Media ignores Jewish anti-war protest at Federation headquarters
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Dozens of protesters demonstrated at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia on Friday, but the action drew little media attention.
Jewish Voice for Peace activists keep singing during a long sit-in protest.
Daniel Denvir
Daniel Denvir
Dozens of Jewish activists protested outside the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's last Friday, voicing their opposition to community leaders' support for the Israeli war in Gaza. Six Jewish Voice for Peace activists were handcuffed and cited after entering the Center City building to deliver a petition, and then refusing to leave.
"We are here to occupy the office of the largest Jewish organization in Philadelphia and engage in an act of civil disobedience," said Jewish Voice for Peace board member Lev Hirschhorn in a statement. "With a petition in hand, our demand is that Jewish leaders take a public stand not just to negotiate a long term ceasefire in Gaza, but for an end to the underlying conditions of siege that make life unsustainable for Palestinians in Gaza."
The demonstration undermined the widespread, but false, idea that all Jews uncondtionally support Israel. But almost no media organization was there to cover it. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, WHYY, The Inquirer, Daily News — were absent. Only The Jewish Exponent, activist news site The Declaration and City Paper were present.
The scant media attention is a shame.
Reporters must tell the whole story about this conflict, and not only as it plays out in overseas bloodshed. There is growing opposition to Israeli policies among young people. That includes the many young Jews whose opposition to the occupaton, blockade and warfare goes mostly unreported. For news media often wedded to simplistic two-sided narratives, the Jewish protest movement against Israel is a difficult story to tell.
Last Friday, activists recited the names of some Gaza's dead hundreds and read the Mourner's Kaddish.
The petition condemned the communal leaders' "support for Israel as it destroys so many lives" as "all the more painful given your positions of leadership in the Jewish community. Your decision to stand with the oppressor rather than the oppressed is a betrayal of our history and values, when authentic moral leadership is more important than ever."
