Twenty-three young American Jews were arrested over the past week in a series of anti-occupation demonstrations across the United States. The protests, which took place in major American cities ahead of the weekend’s Passover holiday, brought out over 500 members of the Jewish anti-occupation collective, IfNotNow. Demonstrators used civil disobedience to push major American Jewish institutions to publicly end their support for Israel’s occupation policies in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Protests took place in Washington D.C., Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Berkeley.
An activist arrested by a police officer during a protest in New York City against occupation of the Palestinian territories (Photo: IfNotNow)
According to the +972 website, the demonstrations followed a similar formula in every city: demonstrators who were willing to be arrested usually tried to enter a major Jewish institution and lead a “Liberation Seder” — a take on the traditional Passover meal, in which the Jews recount the story of their enslavement and struggle for freedom in Egypt. The Liberation Seders, however, fused the traditional ritual with Jewish freedom songs, chants against the oppression of Palestinians, and calls for the collective liberation of all those living in Israel and Palestine.
IfNotNow was established in the summer of 2014 during Israel’s last war on Gaza by young American Jews. Angered by the overwhelming support by American Jewish institutions for the war — which lead to the deaths of over 2,200 Palestinians and 72 Israelis — they began organizing actions calling for an end to the war, an end to the occupation, and freedom and dignity for all. Since then IfNotNow has been led numerous nonviolent actions with the aim of pushing Jewish institutions to condemn the occupation.
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