We are Bay Area Jewish people speaking with one voice to condemn the racist, Islamophobic attacks perpetrated by the Jewish Community Relations Council - Bay Area (JCRC-BA) against Palestinian and Arab groups in the Bay Area advocating for a ceasefire in Palestine.
JCRC-BA claims to represent the Jewish community, but devotes an outsized effort and the majority of its resources to defending Israel and attacking people who support the rights of Palestinians and Arabs.
By targeting teachers, school districts, non profits, educational initiatives, and city councils, JCRC-BA attempts to limit what can be said when it comes to Israel and Palestine. JCRC-BA punishes people and organizations with whom it disagrees by using its influence to cut funding, publicly denounce individuals, pass legislation limiting free speech, and wage lawsuits against students.
JCRC-BA opposes a permanent ceasefire. It supports Israel’s mission to wipe out the people of Gaza and labels support for Palestinians as anti-Semitic. Though 68% of Americans support a ceasefire, JCRC-BA campaigns to stop city councils from issuing ceasefire resolutions—like it did in Oakland, where 86% of the 1,254 public comments were in support of a ceasefire, a large number of which came from Jews.
JCRC-BA CEO Tye Gregory has said thousands-strong marches asking for ceasefire are "pro-Hamas" and "terror-supporting." He has said that the Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), which has coordinated mass actions across the Bay Area calling for ceasefire, is "pro-terrorist."
JCRC-BA is out of step with Jewish people in the Bay Area and with American opinion.
We stand in full support of the Oakland city council’s ceasefire resolution in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. We thank city council members for representing and supporting those of us in the Jewish community who refuse to let our grief be used to justify genocide against the Palestinian people.
We stand with the Arab Resource & Organizing Center in calling on Bay Area elected officials to do the following:
- Go on the record to publicly condemn the shameful, inflammatory remarks made by JCRC-BA against AROC, Arab and Palestinian community members, anti-Zionist Jews and others calling for a ceasefire;
Reaffirm your commitment to protect and advocate for the safety and well-being of your Palestinian and Arab constituents, and speak out publicly when violence occurs against them as fueled by this rhetoric;
Call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine.
If you are a Jew of conscience, sign this petition to condemn the JCRC-BA for its racist attacks and demand that public officials do the same.