October 28, 2023
To sign: https://forms.gle/VnHTZFDG1Zb6XvE29
We, the undersigned faculty as well as alumni, undergraduate and graduate students in Jewish Studies and Jewish students who Jewish Studies represent, are writing to demand that Jewish Studies Centers, Institutes, Associations, and Departments publicly call for:
(1) an immediate ceasefire,
(2) Israel to restore water and electricity to Gaza immediately,
(3) Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza immediately, and
(4) the end of all U.S. funding to Israel immediately.
The only moral position at this time is to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the Israeli government with full material support from the U.S. and many European countries. Collective punishment is never humane or just. Many families and survivors of the October 7th massacres and kidnappings1 are calling for a ceasefire, knowing that further bloodshed will not bring back their loved ones, will not bring peace and justice for all, but will only continue to worsen the inhumane, unsustainable status quo.
With the U.S. government, universities and media publications in the U.S censoring the most urgent calls against perpetuation of crimes against humanity,2 many claiming that such censorship shows support for the safety of Jews worldwide, Jewish Studies’ institutions must demonstrate that de-escalation is the only ethical path forward. Many of us have spent our academic careers fearful of the consequences we may face for criticizing the Israeli state and Zionism. The bloodshed over the last 21 days – all entirely preventable – is a direct consequence of our silence. We must change. We must do better. Never again must mean never again for anyone.
Signed,
Jessie Stoolman, Ph.D., Anthropology, UCLA
Natalie Bernstien, Ph.D., History, UCLA
Ethan Friedland, PhD Student, UCLA
Brianna Lavelle, Ph.D. Student – UCLA History Department
Ben Weinger, PhD Student UCLA
Amos Rubel Ancell, Jewish UCLA Undergrad
Spenser Kussin-Gika, TA
Gabriel Gluskin-Braun, NELC UCLA
Rachel Kaufman, PhD Candidate, UCLA
Emma Davis, PhD Candidate in Political Science, Northwestern University
Rachel Tokofsky, UCLA alum
Molly Schiffer, PhD Student in Political Science, Northwestern University
Maxwell Greenberg, Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies/Goucher College
Rachel Smith, UCLA alum
Lex Rofeberg, Brown Judaic Studies alum
Evan Goldstein, Doctoral Candidate, Yale University
Madeline Hudalla, PhD Student in History, UCLA
Sylvie Loh, UCLA Undergraduate Student
Leah Jacobson, Ph.D. Student, UCLA
Morey Lipsett, PhD Student, Graduate Theological Union
Sharon Jacobs, Jewish anthropology PhD candidate / University of Pennsylvania
Joshua Mayer, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Connecticut
Jeremy Kellen, Student
Margaux Fitoussi, PhD Candidate, Columbia University
Sabrina Ellis, UCLA Undergrad Student
Ariel Schwartz, Director, Emerging Leaders Program, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Benjamin Kersten, PhD Student, UCLA Department of Art History
Nancy Ko, PhD Candidate, Columbia University; Students of Color Fellow, Association for Jewish Studies
Leila Ullmann, Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA
Penny Rosenwasser, Instructor, City College of San Francisco
Zoë Shannon, Alum, Middle East and North Africa Studies, Binghamton University
Jay Saper, Yiddish scholar and translator
Barbara Parmet, Jewish Voice for Peace- co-organizer
Vincent Calvetti, University of Washington, 2017
Eliza Koren, Jewish Graduate Student
Elliot Ratzman, Religion Dept, Earlham College
Sophie Edelhart, PhD Candidate, Yiddish, University of Toronto
Jeremy Voss, Bachelors in Jewish Studies and NELC
Amir Fleischmann, PhD candidate, Political Science, University of Michigan
Elya Piazza, PhD Candidate in Near Eastern Studies (Jewish Studies Designated Emphasis), UC Berkeley
Mark LeVine, Professor of History, UC Irvine
Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University
Alan Wald, H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor Emeritus
Charles H. Manekin, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Maryland
Mir Yarfitz, Associate Professor, Wake Forest University
Antony Lerman, Senior Fellow, Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue, Vienna
Isaiah Back-Gaal, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University
Rev Carmen Wooster, Vecinos Unidos
Oren Yirmiya, PhD candidate, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, UC Berkeley
Mark Albertson, Greater New Haven Peace Council
Sabeen Chaudhry, Office Assistant
Alfred L Marder, US Peace Council
Sophia Sobko, Independent Scholar
Benjamin Balthaser, Associate Professor of Multi-Ethnic U.S. Literature, Indiana University
Elizabeth Ingenthron, Independent Scholar
Ella Halpern-Matthews, Graduate Student, Columbia University
Notes
“I want her back now’ Families of Hostages Held By Hamas Call for Immediate Release
Noura Erakat: Western Leaders & Media Are Justifying Israel’s “Genocidal Campaign” Against Palestinians
It’s becoming impossible to report from Gaza
This could be my last report from Gaza
6-Year-Old Boy Fatally Stabbed in Anti-Muslim Attack, Authorities Say
The international community is responsible
Israel/OPT: Identifying the Israeli army’s use of white phosphorus in Gaza
Gaza civilians afraid to leave home after bombing of ‘safe routes’
‘Do not use our pain to bring death’
2. Major News Networks Sideline Palestinian Analysts
‘On Thin Ice’: Some Biden Administration Staffers Feel Stifled Discussing Horrors In Gaza
U.S. Diplomats Advised Not To Call for For ‘De-Escalation’
‘This is political persecution’: Israel cracks down on internal critics of its Gaza war
MSNBC ‘removes’ three Muslim presenters amid Israel’s Gaza war
BBC Reporters Suspended for Praising Hamas Attacks on Israeli Civilians
Silencing the truth: Israel’s assault on Gaza’s media is a bid to control the narrative
It’s puzzling to me that so many people are unable to hold two separate thoughts in their head at the same time: the actions of Hamas were beyond the pale, full stop, and Israel has been running a brutal apartheid system for decades; they in no way contradict each other. It’s puzzling because most of us are able to hold two separate thoughts in mind when it comes to other areas of life.
Consider regular old crime and punishment: when an individual commits a crime we have no problem meting out the appropriate punishment. But simultaneously, most of understand that there’s a valid ‘sociological’ viewpoint: certain conditions ( poverty, lack of education, etc) promote crime, and we work to eliminate those conditions; we punish criminals and also try to change the things that encourage criminality. Shouldn’t we consider Hamas the same way? Hamas needs to go, the occupation needs to end.
something like asking north vietnam to release pilots from hanoi hilton while the pilot’s good buddies bomb hanoi? very clever!
Why is there no call for the immediate release of all civilians seized on October 7th. (Or if that’s too far, the immediate release of all civilians under the age of 12 or over the age of 65.)
(Apparently calling for any action by Hamas is considered pro colonialism or something.)