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A quarterly-ish collection of reports, inspiration, and reections about the fabulous activists and organizing within Jewish Voice for Peace
A Quarterly Report The Jewish Voice for Peace-Community Center (JVP-CC)! The educational & community-building home of our organizing program. Page 1 Working & Dancing: The First Regional LDI A must-read reection from Badia Ead, a participant at the Midwest Leadership Development Institute! Page 2 Elul Flipbook Read all about the Elul ipbook created by a JVP rabbinical council member out of words & images from JVP members. Page 3 July 19th Actions A round-up of the successful national day of action targeting TIAA-CREF Page 4 Issue 3: September 2011 Organizer Reection An honest reection of a new organizer in Philly stepping forward to lead their July 19th action. Page 5-6 CDI Reportback A reportback from a participant in the JVP Chapter Development Institute. Page 6

Announcing the JVP-CC!

We imagine coming together tocelebrate the unique beauty of diverse Jewish communities, history, andculture while at the same time being aplace to spark our connection tobroader struggles for justice. We dream of Jewish communitieswhere we build connections with each other, educate ourselves, and strive fora better world. It turns out, that is exactly what we are doinghere at JVP! A central value of the organizing program at JVP is that the best organizing happens when we deepen our relationships to each other and our understandings of the issues. As we listen to each others voices andideas on conference calls, shareknowledge and deepen political understanding in study groups, transform ritual into political education, orgather together in-person for aregional leadership retreat orcampaign strategy sessionwhen webuild community and share political educationwe are creating anew kind of Jewish community center--the JVP-CC. The JVP-CC is the home for the educational and community-building work of our organizing program. Open to Jews and non-Jews alike, the JVP-CC is a sometimes virtual, sometimes physical space where we deepen our connection to each other and oursupport for Palestinian liberation & self-determination. Download the catalog here where you will find details on: Institutes: Regional Leadership Development Institutes, Chapter Development Institutes Political analysis workshops, book groups, and education sessions National Workgroups: Tech Team, Welcoming Committee, Safety Training Online Community
JVP Organizing Newsletter 1

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Working & Dancing: The Midwest LDI

When the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STL-PSC) asked me and another member of the group if wed be interested in attending a gathering that Jewish Voice for Peace was hosting in late July, I wondered what a couple of Palestinian girls could possibly gain from that experience. I was sure JVP didnt have the two of us in mind when they were asking the group to send representatives. We ew to St. Paul, Minnesota for the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) with, quite honestly, a little apprehension, wondering how well wed t in. The goal of going back to St. Louis with a solid, local plan of action against TIAACREF weighed heavily on our shoulders. But, honestly, the whole idea of Palestinians attending JVP gave us pause. Would the group accept us? Would we feel comfortable? Would the two of us being Palestinian make them uncomfortable? From the get-go, there were so many individuals who went out of their way to make us feel welcome. In fact, the whole weekend felt like one big reunion, even though I had never met any of the other attendees before. I had a chance to speak with every single person while I was there. I heard their stories about how they came to openly oppose the occupation and support BDS, even at the cost of many relationships within their communities and even their own families. They willingly listened to my perspective as a Palestinian. For my particular group, every day was lled with meetings that informed us and ultimately empowered us to return to our cities with concrete plans on changing TIAA-CREF into an organization that would divest from Israels illegal occupation. My initial apprehension vanished with this realization, and at the immediate ease I felt with my LDI comrades. By the second night, after the days work had ended, we even transformed a meeting room into a miniature dance party. As Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls and, yes, even ABBA blasted, we danced and laughed as if we had known each other our whole lives. The nal day arrived and I was condent with the alliance I had made with JVPone I had been determined to make. But it was the effortless friendships I had gained that caught me off guard. When my fellow STL-PSC member and I got up to leave for the airport, I was moved by the number of people who interrupted the group session to get up and hug us goodbye. It was exciting to go back to St. Louis with a TIAA-CREF plan. But it was equally exciting to know Id met individuals who were ghting for justice and that these individuals would be lifelong friends. Needless to say, I look forward to working -- and dancing -- with my friends again.

The next Regional Leadership Development Institute will be:

Pacic Northwest/ Northern California Region

January 27-29, 2012 Portland, Oregon

Sessions at the LDI include: - messaging & communications - preparing for the organized opposition - grassroots organizing skills - chapter-building strategies - anti-oppression analysis - campaign strategy setting - BDS movement - storytelling for political action For more info: alissa@jvp.org

-Badia Ead, St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee

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Preparing for the Jewish High Holidays

Dearest JVP community, I have created a thing Ive been calling the ipbook,* which has nothing on the surface to do with the upcoming UN vote on the establishment of a Palestinian state. But the idea for it got thought-of while some of us on the JVP Rabbinic Cabinet were talking together about how JVP will address the UN vote and what we rabbis might offer in support. It seems that the UN vote on the establishment of a Palestinian state may happen during the Jewish month of Elul (August 30-Sept. 28 this year.) Elul, which is the last month of the Jewish year before Rosh Hashana, is dedicated to heightened teshuvah -- turning, returning, repenting, remembering the core of who we are. Its a time to revitalize our core values and passions, as individuals and as a community. I love Elul. I was thinking that, while JVP, and the world, gures out how to relate to whatever happens at the UN in the days to come, it might be a good time to try to recall what brings us all together as a Jewish Voice for Peace. Sometimes its possible to get bogged down in the politics and positions. Maybe there are a few people out there who could jog our memories of what its all about. Something like that. So I put out a call to JVP members for any photos, writings and so on which come from your own witnessing of life in the occupied territories. And I was blown away by what came back to me -- by the sheer amount, by the intensity of your words and images, by your generosity in sharing them. So rst of all, thank you, todah rabbah, shukran. I didnt use nearly all I received. And theres a lot more out there in our various hard-drives. I apologize for all mistakes! Mine and mine alone. As Ive put this together, Ive seen parts of Palestinian life than I hadnt known before. And I also saw that others of you have walked where I have walked and seen what Ive seen, each from our own perspective. Ive realized that we share a passionate knowledge, gained from our own and each others spirit of inquiry, which gives great strength to our advocacy and to our life together. I hope that together we inch closer to peace and justice in the new year. - Rabbi Margaret Holub, for the JVP Rabbinic Council Some thoughts about how to use the ipbook* There are 29 pages, corresponding to the 29 days of Elul. You might look at one a day and let that days images or story travel with you through the day. Or you might glance through it all and return to the words and images that call for your further attention. You might ask yourself, as you read: ~ What of what I see here do I already know? How do I know it? ~ What surprises me? What especially disturbs me? ~ What would I like to know more about? ~ What kind of voices speak most clearly to me? What is hard to listen to? ~ Does any of this affect how I will be or what I will do in the new year?

Great thanks to: Stefan Lynch, Rebecca Arian, *Flipbook -- one of those little cartoon books where you ip the pages Avital Aboody, Shachaf Polakow, Rich Forer, Diane to see still images come to life. Tracht, Carl Zaisser , Rachel Greene, Vincent Stravino, Bob Bobic aka Cap Dad, Lois Pearlman, Gerson Robboy , Alice Rothchild, Andrew Miller, Jean Carr, David Chadwick, Susannah Nachenberg, Liza Behrendt & Glen Hauer
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Summer 2011 Turned Up the Heat on TIAA-CREF!

Across the US this summer, hundreds of activists took to the streets to demand that TIAACREF divest from from corporations proting from Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. In June, ashmobs took NYC, San Francisco, Boston, and Denver by storm. In July, Divestment from Israeli occupation dominates CREF annual meeting in Charlotte, NC as part of simultaneous 20-city protest against the retirement

Socially Responsible Investment funds, ignoring the fact that these funds have shares in companies targeted in our campaign, like Motorola and Caterpillar. Mr. Ferguson promised to tell the truth from now on, but he did not commit to cleaning its SRI accounts, which remain sociallyresponsible, except for Palestine.
Just days before the July 19th actions and

CREF shareholder meeting, an op-ed in the Charlotte Observer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called the TIAA-CREF campaign important because it is one of the most broad-based divestment efforts in the U.S. Press covered our story in The Charlotte Observer, The Jewish Week, News 14 Carolina, Maan News Agency, Your News Now in Ithaca, and other media outlets across the country. Gorgeous documentation of the actions, a TIAA-CREF Client Alert video by the JVP Southbay chapter, and a daylong twitter presence (#tcdivest). James Schamus, Oscar-nominated head of Focus Features spoke at the 75 person protest in New York City. Protest organizers in Ithaca, Denver, Washington D.C., & Philadelphia report stronger attendance than anticipatedeven in scorching temperatures. All in all, hundreds of activists took to the streets nationwide to demand that TIAA-CREF divest for the greater good.

giant. Highlights of the July 19th nationwide day of actions targeting TIAA-CREF:

During the CREF shareholder meeting, all questions but one focused on TIAA-CREFs holdings with companies like Caterpillar, which prots from Israeli destruction of homes, and Veolia, which prots from bus lines that are segregated and serve illegal settlements. About a dozen people in the CREF meeting challenged TIAA-CREF CEO Roger Ferguson on his seemingly inconsistent commitment to socially responsible investing. Ferguson later admitted that his staffincluding he himself was erroneously telling concerned shareholders to switch investments into TIAA-CREFs

Congratulations to all of us for a historic day of action for the BDS movement in the United States!

JVP Organizing Newsletter

Organizer Reection: July 19th in Philly

Almost as soon as I stepped forward to organize the July 19th protest I was struck with doubts about whether I could pull it off. I felt exposed stepping forward as an individual to take responsibility for a protest in a city with many activists doing similar work, especially without having the structure of a JVP chapter to fall back on. I dont have a lot of experience as an activist, I had never done political organizing before, and Im a relatively recent transplant to Philadelphia. But in my network of friends and acquaintances I knew people with backgrounds in mass emailing, campaign strategy, and local media. I tried to pull in as much collective wisdom as possible. I was condent about making plans, printing handouts, drawing up signs; at some point I even became fairly condent wed have a good turnout. But I still couldnt gure out exactly what we were going to do. The suggestions in the July 19th workbook from national JVP didnt seem right, and I was letting my lack of experience paralyze me. I was also totally wired. My brain was constantly chattering during the day and I was lying awake at night for hours, unable to slow the pace of list making and prioritizing. I dont usually have trouble sleeping and it was getting to me. I was exhilarated with how things were going but on a physical level I felt awful. I did what Id been doing all along, and sought out the experts in my life. My rst friend has been an organizer for decades and in addition to being a brilliant strategist had recently given a lot of thought to work/life balance. I told her I was worried Id be worn out by Tuesday and that I wasnt eating properly. She said, It sounds like youre not taking care of yourself. I had known that, but hearing it from someone else made a difference. You need to stay in charge of you. No one else can do that. I told her how I couldnt gure out what we would do at the protest, and she helped me think through who we were targeting and what we wanted to accomplish. She also said, You dont have to do this. If it doesnt feel right you can call a strategy meeting or have a press conference. Do what feels right. Having options was freeing. I still wanted to have the eventI was very clear on thatbut it suddenly felt like a choice instead of an obligation. I took a break from emailing and intentionally lightened up on how much work I was doing. I scoped up our site downtown and drew a detailed, slightly wonky, out-of-scale map before sitting down with my next expert. Im pretty sure well have a good turnout, but I dont know what were going to do. What do you mean? You have signs, right? And chants? And I know youve got iers, cause I printed them. So were going to stand with the signs, chant, and hand out the iers. You know, a protest. People will recognize that. Everything seemed much clearer. I was worried about the space so we looked at the map, picked the best stretch of sidewalk, and that was it. We had the props, we had the chants, we had some number of people showing up, and we had a plan. My anxiety disappeared, replaced by anticipation. We sorted out carpool logistics, assigned someone to keep an eye on timing and the overall vibe, someone to lead chants, and someone to deal with any security guards or police in

JVP Organizing Newsletter

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case we had trouble. On the drive over I realized that I didnt have a minute-by-minute plan, but that we didnt need one, either. People showed up gradually, in ones and twos. We started with handing out the big signs, then the smaller ones as they ran out. People started distributing iers to passersby; we got our rst signature for the petition. At some point our deputy in charge of the vibe suggested we start chanting. I took a step back and realized wed gone from being a Few to being a Many, and we had a large enough group to start singing the parodies, which had been my personal goal all along. At 1:30, when it was over, I was elated. We had shown up and done great work. Every person that we had talked to, every person who had walked by and heard something about TIAA-CREF, had now gotten their rst contact with this push for divestment, and they had been much more receptive to learning about the campaign than Id expected. I learned a lot from that experienceabout getting things done, writing good, direct emails, and making an ask. I saw again and again how enthusiasm is infectious and people are eager to help. I learned to think about the best way to contact someone, whether an email would work or a phone call would be more effective. I learned nuts and bolts things like making sure one person at the protest is responsible for collecting names and contact info, and to try getting staged protest photos before people have to leave, without letting it interfere with the actual protest. I learned how powerful it felt to be working on a national campaign, while similar protests were taking place across the country. But the most important thing I learned was that my anxiety about stepping forward had been misplaced, because it had never been about me. I could never have willed the demonstration into being, I was only laying the groundwork to make it possible. In the end our success was built entirely on peoples relationships, and the support of activist networks doing similar, parallel work for justice. Having been on the receiving end of that support, Im ready to give back and build on those networks. After the July 19th protest some folks were inspired to create a JVP chapter in Philadelphia, so weve started to gure out what we would want that to look like and how we can link up with the great organizations in our area. Im excited to see where the TIAA-CREF campaign is headed because I know this is a moment full of opportunity. Onward! - Rachel Brown, JVP-Philadelphia

Chapter Development Institute Reportback

Ive been an activist for many years, and even so the Chapter Development Institute was helpful and fun. Even though Ive done quite a bit of organizing, it was good to hear people talk about specic advantages and disadvantages of the different types of initial organizing events and agendas, depending upon who youre hoping will come and what youre trying to accomplish. Possibly the most important thing I learned was what they call One to Ones. Its a process of assessing where people are at and what theyre looking for in an organization; it brings potential members issues, concerns, desires, etc. into the mix as we begin to design the local chapter, which makes me think it will belong to more of us from the get-go. Last but not least, it was helpful to meet JVP folks from around the country: to hear about new chapters, to hear about different approaches to similar issues, and to learn of some inspired solutions to questions and problems. - Sallie Shawl, JVP-Tacoma

JVP Organizing Newsletter