<div dir="ltr">an interesting development.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br><br><br><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div>
Friends,</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">In the face of the unceasing, devastating violence in Gaza and Israel -- 1300 Palestinians killed, 60 Israelis killed, this is now the longest Israeli war in Gaza - a group of American Jews under the banner of "If Not Now, When" has come together to create a Jewish opposition to the violence and the occupation, and to call for a new path towards freedom and dignity for all in the region, Palestinians and Israelis. </span><br>
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<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Below is an update and some thoughts on how folks - Jewish, not Jewish, anywhere in between - can join in, lift it up, and help make the effort a success:</div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Earlier this week, 9 members of #IfNotNow were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm74xbSkjkM" target="_blank">arrested</a> while demanding a meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish organization--while another 70 recited the Mourners Kaddish and sang Jewish prayers outside. </div>
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<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">This effort is growing and spreading, with #IfNotNow actions planned in an additional seven cities and popping up in Israel and Canada. We are slowly picking up coverage in Jewish and Israeli media outlets. </div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">In addition to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/IfNotNowOrg" target="_blank">FB group</a>, there is also now a<a href="http://ifnot.net/" target="_blank"> website</a> where you can find resources and connect to #IfNotNow groups around the country. Check it out, join in, and spread the word! </div>
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<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">A few concrete asks:</div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<b><font size="4">We need your help on social media. </font></b><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">We are still in a moment of deep crisis and serious urgency; with this comes real potential for movement-building. When the violence is done--and may it be as soon as possible--we hope #IfNotNow will be strong enough so that it can actually address the longer-term, structural issues that brought us here. </div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">To do that, we need to keep picking up more and more momentum. <span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px">The </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/IfNotNowOrg?fref=photo" style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" target="_blank">facebook page is here</a><span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px">, the twitter handle is </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ifnotnoworg" style="font-size:12.800000190734863px" target="_blank">@IfNotNowOrg</a>,<span style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"> and the hashtag is #IfNotNow. Please please please help make this bigger, louder, better by sharing, posting, and sending us feedback/ideas for how to grow. </span></div>
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<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><b>Here are some sample tweets:</b><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<div><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px">Jewish friends </span><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"><a href="https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">@</span>IfNotNowOrg</a></span><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> are rising up to end the war & occupation because our liberation is connected </span><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IfNotNow" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">#</span>IfNotNow</a></span><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> </span><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"><a href="http://pic.twitter.com/LlU8SzWIcx" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/LlU8SzWIcx</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px">.</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">@</span>IfNotNowOrg</a><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> is calling on their community to act on Jewish values by choosing liberation over occupation </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IfNotNow" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">#</span>IfNotNow</a><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> </span><a href="http://pic.twitter.com/Bjn5rgIwDZ" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/Bjn5rgIwDZ</a></li>
<li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px">.</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">@</span>IfNotNowOrg</a><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> are Jews taking action to end violence, the occupation and win freedom and dignity for all. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IfNotNow" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(102,181,210)">#</span>IfNotNow</a><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px"> </span><a href="http://pic.twitter.com/EwgBpQdhyg" style="color:rgb(0,132,180);font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif,'Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol',Symbola,EmojiSymbols;line-height:18px;text-decoration:none!important;background-image:initial" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/EwgBpQdhyg</a> </li>
</ul></div><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><b style="font-size:small"><font size="4">We need you in the streets.</font></b><br></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px">
<br></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px">#IFNotNow is putting on a big Shabbat service this Friday in Manhattan and we need to help get the word out and get people in the streets. </div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px">For anyone who was at Occupy Yom Kippur at Zuccotti Park, you'll remember what a powerful combo it was to hold a public action with a religious service--and how much attention we were able to get. Help us make this a BIG moment:</div>
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<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><b>Find out more and invite your people to this action: <font face="arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1448376822115873/?ref=br_tf" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/1448376822115873/?ref=br_tf</a> </font></b></li>
<li style="margin-left:15px">Email me and/or GCer Tammy Shapiro (<a href="mailto:tamarashap@gmail.com" target="_blank">tamarashap@gmail.com</a>) to connect with us and help us organize. </li></ul></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px">Israel/Palestine is not an easy topic for many of us to be "out" about; it can be so toxic and threatening to publicly express opposition to Israeli actions or solidarity for Palestinians in some communities. And of course, that we all arrive at this issue from very different places. </div>
<div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">But if you think that what the folks at #ifNotNow are doing -- bringing a Jewish voice and creating a space for Jewishly-grounded action targeting Jewish institutions -- is something you can get down with in any way, please help make it a thing. </div>
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