Jewish Peacemaker’s Story About Childhood in Nakba-Era Israel at Vigil This Friday

 

From Fridays @ Fetterman's:

 

Dina Portnoy, a Jewish American educator and long-time peace activist who lived on a kibbutz in Israel as a child during the Nakba era, will share about reckoning with her family history at the 101st consecutive Friday peace vigil for Gaza outside of Senator Fetterman’s office at 200 Chestnut Street, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM, on Friday, October 31^st.
 
Dina Portnoy lived on a kibbutz in Nakba-era Israel as a child, and she has returned to visit Israel twice as an adult. Although she has supported Palestinians and their freedom struggle for over 30 years, Dina gained a fuller understanding of the role that her family's move to Northern Israel played only in the last two years.
 
On Friday, she will share the story of reckoning with her family history.
 
Dina is a retired teacher. After 30 years in the Philadelphia School District, she ran a teacher education program at UPenn and then worked for the Knowles Teacher Initiative with educators from across the USA. She still finds time to support students and teachers through the Philadelphia Writing Project and by helping student writers in Philadelphia classrooms.

Dina’s activism began during the Vietnam War, and she has continued to be active in anti-war, anti-apartheid, and anti-racism groups. She is currently a member of Jewish Boomers Against the Occupation of Palestine, If Not Now Philly, and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Philly. She has been a regular attender of the Friday peace vigil for Gaza outside of Senator Fetterman’s Philly HQ on Chestnut Street.  

This Sunday at Scribe: A State of Passion

 Coming this Sunday at Scribe Video Center:

Palestine Cinema Days: A State of Passion Presented in collaboration with FilmLab Palestine Sunday, Nov 2 5PM-7:30PM FREE Join us for a screening of A State of Passion (2024, 90 min), a feature-length documentary film by Carol Mansour and Muna Khali. After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals, British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, emerged to find himself as a face of Palestinian resistance. With news footage of him pale and shell-shocked reverberating around the world, he spoke of a catalogue of horrors from lacerated bodies, to amputations without anesthetics, orphaned children with no surviving family, and the deliberate targeting of medics and hospital facilities. This was Ghassan’s sixth and most horrific Gaza “war”. Why does he do it? Where does he find the strength to face it again and again? How does it impact his family? How do they process the risks he takes? The answer lies simply in their shared passion: Palestine, a passion they articulate through their support of his perilous humanitarian work. Filmmakers Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi, close friends of the Abu Sittahs, share that same passion. They were waiting anxiously for Ghassan to emerge from Gaza, following a long and terrifying journey through the night, to meet him in Amman. Determined to capture his raw emotions they began filming him the moment he arrived through the door. Following him to Beirut, Amman, London, Kuwait and Dubai, they and he explore their common State of Passion.   Carol Mansour (Director) is an independent documentary film maker who is deeply passionate about issues of social justice and human rights and believes that film is an important medium that gives voice to the marginalized. After ten years of working in television, she founded Forward Film Production in 2000 in Beirut, Lebanon. With over 24 years in documentary production, Mansour has covered the world from Sri Lanka to Lebanon to Yemen to Uzbekistan. Muna Khalidi (Co-Director) holds a Ph.D. in health policy and planning, and with more than 34 years’ experience working in the social and health development fields in Lebanon and the region. In 2011, she started collaborating with Carol Mansour on the research and production of documentary films dealing with issues of social justice and human rights, bringing her experience in the academic, public, private, and NGO sectors into the documentary-making field.   The screening is free with RSVP and light refreshments will be provided.

Still from A State of Passion

REGISTER HERE

Jews Demand Action: Join the Worldwide Jewish Call

 

 

"Calling on world leaders to turn the ceasefire into a just and lasting peace, ending Israel's system of occupation and apartheid and thereby guaranteeing the future well-being of Palestinians and Israelis alike. Apply the necessary pressure, end impunity, and hold Israel's leadership accountable for its violations of international law. We come together to reclaim a Jewish ethic that is universal, learns from our history and guides our tomorrow."

I just signed this Open Letter now in circulation:

 

His Excellency, Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Presidents,
Prime Ministers,
Heads of State,
Permanent Representatives to the United Nations,
‍
It is with great relief that we welcome the ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives, and the hope for an end to the daily killing, destruction, displacement, and starvation in Gaza. And yet there should be no doubt that this ceasefire is fragile: Israeli forces remain in Gaza, the agreement makes no reference to the West Bank, the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid, and the denial of Palestinian rights remain unaddressed.

It was international pressure that helped to secure this ceasefire, and it must be sustained to guarantee that it endures. The ceasefire must be the beginning, not the end. The risk of reverting to a political reality of indifference to occupation and permanent conflict is too great. This same pressure must be continued to deliver a new era of peace and justice for all—Palestinians and Israelis alike.

The need for redress long predates October 7^th, 2023. The crimes committed by Hamas and other armed factions on that day horrified us. The Israeli actions that followed were unconscionable. We bow our heads in immeasurable sorrow as the evidence accumulates that Israel’s actions will be judged to have met the legal definition of genocide. Attempts are already underway to deny accountability and reassert the same broken playbook of impunity. That cannot pass.

We therefore issue this appeal as Jews from all walks of life and across the world. We affirm our belief in the universality of justice and the fair and equal application of international law. We have not forgotten that so many of the laws, charters, and conventions established to safeguard and protect all human life were created in response to the Holocaust. Those safeguards have been relentlessly violated by Israel. Accountability for the Israeli leadership’s grievous violations of international law is necessary. It is time to do everything possible to definitively end the Israeli government’s collective punishment of the Palestinians and to pursue peace for the sake of both peoples.

As Jews and as human beings, we declare: Not in our name. Not in the name of our heritage, our faith, or our moral tradition. The monumental scale of the killing and destruction, the forced displacement, the deliberate withholding of life-sustaining necessities, and the ongoing criminal actions in the West Bank must end and never be repeated.
 
We deplore the fact that Israeli leaders have repeatedly taken to the world stage to declare that these actions are committed in the name of the Jewish people, as a manifestation of Jewish destiny. The Israeli government may claim to speak on behalf of the Jewish collective, but it does not speak for us.

This affront to our collective conscience cannot stand. It must be challenged. These are not Jewish values nor are they guided by the lessons we draw from our peoples’ history. Instead we see in many of those standing up for Palestinian rights a reflection of the people who stood with Jews in our times of need. Our solidarity with Palestinians is not a betrayal of Judaism, then, but a fulfillment of it. When our sages taught that to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, they did not carve exceptions for Palestinians.

We shall not rest until this ceasefire carries forward into an end of occupation and apartheid. We write in the hope that this initiative further emboldens a moment of renewed Jewish commitment to act with conscience and compassion. We vow to work urgently to achieve equality, justice, and freedom for Palestinians and Israelis.

To that end, we issue this call to businesses, labor unions, civil society, and especially the leadership and member states of the United Nations:

1

To respect and abide by the decisions of the International Court of Justice, noting their application also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; to apply arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court; and to resist efforts to unduly pressure and influence and prevent the workings of both courts.

2

To refuse any complicity in continued crimes and violations of international law against Palestinians by Israel, including by ending the provision of arms and other relevant goods and services; to use relevant leverage, including targeted sanctions on governmental bodies and individuals responsible for violations of international law, and suspension of relations with commercial entities contributing to these violations.

3

To ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all Palestinians in Gaza at the scale that is commensurate to their vital need, that the blockade is lifted and materials for reconstruction enter, and that there is a full Israeli military withdrawal.

4

To refute false accusations of antisemitism that abusively deploy our collective history to tarnish those with whom we stand together in the pursuit of peace and justice.

With deep respect and in the spirit of our shared Jewish tradition,
‍
Jews Demand Action
‍

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Standing Together Now Has a Podcast

 

The binational Israeli peace and justice group has recently launched The Long Answer, hosted by Sally Abed and Jess Bricker. From Spotify, where I'll be following it:

The Long Answer

Standing Together

Show description

Sally Abed and Jess Bricker take a deep dive into the hardest questions around Israel-Palestine. Sally is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Jess is a Jewish citizen of Israel, and the two of us are determined to fundamentally change the reality in Israel-Palestine. If we want our joint struggle for justice, peace and equality for all to succeed, we’re going to need to talk about a lot of things. Join us.

 https://open.spotify.com/show/33c36sw8rJvqCdKtxTy2Pp

No Kings Day II: Great Crowd, but We Can't Stop at Deposing an Autocrat

 

There were lots of spirited people with creative homemade signs:

The other side showed some local spirit:

 

 

As did this sign:

 

Many people were following Portland's example by wearing playful costumes:

 

Some made serious points, and in one case a call to action:

 

While I appreciated all of this, I made sure my sign conveyed that merely overthrowing one individual won't get at the underlying problem, which is systemic. I had made this for the Hands Off protest a few months ago:

 

I had just added this on the other side. Moments after I stepped off with other marchers, someone stopped me to take a picture, saying she totally agreed with it. I took the opportunity to explain the Vote Pact concept to her and encourage her to check out the web site:

 

If only more of those who came had shown some understanding that more is required than just ousting one "bad guy."