The national Sunrise Movement climate group denounced their Washington, D.C. chapter for being “antisemitic” in their refusal to participate in an October 23 voting rights rally because of “Zionist organizations.”
Sunrise DC cited the participation of the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA), National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) in the October 23 Freedom to Vote Relay – Rally at the Finish Line as being “in alignment with and in support of Zionism and the State of Israel.” “Given our commitment to racial justice, self-governance, and indigenous sovereignty, we oppose Zionism and any state that enforces that ideology,” they said in a statement. Sunrise Movement issued an October 21 statement saying they “reject all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism” and that they “will always welcome anyone who acts on our principles and chooses to join the fight for collective liberation.”
But some Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Democratic Council of America, argued that Sunrise’s statement wasn’t enough because it didn’t explicitly call out the inherent antisemitism in Sunrise DC’s desire to single out and exclude Jewish organizations. The Forward reported that Sunrise Movement issued a tweet condemning their DC’s chapter antisemitism after meeting with the JCPA, NCJW and RAC.
“To be clear, Sunrise DC’s statement and actions are not in line with our values,” the tweet read, which also included a photo of the organization’s October 21 statement. “Singling out Jewish organizations for removal from a coalition, despite others holding similar views, is antisemitic and unacceptable.”
To be clear, Sunrise DC’s statement and actions are not in line with our values. Singling out Jewish organizations for removal from a coalition, despite others holding similar views, is antisemitic and unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/PRsRVCpYvg
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) October 22, 2021
Sheila Katz, who heads the NCJW, told The Forward that their meeting with Sunrise had “very productive dialogue and it resulted in an amended statement naming what happened as antisemitic.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted that Sunrise provided a “helpful clarification” but “we remain concerned that these litmus tests targeting Jewish groups are becoming increasingly common. To be clear: excluding groups solely because they support Israel is antisemitic.”
A helpful clarification from @sunrisemvmt.
Clear statements directly condemning #antisemitism are critical to containing and combating it. https://t.co/8DkzrhyN0e— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 22, 2021
However, we remain concerned that these litmus tests targeting Jewish groups are becoming increasingly common.
To be clear: excluding groups solely because they support Israel is antisemitic.— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 22, 2021
Stop Antisemitism tweeted that Sunrise should “include your twitter caption in your statement,” “remove those responsible from your DC hub responsible for the antisemitism,” and “start actively working with the Jewish groups isolated, as well as others, to rectify this to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Great now –
1. Include your twitter caption in your statement
2. Remove those responsible from your DC hub responsible for the antisemitism.
3. Start actively working with the Jewish groups isolated, as well as others, to rectify this to make sure it doesn't happen again. https://t.co/FEh6DbTwFM— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 22, 2021
Joel M. Petlin, Superintendent for the Kiryas Joel School District, tweeted: “Usually the organizational statement is better than a mere Tweet, because it’s not limited to 280 words. In Sunrise’s case, it was the opposite. The Tweet called out Antisemitism. The statement amounted to an *All Lives Matter*. That’s not really a condemnation of Antisemitism.”
Usually the organizational statement is better than a mere Tweet, because it's not limited to 280 words. In Sunrise's case, it was the opposite.
The Tweet called out Antisemitism.
The statement amounted to an *All Lives Matter*. That's not really a condemnation of Antisemitism.
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) October 22, 2021
Sunrise DC tweeted, “We’ve been taking time to reflect, learn, and think carefully on what has transpired since we released our statement. We have been in conversation with our membership and local community and will be commenting further in the near future.”
We’ve been taking time to reflect, learn, and think carefully on what has transpired since we released our statement. We have been in conversation with our membership and local community and will be commenting further in the near future
— Sunrise DC (@SunriseMvmtDC) October 22, 2021
