Mass protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza have been ongoing in the United States. According to Penny Rosenwasser, a founding board member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a majority of the high-profile demonstrations have been led by Jewish Americans like her. Still, commercial media in the U.S. have tended to underplay Jewish American sentiments against Israeli militarism.
Rosenwasser is author of an award-winning book, Hope into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears. She is a racial justice leader in her Oakland synagogue and co-teaches an Anti-Arabism/Antisemitism class at City College of San Francisco with a Palestinian colleague. She recently wrote a powerful op-ed for YES! about how her commitment to the tenets of Judaism compel her activism, and spoke with YES! Racial Justice Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about why she is personally moved to speak out in solidarity with Palestinians.