Op-Ed on Washington Post: We are lifelong Zionists. Here’s why we’ve chosen to boycott Israel.

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Written by Steven Levitsky and Glen Weyl Steven Levitsky and Glen Weyl

Published: 25 October 2015 25 October 2015

[Even liberal Zionists are understanding that the course Israel is taking cannot be stopped without a concerted campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions]

Steven Levitsky is a professor of government at Harvard University. Glen Weyl is an assistant professor of economics and law at the University of Chicago.

We are lifelong Zionists. Like other progressive Jews, our support for Israel has been founded on two convictions: first, that a state was necessary to protect our people from future disaster; and second, that any Jewish state would be democratic, embracing the values of universal human rights that many took as a lesson of the Holocaust. Undemocratic measures undertaken in pursuit of Israel’s survival, such as the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the denial of basic rights to Palestinians living there, were understood to be temporary.

But we must face reality: The occupation has become permanent. Nearly half a century after the Six-Day War, Israel is settling into the apartheid-like regime against which many of its former leaders warned. The settler population in the West Bank has grown 30-fold, from about 12,000 in 1980 to 389,000 today. The West Bank is increasingly treated as part of Israel, with the green line demarcating the occupied territories erased from many maps. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin declared recently that control over the West Bank is “not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism.”

This “basic fact” poses an ethical dilemma for American Jews: Can we continue to embrace a state that permanently denies basic rights to another people? Yet it also poses a problem from a Zionist perspective: Israel has embarked on a path that threatens its very existence.

(Read the rest on the Washington Post)

EMERGENCY RALLY: SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE-END THE OCCUPATION

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Written by AUPHR AUPHR

Published: 15 October 2015 15 October 2015

As the violence toward Palestinians is intensified by Israel, we must respond:

THIS Friday October 16
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

​Stand in solidarity with Palestine and​ join​ the world community to say
End the Brutal Illegal Israeli Occupation NOW!
End the racism and violence by Israel toward the Palestinians
#SolidarityWaveBDS

Joi​n​ together to make a strong statement from Portland in solidarity with the Palestinians as the brutality and violence of the Israeli Occupation intensifies.
It is time to say:

NOT in our Name--END all US Aid to Israel NOW!
Support the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel
Demand Freedom-Equality-Justice for Palestinians

5:30PM meet-up at the top of Pioneer Square
6:15 PM--march through downtown
6:30 PM--End at the First Congregation United Church of Christ
1126 SW Park Avenue for the 7 PM film "Roadmap to Apartheid"
(the starting event of the Eyes on Gaza Conference)

OUR VOICES ARE NEEDED
We will send video and messages to show our solidarity with all in the world who are standing for Palestine.

Tree of Life Conference: EYES ON GAZA Portland, OR - Oct. 16,17,18

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Written by Tree of Life Conference Tree of Life Conference

Published: 14 October 2015 14 October 2015

http://gazaconference.brownpapertickets.com/

Come and hear firsthand accounts of life in Gaza & the West Bank and learn why activists work day in and day out for justice in Palestine.  Join us and find out what you can do to take part in this important justice work.

Event location (host church):
First Congregational United Church of Christ
1126 SW Park Avenue, Portland, Oregon

>>  Friday evening. October 16, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
FILM "ROADMAP TO APARTHEID" - an award winning documentary, narrated by Alice Walker, about why many Palestinians feel they are living in an apartheid system today, and why an increasing number of people around the world agree with them.  
Free to the public.

>>  Saturday October 17, 9:00 am (registration) - 5:30 pm
FEATURED PRESENTATIONS, FILMS, WORKSHOPS, AND MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE.
Hear firsthand accounts from residents of Gaza and humanitarian volunteers recently returned from that besieged strip of land.  Learn about opportunities here in the Northwest to work for peace and justice in Gaza and in all of occupied Palestine.

>> Saturday, October 17, 7pm
Reception and Fundraiser for Gaza Community Mental Health Program - at First Unitarian Church​ 1011 S.W. 12th Ave. Buchan wing, first floor
Welcoming Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei! Please join us for a reception and fundraiser for Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) following the day’s events at the Eyes on Gaza conference.

>>  Sunday afternoon. October 18, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
BENEFIT CONCERT for MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE
Featured singer: David Morgan - singer and songwriter from the LA scene, with songs full of truth and wisdom that reach to the heart
Featured presentation:  Barbara Lubin - Middle East Children's Alliance.

Read more: Tree of Life Conference: EYES ON GAZA Portland, OR - Oct. 16,17,18

Portland Takes First Step Towards Becoming Occupation Free

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Written by Occupy-Free Portland Occupy-Free Portland

Published: 12 October 2015 12 October 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Portland Takes First Step Towards Becoming Occupation Free
Portland Human Rights Commission endorses placing companies on a “Do Not Buy” List for human rights abuses in Israel/Palestine

Portland, Oregon - October 12, 2015– Occupation-Free Portland Coalition congratulates the Portland Human Rights Commission (HRC) for their unanimous endorsement of the coalition’s proposal to the City Of Portland Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) Committee to place four companies on the City’s “Do Not Buy List” due to their serious human rights violations in the ongoing illegal and brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The companies are Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, G4S, and Motorola Solutions.

The proposal was brought to the HRC by Occupation-Free Portland, a coalition of religious, social justice and human rights groups working for justice for Palestine. The coalition stated: “We applaud the Portland HRC for this action. This endorsement demonstrates that the HRC continues to be a “moral compass” for human rights in our community. They understand that diverse struggles for human rights and dignity are connected and deserve our local attention and commitment to change.”

Read more: Portland Takes First Step Towards Becoming Occupation Free