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On June 24, the Jewish Federation of Louisville released a public statement endorsing the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. They framed it as a contribution to Jewish safety and global security.
We find that statement deeply alarming—and morally indefensible. It was released in the midst of a U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, starved, and displaced. It was issued without any acknowledgment of civilian risk in Iran, or of the long history of Jewish life in Iran that such military actions endanger. And it claimed to speak in the name of Jewish safety—while reinforcing the false and dangerous idea that Jewish survival depends on war. This kind of language puts people at risk. It places Jewish identity in alignment with militarism at a time when state violence is being challenged around the world. It marginalizes the many Jewish people in Louisville and beyond who oppose war and occupation. And it causes real harm to Iranian Jews, who already face state pressure within Iran and anti-Iranian racism in the United States—and now see their lives, families, and history ignored by an institution that claims to represent Jewish interests. We reject this framing. We do not believe Jewish safety requires the bombing of another country. We do not believe war can be made in anyone’s name without consequence. We do not believe silence in the face of genocide is ever neutral. We are members of the Louisville Ceasefire Coalition—including both Jewish and non-Jewish members. We stand with Jewish Louisvillians for Peace whose public response gives voice to profound values embedded in Jewish tradition: "moral courage, refusal to dehumanize others, the ‘dignity of all people,’ and a deep belief in justice without exception.” See their statement in comments. We will not be silent in the face of war. And we will not allow statements like the Federation’s to go unchallenged. We oppose the U.S. bombing of Iran. We oppose the genocide in Gaza. We oppose the use of any people’s suffering to justify the suffering of others. To all those in our communities—Jewish, Iranian, Palestinian, Arab, and SWANA—who are grieving, resisting, and demanding a future beyond war: we are with you. We know these communities are not separate. Many of us live at the intersections—as Iranian Jews, as Palestinian Jews, as people whose histories defy the borders and binaries imposed by empire. We speak out because our struggles are linked, and because our safety depends on standing with each other, not in opposition to each other. — Louisville Ceasefire Coalition
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Concerned community members have been made aware of a facility program that turns people over to ICE in Old Louisville and will hold a press conference there on Monday, June 16 at 10am. The location is 933 South Third Street.
The Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) (website) where people who are involved in immigration programs have routinely come to check in, is now turning some people in to ICE. “The idea that right here in the midst of us, people are being abducted, and torn away from their families, is chilling to me.” said David Horvath, a leader in Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice (LSURJ) which was alerted to the ISAP role. “This place used to be a regular stop for immigrants to check in and now it is extremely dangerous to come here..it is entrapment." "ICE attacking individuals who have engaged with our system in good faith is a moral crime. ISAP must be ended, and ICE must be abolished." Said Galen ZS of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). “People across Louisville are coming together to show up for our immigrant neighbors.” said Carla F Wallace, of LSURJ. “We cannot let them come for any of us, without coming through all of us.” LSURJ discovered what ISAP is doing in the course of its Louisville Community Defense Network (LCDN) work. LCDN trains community members in knowing legal rights, nonviolent direct action, and responding to its 24 hour hotline to news of attacks on vulnerable communities by ICE and other governmental agencies. # # # # |
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