Jewish-American activists visit Palestine to express solidarity

As part of a CODEPINK delegation, twenty-three Jewish-American activists traveled to the West Bank last week and traveled through Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, and East Jerusalem.

Their trip was aimed at working with local communities to acquire knowledge of Israeli apartheid and co-operate with Palestinian resistance movements. Their program included a wide array of cultural activities, such as olive harvesting and hiking through Palestinian land.

CODEPINK Jewish-American activists even took to the Western Wall with banners protesting the Israeli occupation and endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Ariel Gold and Ariel Vergosen, two CODEPINK delegates, expressed their solidarity in a statement published in Mondweiss:

“We know that the root cause of the violence is Israel’s occupation, dispossession, and violence against the Palestinian people and that America’s financial and political support is instrumental in allowing this to continue. We support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions as a nonviolent strategy to bring about a just peace and full equality for all people in Palestine and Israel.”

As a grassroots organization based in the United States, CODEPINK is deeply committed to the Palestinian cause and has collaborated with organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. CODEPINK’s work with BDS focuses primarily on Sodastream and Ahava, but also includes efforts against U.S. military aid to Israel.