July 14, 2024, Milwaukee – The Milwaukee Jewish Federation is calling for March on RNC to
publicly stand up for its own antiwar stance and call for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli
and American hostages and put an end to this terrible war. While organizations like the
Milwaukee Jewish Federation actively continue to push for an end to the war by publicly calling
for the release of the hostages, performative protests and press conferences such as today’s
March on RNC call for peace and equity while advancing divisive rhetoric and misinformation,
completely ignoring the crimes of Hamas and the continued barriers to progress.
We also call for the March on RNC organizers to turn down the temperature of their events, fact-
check their messaging, and their speakers. An important part of our democracy is the right to
express our opinions on issues in a safe and constructive manner, but this line is crossed when
inaccurate or hateful ideology is pushed out as facts. March on the RNC crossed that line today.
In today’s March on RNC press conference, Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the United
States Palestinian Community Network, shared his opinion as fact, that Israel is engaging in
genocide and that it is an apartheid country. It is reasonable to have different opinions on Israel’s
response to October 7, but to declare it an attempt to kill all Palestinians is simply wrong. His
words sparked hateful chants of “from the river to the sea,” and “We don’t want no Jewish state,
we want 1948!”
Milwaukee Jewish Federation CEO Miryam Rosenzweig said, “Calling for peace while not
calling on Hamas to release the hostages and bring an end to this war is sheer hypocrisy. The
leadership of this march would better serve the Palestinian people by using their passion to
promote the ceasefire deal that’s been proposed, speaking out against Hamas and working
towards a two-state solution as we continue to do. Especially in these times, we call on March on
the RNC to turn away from their false and hateful rhetoric and strive to bring civility to their
organization, greater Milwaukee and our state.”
Source link
