equality based on oppression, and as Jews we sayNever Again For Anyone.
Furthermore, I have been racking my brain for months now, trying to understand how seemingly intelligent, peace-loving people like yourselves sitting in various seats of elected bodies have suddenly become so vulnerable and malleable, and ultimately unavailing when it comes to standing strong & holding fast to their morals, in the face of the arguments peddled by the opposition, who argue against rationality, equality, justice and peace. And it occured to me today, that perhaps the reason my elected officials are as easily taken in as they are by the misleading, fallacious and quite frankly, weak, arguments that the opposition repeats, is because it's easier on the conscience to do so. Instead of a straight-forward, simple understanding that this horror is atrocious and inexcusable, if excuses are rendered and accepted, then the matter becomes "complicated" and therefore less in need of feeling grief about. It lets you all of the hook of feeling as profoundly the powerless feeling of grief and horror. I ask you to sit with this idea, and see if it resonates with you in any way.
And lastly, the opposition will over and over again reiterate that this is not your jurisdiction and that you have more pressing matters to attend to. I want to warn you, from my past dealings with some of these folks, that it is a bonafide strategy on their end to get a resolution suspended from being put on the agenda so that it can be negotiated between the two parties but the opposition does not negotiate in good faith and instead just stalls. Then, they will come back to subsequent meetings and make public comments that you all are wasting your time and again, you have more pressing matters to attend to. This is done with the ultimate result of the resolution withering away.
I also would like to say that for many reasons this is a local issue but also- genocide should be denounced from every space we are in, at all times, at all costs. We could be pedantic and follow the "rules" (laid out by whom?) that dictate that this is not your place to make a statement regarding the genocide, but to that I retort- if not now, when? If not here, where? When this genocide is given the green-light, as it ultimately has so far, it will be reproduced in the future, because now we've shown that we are numb and disconnected enough to tolerate seeing genocide livestreamed. We can be proud that we have abided by our "rules" but we will live miserably in a prison of our own making.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jordan