RELEASE: 1 Year after Attack, Jews, Allies to Come Together for Day of Unity, Nonviolent Direct Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 25, 2019
1 Year after Attack, Jews, Allies to Come Together for Day of Unity, Nonviolent Direct Action
Date: Sunday, October 27, 2019
Time: 3:00 P.M.
Place: Rally at Union Square North, New York, NY (followed by street march, route TBA)
Details: Day of Unity, Direct Action, and Public Commemoration of Pittsburgh Massacre
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1287334131657994
Media Contacts:
Sharona Chava, sharonachava@protonmail.com
Zev Rosen, +1 (732) 567–4423, outlivethem@riseup.net
New York, NY — On Sunday, October 27 at 3 p.m. — exactly one year after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history, and three weeks after an attempted copycat attack in Germany — hundreds of Jews and allies of all backgrounds are expected to join together in a day of unity, to include a public commemoration, a protest march, and acts of nonviolent direct action (TBA).
Members of RAYJ — Pittsburgh, including some who worshipped at the Tree of Life synagogue, are involved in the effort. In a solidarity statement sent to Outlive Them — NYC today, they write: “When we talk about moving forward and fighting back, we cannot just speak about being ‘stronger than hate.’ These vague sentiments do nothing to dismantle the anti-Semitism, fascism, and white nationalism that is fueling shootings such as those at the Tree of Life.”
“A year after the shooting,” the statement continues, “we want everyone to think about what they have done and will continue to do to specifically learn about and oppose anti-Semitism. There are no more excuses for not taking anti-Semitism seriously… Anti-Semitism kills.”
“On the one-year anniversary of the Pittsburgh pogrom, we are coming together to let the world that we are still here,” said Sharona Chava, an organizer of Sunday’s demonstration and a member of Outlive Them — NYC, “and that we stand united with our Black, Muslim, immigrant, and indigenous family in the face of white terror, which threatens us all.” She continued: “Our communities need solidarity, not surveillance. Education, not incarceration. Care, not cops, camps, or cages.”
Allies from communities of color will be in attendance to stand with Outlive Them, and to draw connections between the violence targeting the Jewish community and the systemic violence faced by people of color (including Jews of color) every day. “The forces pushing to keep Rikers open and build more jails to incarcerate Black communities in NYC,” said Sam Johnson, of No New Jails NYC, “also fund war and terror in Palestine and motivate violence against Jewish communities here and across the world. People committed to justice must begin building bridges of solidarity to push principled and strategic resistance, to create a world defined by our commitment to each other.”
Sunday’s day of unity and nonviolent direct action is part of a global wave of action, Against Anti-Semitism and White Nationalism, called by the Outlive Them International and set to kick off around the world this weekend. It is also in solidarity with the worldwide protests and vigils planned for the same day by Stand with Kashmir. The coalitions are set to converge Sunday evening, and to conclude with a Times Square vigil for all those lost to racial and religious violence in the past year.
This Sunday, said Posha Bhat, of Stand with Kashmir, the coalitions will come together “to address the dangers of fascistic, authoritarian government and to stand up against the hateful, discriminatory rhetoric that marginalizes minority populations. The risk of ethnic cleansing in Kashmir is imminent, where current actions by the Indian government draw terrifying parallels to Nazi Germany… We see Jewish antifascists, who are combating Nazis in the US just as their ancestors combated Nazis in Europe, as comrades in the global struggle against ethnonationalism and authoritarianism.”
About Us
Sunday’s march is made up of a coalition of groups representing communities across NYC. In addition to Outlive Them — NYC, 11 other organizations are co-sponsoring this action, including:
Congregation Kolot Chayeinu
Desis Rising Up and Moving
Jewish Voice for Peace — NYC
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council
MuJew: Muslim Jewish Anti-Fascist Front
New York Boricua Resistance
No New Jails — NYC
Rebellious, Anarchist Young Jews
Stand with Kashmir Coalition
United against Racism and Fascism
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Outlive Them — NYC, formed in October 2018 in response to the Pittsburgh Massacre, is an all-city coalition of Jews and allies organizing to defend all our communities from those who would exterminate us. We answer anti-Jewish terror with Jewish solidarity. This same solidarity is our answer to all forms of violence against racial, gender, sexual, and other oppressed minorities.
Email: outlivethem@riseup.net
Website: https://medium.com/@outlivethemnyc
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/OutliveThemNYC
Instagram: www.instagram.com/OutliveThemNYC
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/OutliveThemNYC
Hashtags: #OutliveThem #StillHere #NoNosVamos
