Never again is now

Jewish Americans and Allies Occupy Trump Tower Demanding Release of Mahmoud Khalil

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Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Common Dreams is publishing many quality articles.

Demostrators from the human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace hold a civil disobedience action inside Trump Tower in New York on March 13, 2025.
 (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

“We know what happens when an autocratic regime starts taking away our rights and scapegoating and we will not be silent.”

This is a developing story… Please check back for possible updates…

Nearly a year and a half after the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace began leading nationwide demonstrations against Israel’s U.S.-backed assault on Gaza, hundreds of organizers and supporters of the group risked arrest Thursday as they assembled in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, demanding the release of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil.

“Three hundred Jews and friends in Trump Tower, because we know what happens when an autocratic regime starts taking away our rights and scapegoating and we will not be silent,” said Sonya Meyerson-Knox, communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). “Come for one—face us all.”

The latter phrase was emblazoned on banners that were displayed by campaigners, who chanted, “Never again for anyone, never again is now!” and, “Free Mahmoud, free them all!”

New York City police officers began arresting participants in the sit-in early in the afternoon.

Jane Hirschmann, a Jewish New York resident whose grandfather and uncle were abducted by the Nazis in Germany as Adolf Hitler rose to power, said Khalil’s detention “is further proof that we are on the brink of a full takeover by an authoritarian regime.”

“As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads,” said Hirschmann. “This is what fascists do as they cement control. This moment requires all people of conscience to take bold action to resist state violence and repression. Free Mahmoud now.”

Actors Morgan Spector, Debra Winger, and Arliss Howard were in attendance at the sit-in, along with writer and artist Molly Crabapple and New York City Council member Alexa Aviles.

Khalil was abducted by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last Saturday night as he was returning home to his Columbia-owned apartment with his wife, who is eight months pregnant. He was a graduate student at the university until this past December, and took a central organizing role in student-led protests and negotiations against Columbia’s investment in companies that profit from Israel’s apartheid policy in Gaza, including the bombardment it began in October 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.

Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and a citizen of Algeria, was detained under the State Department’s “catch and revoke” program, with the Trump administration revoking his green card and threatening to deport him. Administration officials have admitted that they are not accusing Khalil of breaking any laws by participating in Palestinian solidarity protests, but they said he is viewed as “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America.”

After a hearing Wednesday, a federal judge is considering whether Khalil should be sent back to New York, where he was detained, from the Louisiana ICE facility where he is being held. The same judge blocked Khalil’s deportation this week.

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Common Dreams is publishing many quality articles.

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Jewish Progressives Stage Sit-In at Hakeem Jeffries’ Office to Protest AIPAC Influence

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Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Members of Jewish Voice for Peace stage a sit-in at Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ office in Washington, D.C. on March 12, 2024.  (Photo: @JvpAction/X)

“Our Jewish communities are rising up to say, ‘Never again is now,'” said organizers.

Sharpening their focus on the influence that pro-Israel lobbyists have had for decades on U.S. policy regarding Palestinians, Jewish progressives on Tuesday held a sit-in at the Capitol Hill office of U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, one of the largest recipients of campaign funds from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The protesters, who are members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action, prominently displayed a sign reading, “AIPAC gave $829,835 to Hakeem Jeffries, who opposes cease-fire,” before proceeding to the New York Democrat’s office.

The sign referred to AIPAC’s contributions to Jeffries throughout his career.

“Our Jewish communities are rising up to say, ‘Never again is now,'” said JVP Action. “We refuse to be bystanders as the Israeli government wages a genocidal campaign in our name and funding by U.S. tax dollars.”

At the sit-in, the organizers held signs saying, “AIPAC funds genocide” and, “Jeffries: Reject AIPAC.”

Israel has killed at least 31,184 Palestinians since it began its U.S.-backed bombardment of Gaza in October, and at least 25 people have died of starvation due to Israel’s blockade on nearly all humanitarian aid. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said Tuesday that more children have been killed in Gaza in the last four months than the number of children killed worldwide in wars over the last four years.

JVP Action is among several rights groups that announced a new coalition, Reject AIPAC, on Monday. AIPAC and its political action committee are planning to spend $100 million this election year to unseat lawmakers it views as insufficiently supportive of Israel.

As JVP Action noted Tuesday, while Democratic lawmakers who continue to back Israel’s assault on Gaza may retain the support of AIPAC, they are out of step with Democratic voters, 77% of whom are demanding the U.S. call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

“If members of Congress vote to send Israel more bombs and weapons now, it’s because AIPAC demands it,” Justice Democrats, another member of the coalition, said Monday. “Reject AIPAC because Palestinian lives should matter more to our leaders than campaign checks.”

Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingJewish Progressives Stage Sit-In at Hakeem Jeffries’ Office to Protest AIPAC Influence