We, AVODAH participants, alumni, donors, and community members oppose AVODAH's recent decision to sponsor a trip to Israel through its alumni program, Pursue. In yielding to partisan pressure from wealthy funders Charles and Lynn Schusterman, AVODAH has strayed from its stated mission of focusing on domestic poverty, while also neglecting its core commitments to Jewish pluralism and social justice.
As a domestic-focused service corps, AVODAH has thus far refrained from addressing the potentially contentious issue of the conflict in Israel-Palestine. Yet AVODAH has chosen sides by accepting a grant that requires sponsorship of an Israel trip, bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the forefront of our community's discourse.
As a social justice organization, AVODAH is committed to addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality. This service-learning trip, run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, lacks any engagement with the military occupation of Palestine, one of the primary causes of poverty in Israeli-controlled territory. The trip does not include visits to the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, or East Jerusalem, where ongoing human rights violations have economically and politically disenfranchised over four million Palestinian people. It is grossly irresponsible for AVODAH to whitewash Israeli policies while still claiming to stand for social justice.
This recent decision - made without any community input - is part of a systematic marginalization of alternative voices within the institutional Jewish community. While AVODAH was previously a space where all political viewpoints on Israel-Palestine were welcome, the organization may now alienate a growing generation of Jews who see Israeli policy as inconsistent with Jewish social justice values. In sponsoring this trip, AVODAH has taken a political stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, violating its own commitment to pluralism. Many in the AVODAH community oppose Israel's occupation of Palestine, and some even support the economic and cultural boycott of the State of Israel. These participants, alumni and prospective applicants feel abandoned by the organization, which has chosen to engage in one-sided, uncritical programming.
This decision will set a precedent by which AVODAH leadership prioritizes funders over the values of their own community. This is why we demand that AVODAH publicly commit to:
1. Modify the trip itinerary to incorporate significant critical engagement with Israeli policy in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. This must include visits to occupied Palestine and interactions with Palestinians who live there.
2. Never sponsor another Israel trip in this way again.
3. Never accept money from the Schustermans, or any other group, if it necessitates AVODAH or Pursue's engagement in one-sided programming on Israel-Palestine.
4. Begin a community-wide discussion on how AVODAH and Pursue should handle the question of Israel-Palestine as a Jewish organization committed to social justice.
We are awaiting your reply,
To see the full list of signers and their comments:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArmxLODLmE9LdDNvSDlTUTNWYnZJUnRlUFV2UlZEdlE(List current as of 11.3.2011 8:19 PM)
Abigail Weber
Current Participant
Alissa Wise
Alumni
Amanda Hoffman
Family
Ana Forman
Alumni
Ann Finkelstein
Alumni, Donor
Anna Bennett
Current Participant
Ariana Kolnsq
Alumni, Donor
Ariana Tobias
Current Participant
Avi Rosenthalis
Alumni
Avital Aboody
Alumni
Barbara Friedman Family
Benny Amon
Current Participant
Beth Miller
Donor
Beth Resnick-Folk Alumni
Briana Carp
Alumni
Cara Herbitter
Alumni
Carolyn Klaasen
Prospective Applicant
Claire Bergen
Alumni
David Schmutzer
Donor, Community
Danielle Unger
Current Participant
David Siegel
Alumni
Deborah Rosenstein
Community
Diana Hoffman
Alumni
Elana Shever
Alumni, Donor
Eleni Zimiles
Alumni
Eliana Horn
Current Participant
Elise Goldin
Current Participant
Elissa Vinnik
Alumni
Elizabeth London Alumni
Ellen Lippmann
Donor
Emily Hoffman
Alumni
Emily Robison
Community
Erica Weinstein
Alumni
Eva Lerner
Alumni, Donor
Gillian Locascio
Alumni
Gordon Fellman
Community
Gracie Greenberg Prospective Applicant
greer paris
Prospective Applicant
Hanna Kipnis
Prospective Applicant
Hannah Furstenberg-Beckman
Alumni
Hannah Mermelstein
Community
Hannah Wizman-Cartier
Alumni
Hasan Bhatti
Alumni
Heath Reynolds
Community
Jesse Bacon
Community
Jessica Beitch
Alumni
Jessie Levine
Alumni
Jethro Eisenstein
Community
Jill Bratt
Alumni
Jonathan Zimbler
Donor
Julia Baskin
Alumni
k. Feldman
Community
Katie Goldstein
Alumni
kassia arbabi
Alumni
Kirsten Wittkowski Community
Lane Levine
Community
Leah Hartman
Community
Leila Shooshani
Current Participant
Lev Hirschhorn
Current Participant
Lily Gordon-Koven
Current Participant
Liza Behrendt
Current Participant
Lizzie Busch
Alumni
Lynn Pollack
Community
Mallory Falk
Alumni
Marlene Edelstein
Current Participant
Natalie Stahl
Alumni, Donor
Nicole Kligerman
Prospective Applicant
Noah T. Winer
Alumni, Donor
Oren Brandvain
Alumni
Peter Rachleff
Community
Polly Clare-Rothe
Alumni
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
Community
Rabbi Brant Rosen
Donor
Rachel Lee
Alumni, Donor
Rachel McCullough
Community
Rae Abileah
Alunmi of AJWS Programs
Rebecca Wener
Alumni
Richard Semegram
Alumni
Robin Blanc
Alumni
Rosa Gaia Saunders
Alumni
Sarah Guzy
Community
Sarah Leitson
Current Participant
Sarah Miles
Alumni, Donor
Sarah Novick
Alumni
Sarah Porzucki
Current Participant
SM
Prospective Applicant
Stefan Lynch
Family
Tamar Toledano
Alumni
Temim Fruchter
Alumni
Wendy Mironov
Alumni, Donor
