Solidarity Is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing

Join Rebecca Vilkomerson, Rabbi Alissa Wise, Omar Barghouti, Nyle Fort and Stefanie Fox as they discuss the new book Solidarity Is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing

The book asks What does the politics of solidarity look like in practice, and how can left-wing organizations grow—in numbers and power—while remaining accountable to the broader movements of which they are a part?

Against the backdrop of rapid and often devastating political developments, Solidarity is the Political Version of Love explores how JVP grew larger as the organization shifted to the left and helped to alter the public narrative about Palestinian liberation, while also navigating the tensions of organization-building and creating a space for Judaism liberated from Zionism. Their insights help contextualize the intense suppression of activism for Palestinian freedom, while illuminating the roots of today’s flourishing Jewish solidarity with Palestinians worldwide.

In addressing their shortcomings and failures no less than their inspiring successes, Vilkomerson and Wise deliver an account of JVP’s organizing during the 2010s that offers crucial strategic lessons for anyone engaging in the collective work of building organizations and fighting for justice as our movements evolve over time.

***Please note: This discussion was recorded on September 26, 2024.***

Speakers:

Rebecca Vilkomerson has worked in social justice movement building for several decades, as an organizer, fundraiser, organizational development consultant and strategist. From 2009-2019 she was the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace. In 2022, the Solidaire Network published her report “Funding Freedom: Building Support for the Palestinian Freedom Movement in Philanthropy.” She is currently the Co-Director of the Funding Freedom project.

Rabbi Alissa Wise is an organizational consultant, community organizer, educator, and ritual leader with over two decades of movement-building experience. Rabbi Wise co-founded the JVP Rabbinical Council in 2010. From 2011-2021 was Organizing Co-Director, Deputy Director and Interim Co-Executive Director of JVP. She is currently the Lead Organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire which she founded in October 2023.

Omar Barghouti is a co-founder of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and recipient of the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award. He holds a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, NY, and is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy (ethics) at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of, BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights (Haymarket: 2011). His commentaries and views have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, among others.

Stefanie Fox (she/her) is the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S. based, grassroots membership organization mobilizing Jewish communities into the movement for Palestinian rights and freedom and towards a vision of Judaism beyond Zionism. Stefanie joined JVP in 2009 as the organization’s first National Organizer, and played multiple roles over the past 15 years growing the organization into the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. Prior to joining JVP, Stefanie spent a decade in racial and economic justice work as a grassroots community organizer, public health practitioner, and policy researcher and analyst. She has written extensively for print media with publications in outlets like Time, Boston Review, The Nation, and has appeared on MSNBC, Al Jazeera English, CNN, and more.

Nyle Fort is a minister, organizer, and scholar. He is currently an Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University.