Fax to:

Mr. Adam Kessler, Executive Director Jewish Community Relations Council

Fax number: (215)- 832-0527 Pages Attached: Date: Please reply to: 4 January 27, 2012 Philly@jewishvoiceforpeace.org

January 27, 2012 Dear Mr. Kessler: You recently signed a statement condemning the National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Conference being held this February at the University of Pennsylvania, in your role as the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia. We, as members of the Jewish community and as people of conscience, believe you have made irresponsible and groundless claims against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Conference, as well as the BDS movement as a whole. This non-violent BDS movement has one purpose: the full expression of Palestinian rights as recognized by international law. To further this purpose, it aims to end the Israeli Occupation, achieve full equality for Palestinians now living in Israel, and recognize Palestinian refugees right of return. The Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions was issued in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian civil society groups, including all major political parties, refugee rights associations, trade union federations, womens unions, NGO networks, and a broad spectrum of grassroots organizations. The Call invites people of conscience all over the world to join in boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. It explicitly invite[s] conscientious Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace. We, as Jews and people of conscience, recognize that a just and lasting peace will only be possible with full equality for Palestinian refugees, Palestinians under occupation, and Palestinian citizens of Israel. As Jews and fellow travelers, we are passionately committed to peace and justice in the Middle East. Supporting BDS is an important step towards that outcome.

We call upon Jewish community organizations to recognize the non-violent, coalition BDS movement as entirely consistent with Jewish values, and a legitimate expression of the Jewish principle of btselem elohim, treating all people as the image of G-d by doing what G-d does: "To unlock the fetters of wickedness/ And untie the cords of the yoke/ To let the oppressed go free." While we think you have erred, we applaud your stated commitment to sophisticated civil discourse. For too long, Jewish organizations have acted as gatekeepers, and discussion of BDS has been actively suppressed by Jewish institutions, both within Jewish spaces and in wider society. We would like to speak with you directly to address these errors, both about the BDS movement as a whole and the conference specifically. We hope youll meet with us because, in your role as Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia, you serve the entire Jewish community, not only those with whom you agree. Bshalom, Jewish Voice for Peace-Philadelphia Philly@jewishvoiceforpeace.org and the following individuals:
Aaron Libson, Philadelphia, PA Abby Ruder, Philadelphia, PA Rabbi Alissa Wise, Oakland, CA Allan Lichtenstein, North Brunswick, NJ Allison Saft, Elkins Park, PA Amy Bush, Philadelphia, PA Andreas Ohland, Cheltenham, PA Anne Norton, Philadelphia, PA Anne Phillips, Philadelphia, PA Arlene Tyner, Philadelphia, PA Audrey Bomse, Miami, FL Austin Kelley, Philadelphia, PA Brian Brotman, Collingswood, NJ

Bruce Mellon, Philadelphia, PA Cheryl Dzubak, Yardville, NJ Daniel Szyld, Philadelphia, PA Danny Hirschel-Burns, Swarthmore, PA David B. Chandler, Philadelphia, PA David Basior, rabbinic student, Philadelphia, PA David Elder, Kennett Square, PA David Schollaer, Brugge-Assebroek, WestVlaanderen Denis Lytle, Fords, NJ Edmund Weisberg, Philadelphia, PA Edward Thornton, Swarthmore, PA Elizabeth Manlin, Philadelphia, PA Esteban Montero, Barcelona, Spain Evelyn Haas, Philadelphia PA Father Francis Gillespie, Wernersville, PA Frederick Rosen, Ambler, PA Gene Ramsbottom, Rosemont, PA Hannah Mermelstein, Brooklyn, NY Hannah Sassaman, Philadelphia, PA Hannah Slipakoff, Philadelphia, PA Heather Love, Philadelphia, PA Helen Evelev, Philadelphia, PA Howard Lenow, Sudbury, MA Janet Kestenberg Amighi, West Chester, PA Jennifer Kates, Philadelphia, PA Jerry Gates, West Chester, PA Jesse Bacon, Philadelphia, PA Jessica Feierman, Jenkintown, PA Joshua Block, Philadelphia, PA Judy Livingston, Hopewell, NJ Julia McMillan, Blue Bell, PA Julie Alighieri, Long Branch, NJ Karen Barton, Bryn Mawr, PA Karen Kohn, Philadelphia, PA Kate Mottola, Margate, NJ Kevin Hasbrouck, Dayton, NJ Lana Fishkin, Bala Cynwyd, PA LauraBeth Jones, Atlanta, GA Lilo Prinz, Au, NY Margaret Van Dagens, Princeton, NJ Maria Loizou, Easton, PA Maria Rosmini, Wagontown, PA

Marion Munk, Piscataway, NJ Marlena Santoyo, Philadelphia, PA Mary-Lee Lutz, Newark, DE Matthew Berkman, Philadelphia, PA Matthew Graber, Philadelphia, PA Michele Richman, Philadelphia, PA Nava EtShalom, Philadelphia, PA Nick Ospa, Philadelphia, PA Nicole Sugerman, Philadelphia, PA Noah T. Winer, Philadelphia, PA Norman Weiss, Philadelphia, PA Nova McGiffert, Philadelphia, PA Noyma Appelbaum, Philadlephia, PA Phil Nolt, New Holland, PA Philipi Goldstein, Newark, DE Rachael Kamel, Philadelphia, PA Rachel Brown, Philadelphia, PA Rachel Buxbaum, Philadelphia, PA Rebecca Subar, Philadelphia, PA Rebekah Rosenfeld, Philadelphia, PA Roger Thompson, Lambertville, NJ Sam Friedman, Highland Park, NJ Sara Saba, Princeton, NJ Scott Lamson, Philadelphia, PA Shira EtShalom, RN, Philadelphia PA Susan Rouda, Philadelphia, PA Suvir Kaul, Philadelphia, PA Tammy Murphy, Philadelphia, PA Thomas Beck, Bensalem, PA Vincent Campanaro, Philadelphia, PA Vincent Stravino, M.D., Bethlehem, PA Wesley Parish, Christchurch, New Zealand Yehia Mishriki, Emmaus, PA

For the complete Jewish Voice for Peace position on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, please visit: http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/content/jvp-issues#1