STATEMENT: Young Jews Oppose Trump’s Dangerous Jerusalem Announcement, Are Committed to a #Jerusalem4All
We call on the American Jewish community to oppose today’s announcement — we refuse to be pawns in Trump’s careless foreign policy games.
IfNotNow categorically condemns President Trump’s announcement today recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which he himself noted as the first step in a process to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump had the gall to call his upheaval of decades of White House policy a “new approach.” But this is not a new approach — it is an act of incitement from the Trump Administration against Palestinians and a recipe for disaster. Today’s announcement only entrenches Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land and drives Israelis and Palestinians farther away from the lasting “peace” he so callously talked about.
Right now, we’re watching Israeli security forces deployed en masse in response to protests being planned by Palestinian organizations. Ironically, the State Department has already issued a travel warning to American citizens in the Old City. The Trump administration knows that nothing good can come of this reckless announcement.
Trump himself was open about his true intentions — to deliver on a campaign promise that pandered to right-wing extremists, both in the United States and in Israel. This decision does not embolden “young voices calling for a bright and better future,” as Trump promised, but rather endorses the movement of Jewish extremists that displace more and more Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem every day.
“Today’s announcement is in line with Trump’s countless other dangerous and violent decisions; he has now turned to Jerusalem,” said IfNotNow founding member, Sarah Brammer-Shlay. “In the midst of a historically unpopular tax bill, threats to a free and open internet, and unbelievable cruelty towards Dreamers, Trump is trying to distract the American people with an action that will have brutal consequences on the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.”
IfNotNow calls on the American Jewish community to oppose today’s announcement — we refuse to be pawns in Trump’s careless foreign policy games. Our community must speak up now, before violence erupts and it is too late. We know that young Jews are committed to a peaceful Jerusalem, and will not be silent in the face of policies that put millions of lives in danger.
IfNotNow is a Jewish movement to end the American Jewish community’s support for the Occupation and gain freedom and dignity for all Israelis and Palestinians. It is also helping to lead the #JewishResistance against the Trump administration, organizing to get the Jewish establishment to leverage its resources as part of the broader resistance. IfNotNow has chapters in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Austin, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. For more information: www.ifnotnowmovement.org
Actions are louder than words. So take action with us:
Sign our call-to-action >> American Jews Say No to Trump’s Embassy Move: We need a #Jerusalem4All.
Join us in the streets:
WEDNESDAY:
THURSDAY:
- Bay Area >> https://www.facebook.com/events/147722112664344/
- Chicago >> https://www.facebook.com/events/194710791097431/
- LA >> https://www.facebook.com/events/341501369658201/
- NYC >> https://www.facebook.com/events/1406164809509265/
FRIDAY:
