Thread by @jvplive

HAPPY 91st BIRTHDAY to JVP's oldest member: Shatzi Weisberger, the @peoplesbubbie!

An anti-Zionist, abolitionist, lesbian Jew who has been organizing for justice her entire life, Shatzi is a guiding light and source of wisdom, inspiration, and joy for our community 🥰

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"I grew up very Zionist, but I've come a long way, baby," Shatzi says. She joined the movement for Palestinian freedom in 1983, after she started to educate herself about Palestine and feel a profound “anguish over what Zionists were doing to the Palestinians.”

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Unlearning Zionist “brainwashing” was a “process that took time” and effort, but it was well worth it: she made powerful contributions to movement, forged deep connections with her partners in struggle, and built Judaism and Jewish community beyond Zionism.

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These days, Shatzi says, it's "easier to protest Zionism than it was before,” since so many Jews are rising for Palestinian freedom and Judaism beyond Zionism. “I am part of JVP and so I am no longer isolated in my anti-Zionism. I have this entire community whom I adore.”

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Before joining JVP, Shatzi’s involvement in the movement for Palestinian freedom spanned many Palestinian-led groups and many kinds of work — from helping to organize demonstrations to making sure all of her comrades were well-nourished.

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Shatzi was also dedicated to building solidarity with Palestinians in the women’s and LGBTQ movements, leading Palestine workshops at feminist and lesbian events. Here she is declaring her support for Palestinian self-determination at NYC pride in 1985 🌈

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Outside of her Palestine solidarity work, Shatzi was a nurse for 47 years during the height of the AIDS crisis. She has also been part of countless other groups and movements for justice, from anti-war to Black liberation to anti-incarceration/abolition.

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Since retiring, Shatzi has devoted herself to the positive death movement, which seeks to help people understand that, like living, dying may also be an art — a process worth experiencing fully and intentionally.

nytimes.com/2018/06/22/nyr…

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However and whenever she dies, Shatzi plans to continue organizing until the very end of her life. We are all so humbled, honored, and grateful to learn from and be in community with Shatzi, and we treasure her now and forever 😭

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To learn more about Shatzi’s life and work, watch her episode of @jvpliveNY's Movement Elders series:

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