March JVP in the News

Coverage of the 2015 JVP National Membership Meeting:

The Nation: _At a Jewish Voice for Peace Conference: This is What Solidarity Looks Like” (March 20, 2015)
Nadia Hijab of Al Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, writes about being at the JVP NMM.

The Real News Network: _Iran Nuclear Program a Distraction from Israel’s Nuclear Weapons” (March 15, 2015)
Reporting on the Iranian nuclear negotiations from the JVP National Membership Meeting.

The Real News Network:_Israelis and Palestinians see little hope for change in Israeli elections” (March 15, 2015)
Reportage from the JVP National Membership Meeting.

Mondoweiss:_Surging support for Palestine fuels JVP_s biggest gathering yet” (April 16, 2015)
Coverage by Alex Kane.

The Real News Network:_Jewish-American leadership rising in opposition to Israeli Occupation” (March 17, 2015)
With interviews with Cecilie Surasky, Liza Behrendt, Ronnie Barkan and clips from Angela Davis_ keynote address.

The Baltimore Jewish Times:_Jewish Voice for Peace Converges on Baltimore” (March 19, 2015)
Great coverage of the National Membership meeting in the local Jewish paper.

Huffington Post:_Reflections on a National Gathering of Jewish Peace and Justice Activists” (March 20, 2015)
Reflections on the NMM by JVP board member Donna Nevel.

New Voices:_Inside JVP_s National Membership Meeting” (March 25, 2015)
by Nicole Zelnicker.

Gandhi_s Be Magazine: We_re Not Waiting: Jewish Voice for Peace National Meeting Features Angela Davis, Rabbi Brant Rosen: The Consensus Is Clear (March 20, 2015)
Coverage and clips from JVP NMM.

The Jewish Daily Forward:“Embracing Boycott, Jewish Voice for Peace Insists on its Jewish Identity” (March 28, 2015)
Profile of JVP and the National Membership Meeting.

JVP March Highlights:

Al Jazeera America_Netanyahu_s Brazen American Power Play” (March 3, 2015)
On JVP_s participation in the #SkiptheSpeech campaign.

Vice News: _Netanyahu Warns US Deal With Iran Would Turn Middle East into •Nuclear Tinderbox_”(March 3, 2015)
Naomi Dann quoted on how the speech also provided a rare and invaluable opportunity for activists to encourage questioning of the dominant discourse on Israel.

amNY: _Jewish New Yorkers Divided in Reactions to Bibi Netanyahu_s Speech to Congress” (March 3, 2015)
Netanyahu’s “bombastic” rhetoric was familiar warmongering — hyperbolic, Islamophobic and hypocritical: “He’s pursuing the same aggressive policies toward Palestinians he’s accusing Iran of pursuing against the rest of the Middle East,” Vilkomerson said in a video chat. And the dozens of Democrats who boycotted Netanyahu’s address reflected anger at being expected “to always back Israel no matter what it does,” because “of the strength of the Israel lobby,” she said.

The New York Times (Open Source): “In Dance Remix of Netanyahu’s Speech, Two Words Echo: ‘Iran-Haman'” (March 6, 2015)

The Jewish Daily Forward: _Liberals Aren_t Alone in Growing Anger at Bibi–and Distrust of Israel” (March 12, 2015)
_•The idea of being progressive about everything except Palestine has become harder to maintain,_ said Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that supports boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.” (Reposted in Haaretz)

Jewish Telegraph Agency: _UCLA student government passes resolution condemning anti-Semitism” (March 12, 2015)
The Jewish Voice for Peace organization in a statement issued after the vote said it was _deeply concerned” that the resolution _further enshrines long-standing political efforts to silence legitimate criticism of the state of Israel by codifying its inclusion in the definition of anti-Semitism.”

The New Republic:_The American Jewish Community is Fracturing-What_s Causing it?” (March 16, 2015)
Steven Cohen_s trend piece mentions JVP and the growing criticism of Israel in the American Jewish community. Also published in Newsweek.

Salon:_What would MLK say? Divestment and the call for •order_ over justice” (March 17, 2015)
Piece by David Palumbo-Liu mention JVP_s new BDS policy.

The Hill: _After Netanyahu_s Speech–What_s Next?” (March 16, 2015)
by JVP executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson. Reprinted in Common Dreams and Truth-out.

International Business Times:_Israeli Elections Results 2015: What does the future hold for Arab political power?” (March 18, 2015)
_Non-Zionist Jews, like American blogger Naomi Dann of Jewish Voice For Peace, have called for Israel to be more inclusive of Arabs. _[W]hile Israel calls itself •the only democracy in the Middle East,_ 4.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza (over 36% of the people living under Israeli rule) do not have the right to vote for the government that ultimately decides their fate,” she wrote

The Associated Press: _Post-elections a widening US Jewish split over Israel” (March 19, 2015)
Rabbi Alissa Wise, a leader of the left group Jewish Voice for Peace, which supports the boycott-divestment-sanctions movement, said that after this week, “there’s no more illusion that there’s a peace process.”

RT: The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann:_Netanyahu Wins, Apartheid Continues” (March 19, 2015)
JVP media coordinator Naomi Dann interviewed about the Israeli elections.

The Hill: _Change in Israel will only come through outside pressure” (March 25, 2015)
by JVP executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson. Reprinted in Common DreamsTruth-out and Alternet.

Coverage of JVP members:

RT The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann: _Does Netanyahu Really Speak for all Jews?” (March 2, 2015)
Naomi interviewed about Netanyahu_s speech on national progressive TV.

GVHlive: _Jewish Millennials Protest Netanyahu_s speech” (March 3, 2015)
JVP member Rachel Roberts speaks to Washington media start up on Netanyahu_s speech.

NBC 10 Philadelphia“American Jews split on Netanyahu speech” (March 6, 2015)
JVP board member Lev Hirschhorn debates Joseph Pudur of StandWithUs on TV in Philadelphia.

The Ithaca Daily:“Former Ithaca College professor arrested protesting in DC” (March 4, 2015)
Coverage of JVP leaders Ariel Gold and Beth Harris getting arrested protesting AIPAC.

The J.Weekly: _Daniel Boyarin _ the Talmudist, feminist, anti-Zionist, only-in-Berkeley Orthodox Jew” (March 12, 2015)
Feature on JVP member Daniel Boyarin on the cover of San Francisco_s J. Weekly.

Electronic Intifada: _UCLA resolution conflates anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel” (March 12, 2015)
Nora Barrows-Friedman interviewed JVP-LA leader Estee Chandler.

KWMR radio in Marin (March 18, 2015)
Interview with JVP member David Mandel on the Israeli elections.

Coverage of JVP chapters:

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: _Pittsburgh Area Jewish Leaders have Mixed Reactions to Netanyahu”(March 3, 2015)
JVP member Dani Klein quoted.

The Ithaca Daily: _Group pushes Israeli Food Boycott” (March 12, 2015)
Coverage of JVP Ithaca_s campaign at a local co-op.

Jewish Telegraph Agency:_Northeastern Student Senate Rejects Divestment Resolution” (March 17, 2015)
Boston JVP_s support for divestment is mentioned.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:_History Museum pressured speakers panel to exclude Palestinian group, emails show” (March 26, 2015)
Also covered in St. Louis Business Journal, Alternet,Mondoweiss and others.

Op-eds by JVP members:

The New Haven Register: _Connecticut_s members of Congress should join move to •Skip the Speech_” (March 1, 2015)
JVP New Haven members Bob Gelbach, Megan Iorio, and Shelly Altman encourage their MoCs to #SkiptheSpeech

Huffington Post Religion: “The Purim Story is a Warning, Not a Justification” (March 4, 2015)
JVP media coordinator Naomi Dann writes about Netanyahu’s invocation of the Purim story.

Mondoweiss: _In Praise of Mr. Netanyahu_s Political Theater” (March 5, 2015)
JVP members Jonathan Graubart and David Deutsch on Netanyahu_s speech.

UT San Diego: _Is the US/Israel love affair on the rocks?” (March 11, 2015)
by JVP member Steve Kowit.

The Huffington Post:_Israel Cannot reform itself and needs some tough love” (March 24, 2015)
by JVP Westchester leader Bob Herbst.

Mondoweiss:_In Israel, the mask is finally off” (March 24, 2015)
by JVP member David Glick.

Austin-American Statesman:“Israel election requires introspection for Austin Jews” (March 31, 2015)
by JVP-Austin member Bernice Hecker. (non-subscription link)

Happening On Campuses:

The UW Daily: Letters to the Editor (March 5, 2015)
JVP Portland leader Maxine Fookson writes in support of an event with the BNC_s Omar Barghouti at University of Washington.

The Jewish Daily Forward:_Wesleyan Flouts Hillel Ban on pro-BDS Speakers” (March 12, 2015)
JVP Wesleyan hosted a JVP Shabbat in a Wesleyan_s Hillel-affiliated Jewish student group.

The Daily Bruin:_USAC resolution fails to distinguish anti-Semitism, criticism of Israel” (March 17, 2015)
Op-ed mentions the formation of a JVP chapter at UCLA.

Jewish Telegraph Agency: _Hillel again taking heat over limiting Israel debate” (March 17, 2015)
On Eric Fingerhut_s withdrawal from the JStreet conference (with photo of JVPers).

The Michigan Daily: _SAFE presents revamped divestment resolution to CSG” (March 24, 2015)
JVP student Ben Gottschalk is quoted in support of divestment.

The Jewish Week:_Bibi Complicates Jewish Student Life” (March, 24, 2015)
JVP at Columbia/Barnard made waves on campus and beyond. Also covered in Tablet.

The Daily Free Press:_Panel offers religious perspectives on Middle East conflict” (March 25, 2015)
Panel at Boston University featured Rabbi Joseph Berman.

The Daily Collegian: _Hillel Fails to Represent all Jewish Students” (March 26, 2015)
JVP student Josh Strassman writes in support of Open Hillel.

The Columbia Spectator:_We_re Not Waiting” (March 26, 2015)
JVP students Chris Godshall and Eva Kalikoff write about their support for Israeli Apartheid week.

The Michigan Daily:_Viewpoint: Jewish Voice for Peace for #UMDivest” (March 30, 2015)
JVP students Sarah Blume and Daniel Hurwitz-Goodman wrote to support the divestment vote.

and our friends at Open Hillel have had a big month, here_s some of the coverage of the Freedom Summer tour (including JVP volunteer Dorothy Zellner):

The Times of Israel:_Jewish civil rights activists use legacy to promote BDS” (March 12, 2015)
Inside Higher Ed:_Not in our name” (March 18, 2015)
Huffington Post: _Swarthmore Student Group Breaks With International Jewish Organization After Dispute Over Israel Policies” (March 18, 2015)
The Jewish Daily Forward: _Shame on Hillel for Shunning Civil Rights Veterans” (March 20, 2015)
Tikkun Daily:_Then You Win: What Swarthmore Mans for Open Hillel” (March 25, 2015)
Mondoweiss:_Open Hillel_s big month” (March 28, 2015)
The Michigan Daily:_1960_s Jewish activists discuss current movements” (March 30, 2015)

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