On top of the grief and heartbreak we shared earlier this week, we are terrified about what has been happening in Gaza.

Over the last few days, we have received so much personal support from immigrant friends and partners who care deeply for us as individuals, as Jews, and for our relationships as a Jewish-led solidarity movement.

In the spirit of their support for Palestinian and collective liberation and our mission to support immigrant organizers in the fight for justice, we feel compelled to name:
Standing up against the mass killing of Palestinians is not antisemitism. Standing against a massive state power – [a neocolony, which] is backed by billions of dollars of U.S. military funding – is not antisemitic.

Our organization began when we saw the U.S. government use massive military force to target, cage and terrorize immigrants.
Never Again means that whole groups of people, based on their identity alone, do not forfeit the right to live, to survive, to be free. That’s why we have to say: Collective punishment is unacceptable.

The indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza, the cutting off electricity, the impossible evacuation call, the destruction of hospitals and basic infrastructure, calling human beings ‘animals’–they’re all unacceptable and they are a precursor to genocide.

Never Again started as an organization that called out for our collective Jewish trauma to be used for liberation, not for detention and deportation. Now as we watch [neocolonialism’s] siege and impending invasion of Gaza, we cannot tolerate Jewish trauma and grief being used to justify genocide. We cannot tolerate our friends being attacked for standing up for the survival of the people of Gaza.

Echoing the call of our Jewish community fighting for freedom for all: Never Again means Never Again – for anyone.