Independent Jewish Voices unequivocally stands in support of Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territory, in the face of a shameful smear campaign orchestrated by organizations […]
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), and the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN) steering committee, object to the publication today of a handbook offering guidelines for the application of the widely-discredited International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) redefinition of antisemitism. The handbook was mandated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2021 and issued today by Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons. We can’t let this go on.
Throughout the Days of Awe this year, reflecting and making any sort of clear meaning of this moment has felt an almost impossible task. Honestly facing the overwhelming suffering that has been inflicted upon Palestinians this year is overwhelming, painful, and difficult to fully comprehend. And yet, it is our responsibility to hold vigil, to be awake to our world. This is the work of Yom Kippur, and this is the work of solidarity.
We can’t let this go on.
Today, we are in mourning. We have been in mourning every day for the past year, as each day has brought news of incalculable loss and suffering. Israel’s occupation and escalation of violence in Gaza has been ongoing for years, but this past year has seen an unprecedented wave of destruction, cruelty and killing. Today we mark the first yahrtzeit, the one-year anniversary, of this gruesome genocide by asking our community to work for justice.
We can’t let this go on.
The Jewish high holidays are a period to collectively repent for our wrongdoings over the last year, and imagine how we will enact our ethical values in the year to […]