JVP is leading protests across the country calling for a ceasefire.

Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military’s war on Gaza. Over 4,000 of them were children. This is a genocide, one that our elected officials are fueling by refusing to support a ceasefire.

We can’t stay silent as long as the Israeli military is committing atrocities in our name. That’s why Jewish Voice for Peace is organizing in cities and towns across the country to demand an end to the genocide of Palestinians. From highways to senate offices, Atlanta to San Francisco, we’re making our message heard: Not in our name. Ceasefire now.

How Israel is splitting the Democrats, The New Yorker, November 2, 2023

“In particular, he mentioned two left-wing Jewish groups: IfNotNow, founded in 2017, and Jewish Voice for Peace, founded in 1996. For its first two decades or so, J.V.P. was a source of tsuris within the Jewish-institutional world, but far from a political powerhouse. In recent years, though—and especially in recent weeks—both groups had seen a sharp increase in volunteers. ‘The old-line Zionist groups thought they had a monopoly on this issue,’ a prominent Jewish critic of Israel told me. ‘Now they’re freaking out because the next generation is joining the opposition—their kids are joining.'” 

In many Jewish families, generational fractures over Israel and Gaza, The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11, 2023

“Rabbi Lonnie Kleinman of Mount Airy was arrested at the U.S. Capitol three weeks ago, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Soon after her arrest was broadcast on Fox News, she received a text message from her father. He said he was deeply disappointed, and that her grandparents, who survived the Holocaust, would have been devastated if they were still alive, Kleinman said.

She and her father are not currently speaking, she said.

‘He is acting from a place of wanting to protect the Jewish people and honor his parents’ legacy. And so am I,’ said Kleinman, who is 32. ‘We’re just going about it in very different ways.’

Kleinman’s experience speaks to a growing generational rift that has been highlighted in Jewish communities across the city and country in recent weeks.”

Multifaith Protests Demanding Gaza Ceasefire Continue Across the U.S. Despite Police Crackdown, Democracy Now!, November 3, 2023

“In Philadelphia, at least 350 people were arrested Thursday after hundreds of faith leaders and activists blocked a train terminal demanding state and local officials support a ceasefire in Gaza. Imams, rabbis, reverends, pastors, clerics and Buddhist monks led the massive crowd in traditional songs and prayers, while hundreds more rallied outside the station. The peaceful action was organized by Philadelphia’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.”

Some Jewish American peace activists pay a personal price for backing ceasefire, NPR, October 27, 2023

“My position as a Jew is that it has always been our responsibility, according to our religion, to stand up for all those who are targeted, all those who are oppressed, all those who are facing violence because, as a people, we’ve been persecuted for so long.”

What unites the global protests for Palestinian rights, Vox, October 25, 2023

“This movement and conversation has been growing in the last few years as more and more people come to recognize the reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the reality that this cannot continue.”

Dozens arrested after protesters calling for ceasefire in Gaza gather at 30th Street Station, NBC10, November 3, 2023

“‘We need an outcry from the faith-based community,’ Dani Noble of Jewish Voice for Peace told NBC10 ahead of Thursday’s protest. ‘From people who care about the lives and dignity of all people. And we have seen so many communities coming together and doing just that and crying out for a ceasefire. Crying out for the end to genocide against Palestinians.‘

Protesters chain themselves to S.F. federal building to oppose military aid to Israel, San Francisco Chronicle, October 19, 2023

“’We need the U.S. government to call for a cease-fire and negotiations,’ said Lisa Rofel, a retired UC Santa Cruz professor and national board member for Jewish Voice for Peace, a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization that has demanded Palestinian liberation from Israeli military control. ‘They shouldn’t send arms to Israel.’” 

Young Progressives Are Disgusted With Biden Over Israel, Mother Jones, November 10, 2023

“’Are they saying that we just pause the bombs, bring in some nourishment, some food, and humanitarian aid? And then, great, let the bombs drop again?’ Miller asked. ‘There is one clear way forward, and it needs to be a full-on negotiated ceasefire.'”

Mass of Protesters Calling for Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Disrupt Travel in Philadelphia, North Carolina, The Messenger, November 2, 2023

“In North Carolina, pro-Palestine protesters took to the Durham Freeway to block traffic and call for a ceasefire.

Around three dozen people sat on the roadway, completely blocking both lanes of northbound traffic on the Durham Freeway, and more people gathered on the overpass to hold banners and chant.”

Anti-war protesters almost arrested after blocking Durham Freeway for hours during rush hour, WRAL, November 2, 2023

“‘We are demanding a ceasefire, and our elected officials have the power to do that,’ said Noah Rubin-Blose, a student rabbi in attendance.“

Photos: Anti-war protesters block rush hour traffic on Durham Freeway, The News & Observer, November 3, 2023

Anti-war Protestors block rush hour traffic on NC 147 in Durham, WRAL, November 2, 2023

Sen. John Fetterman sparks a backlash with staunch support for Israel: ‘It’s outing him as not being progressive’, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 4, 2023

“’I know [Mr. Fetterman] supported some aid packages [to Gaza], but it really means nothing if he is allowing Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania tax dollars to fund militancy against innocent civilians,’ said Allie Levin, of the Pittsburgh chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that has been critical of Israel. ‘I’m deeply distressed by his concern for specific human beings versus others. It’s outing him as not being progressive.‘”

On the News: A Surge in American Jewish Left Organizing, Jewish Currents, October 31, 2023

“In this episode of On the Nose, associate editor Mari Cohen discusses this surge in Jewish left organizing with Elena Stein, director of organizing strategy at JVP; Eva Borgwardt, national spokesperson for IfNotNow; and Emmaia Gelman, guest faculty in social sciences at Sarah Lawrence College and longtime Jewish left activist.” 

Jewish Coloradan protesters ask Rep. Diana Degette to support Israel-Palestinian ceasefire bill, CBS Colorado, October 20, 2023

“’Due to the urgency of Palestinians’ lives being lost and their voices crying out, our Jewish values and history have compelled us to come out today and demand urgency that she signed the bill to stop the killing as soon as possible.'”

‘I, too, am the Jewish community’: rift among US Jews widens over Gaza war, The Guardian, November 4, 2023

“My Jewishness is connected to a commitment to taking action for justice for all people.”

Israeli War on Gaza Sparks ‘Largest Mass Mobilization of Jews’ for Palestine in US History, Common Dreams, October 30, 2023

“From Albuquerque to Minneapolis, Seattle to Miami, Washington D.C. to Detroit, students, elders, faith leaders, and activists… are organizing sit-ins in congressional offices and blocking streets as they demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.”

‘It’s been hard to have these conversations’: Three local perspectives on Israel-Palestine, WWNO, November 9, 2023

“’I just think it shouldn’t be a divisive issue,’ she said. ‘If we have any sense of morality everyone has to be demanding a ceasefire and learning to understand the root of the issue.'”

Gaza Conflict Triggers Internal Shift in US, Says American Author, BNN, November 9, 2023

“These efforts signify a broader shift in the discourse surrounding Israel and Palestine, as more individuals and organizations within the Jewish community seek to hold Israel accountable for its policies through nonviolent means.”

Jewish Voice for Peace Protests Demand U.S. Pressure Israel to Accept Gaza Ceasefire, Counter Point, November 6, 2023,

“Liv Kunins-Berkowitz talks about her group’s views on the current Israel-Hamas war, the US role in the conflict, and JVP’s historic protest actions demanding a ceasefire in Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign that has killed some 10,000 Gaza civilians.”

500 Protesters Disrupt Train Station in Philly, Demanding Israel Ceasefire, Truthout, November 3, 2023

“’We are Jews and Rabbis, clergy and people of conscience, and we are part of a growing social movement demanding that President Biden and the U.S. call for a ceasefire,’ Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari, senior rabbi at Kol Tzedek in West Philadelphia“

Hundreds of Jewish activists in Seattle demand ceasefire in Gaza: ‘You can’t do that in our names’, KOUW, October 18, 2023

“’As Jews, we are standing up against genocide and the Congress is beating the drums of war,’ said Wendy Elisheva Somerson, one of the founders of Jewish Voice for Peace. ‘And we are saying, ‘No, you can’t do that in our names.’ The State of Israel claims to speak in the name of all Jews, but they don’t.’”

Jewish Voice for Peace Shuts Down the Federal Building, Demands Ceasefire Now, The Stranger, November 3, 2023

“Hundreds of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organizers, their allies, and multicultural faith leaders chained their wrists together, locked arms, and blocked all entrances to the Jackson Federal Building downtown Friday morning”

Thousands of Jewish Americans and Allies Demand Cease-Fire in Gaza, Common Dreams, October 14, 2023

“‘We as American Jews believe that ‘never again’ means never again for anyone, and that includes Palestinians,’ said JVP, referring to the refrain repeated by the Jewish American community regarding the need to prevent genocide. ”Never again’ is this very moment.’”

Minnesota Jews Against Genocide March calls for cease-fire in Gaza, MPR, October 16, 2023

“’Young Jews are coming forward and saying, ‘not in our names,’ El-Hai said. ‘We are building a Judaism beyond Zionism, and it’s beautiful and it works. This is the way we can live in a safe world with everyone, with our whole community.’”  

Proponents of ceasefire in Israel-Hamas War rally at Padilla’s San Diego office, KPBS, November 6, 2023

“‘We demand that the U.S. government stop funding the genocide of the Palestinian people and call for a ceasefire immediately,’ she said. ‘We know that a humanitarian pause is not the solution. The only path toward peace and justice is a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.‘”

‘The Time Is Now’: Interfaith Protesters Fill Philly Train Station Demanding Cease-Fire, Common Dreams, November 3, 2023

“‘We will not stop disrupting business as usual until Biden heads the moral call,’ one rabbi said.“

Minneapolis rabbi discusses decision to interrupt president’s fundraiser, MPR News, November 3, 2023

“Obviously, what is needed is a ceasefire. Every day hundreds of people are dying. I had the opportunity to tell him that directly, and I am humbled and honored that I was able to amplify the voices of so many millions of people who are calling for a ceasefire.”

Atlanta’s Jewish Voice for Peace march on Sen. Ossoff’s midtown office, Fox5, November 8, 2023

“The group says they are called to action by their faith and conscience and don’t want their pain to be used to justify further acts of war, violence or genocide, including the deaths of over 10,000 Palestinians.”

Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont calls on congressional delegation to support an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, WAMC, October 31, 2023

“There is a ceasefire resolution in the House and we’re asking that [Congresswoman] Becca Balint sign onto that resolution demanding a ceasefire now, keeping humanitarian lines open and finally that not one more U.S. dollar is spent sending money or weapons to Israel for what really are war crimes that they are committing against the civilian population of Gaza.”

A Jew, Muslim and Christian condemn the violence in Gaza, CT Mirror, November 10, 2023

“It is our common moral values that make us stand up together for peace and against the thirst for revenge.”

Without Apology—Academic Freedom and Campus Speech Rights for Anti-Zionist Students and Faculty, Academe Blog, November 10, 2023

“The assault on academic freedom and campus-speech rights for pro-Palestinian students and faculty has been so fast and furious in the wake of October 7 that one hardly knows where to begin.”

Jewish Voice for Peace protesters call for Gaza cease-fire, Daily Hampshire Gazette, October 16, 2023

 “’I’m Jewish, and I’m saying here, not in my name,’ said Batya Sobel, a South Hadley resident who partook in Monday’s protest in Northampton. ‘There’s so many Jewish people like me who feel the exact same way.’”

American Jews’ Activism Reshapes Israel-Palestine Discourse, BNN, November 10, 2023

“A significant shift is unfolding as Jewish organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow experience a sharp increase in volunteers and support, indicating a growing resistance. These organizations are leading protests, demanding a ceasefire, and advocating for Palestinian rights, emphasizing the universal values of justice, human rights, and dignity for all. Their activism is challenging the prevailing narrative that equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, reshaping the discourse on the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit calls for ceasefire in Gaza, end to Israeli apartheid, WPBN, October 16, 2023

“We call on the U.S. Govt to urge Israel to stop the siege of Gaza and negotiate a peaceful return of hostages.”