Thread by @ZionessMovement

Zioness on bigoted attacks vs @ADL (share w #ZionessSpeaksForMe) Today is 3yr anniversary of UnitetheRight Rally: neo-Nazis w tiki torches stormed the streets of Charlottesville,VA chanting violent anti-Jewish & anti-Black slogans, & murdered innocent woman,Heather Heyer.

It’s also 3yr anniversary of the launch of Zioness at Chicago SlutWalk, where we encountered vile bigotry as Jews&Zionists who refused to cede our right to participate in a movement to fight patriarchy, misogyny, victim-blaming and slut-shaming.

In both Charlottesville & Chicago, Jews faced horror and violence for the sin of existing. It was terrifying then, and remains so now, that the dehumanizing, bigoted, racist language that Jews encountered in both spaces, from the far left and the far right, was nearly identical.

Fast forward 3 years, & we're experiencing another collective assault in yesterday’s reprehensible attack on one of USA's most respected Jewish & civil rights institutions, 107-yr-old Anti-DefamationLeague. Activists who claim to speak as progressives are once again targeting ADL

in a deliberate attempt to inject poisonous antisemitism into social justice spaces; erect yet another artificial wedge into the powerful and historic Black-Jewish alliance; erase Jews of color; and undermine one of the most important organizations protecting vulnerable Jews

as well as vulnerable members of every other minority community. Make no mistake: the far left organizers of this campaign are peddling white supremacy by pushing antisemitism in the name of anti-racism. They are making common cause with neo-Nazis, just as the leaders of the

ChicagoSlutWalk did 3 yrs ago.They are following in long line of white supremacists who've taken extreme steps to attempt to undermine ADL’s legitimacy. & they are spreading same message that inspired the murderers of innocent Jews&law enforcement officer at NJ kosher grocery.

It is expressly racist to attempt to destroy the reputation of an org which has fought for racial justice for more than a century. It is expressly racist to push committed activists away from the fight for civil rights, equity and equality for all by making justice spaces

viscerally hostile to them on account of their Jewish identities. It is expressly racist to exploit one’s platform as a “progressive” “leader” to divide & destroy progressive coalitions, especially while authoritarian white supremacist controls our country. We need the letter’s

signatories to understand: there is *nothing* progressive about this.

We are at urgent moment in the fight for justice&in the story of America. The groups behind this campaign have continually failed to advance civil rights because they focus on burning, not building, bridges––

and this is an unacceptable outcome for those genuinely committed to the pursuit of equity and freedom. We must all unequivocally denounce their cynical strategy, today and every day, and join empowering, authentic social movements like Zioness, where Jews can maintain our

commitment both to our own community and, simultaneously, our siblings facing intolerance and injustice in other marginalized communities. We must stand against all forms of prejudice, including antisemitism, which has an insidious way of poisoning everything it touches.

Future of our progressive mvmt depends on this work––on creation of diverse coalitions made up of Jews, African-Americans, Muslims, Latinx, Indigenous people, LGBTQ, immigrants, refugees and all other marginalized peoples––to defeat the shared threat of white supremacy in America

Zioness stands with @ADL and every organization truly fighting for equality, while also fighting the hatred espoused in Charlottesville, Chicago, and cities and towns across this nation and the world.