Grassroots Activism and Solidarity for Palestinian Freedom

Today we speak with Rebecca Vilkomerson and Rabbi Alissa Wise about their foundational work in starting and growing Jewish Voice for Peace. It’s a story captured in their new book, Solidarity Is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing. We learn about the different phases in the organization’s life—its growing pains, its key transitions and expansions, and the lessons it has learned on the way about organizing and activism for Palestine. As the title indicates, the book is fundamentally about discovering and growing an expansive notion of solidarity, and the love necessary to sustain a movement.

Rebecca Vilkomerson was the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace from 2009-2019. She is now Co-Director of Funding Freedom, organizing within philanthropy. 

Rabbi Alissa Wise is a community organizer, educator, organizational consultant, and ritual leader with over two decades of movement-building experience. Rabbi Wise co-founded the JVP Rabbinical Council in 2010, and was a staff leader at JVP from 2011-2021. She is currently the Lead Organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire, which she founded in October 2023.