Jewish Greens

Jewish Greens officers statement on THE anniversary of the attacks on October 7th

samalston — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:49:59 +0000

Today we remember the atrocities of October 7th, 2023, carried out by Hamas against Israeli citizens and foreign nationals, when more than 1,100 people were brutally killed and another 240 taken hostage. This has escalated into a cycle of violence that continues to destroy lives a year onwards.

We remember not just these lives taken, but also those whose lives were torn apart by what unfolded one year ago today.

We mourn their deaths and condemn all acts of violence. We stand with the families of the victims of this horrific violence and continue to support organisations working to break the cycle of violence and achieve peace in the region.

May their memory be a blessing.

(Agreed by a majority of JG officers)

The post Jewish Greens officers statement on THE anniversary of the attacks on October 7th appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens High Holy Day message

samalston — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:27:00 +0000

Over the last difficult year, as Jewish Greens, we have stood side by side with our communities, pledging to put the evils of the past behind us and work with them to create a more peaceful future.
We cheered as 14 years of Conservative government came to an end, and four new Green MPs were elected with the ambition, energy and determination to create a brighter tomorrow.
Yet, in the worst way, our long and historic past has stayed with us, as we witnessed with horrific violence against Jews and by Jews. This year we gather for the High Holy Days in communities that feel more uncertain, more pessimistic and less safe.
Therefore, we do what our ancestors have done in countless generations past on Rosh HaShanah: we pause on the mountain with Abraham, we heed Eli’s advice to take time to listen for the word of G-d, and reflect with Jonah in the Whale.
Then, restored, we stand with our communities, renewing our hopes and aims for better days to come. We wish all of you a sweet New Year.
Shana Tova!

The post Jewish Greens High Holy Day message appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens AGM

samalston — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:24:36 +0000

This AGM was well attended covering our previous year. We successfully passed a number of constitutional motions and said goodbye to committee members David Farbey, Elly Stanton, and Zack Polanski. However we elected Vivien, Jo, Sam, Andree, Nick and Joshua. See more details on our people page: https://jewishgreens.greenparty.org.uk/people/

The post Jewish Greens AGM appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens at conference

samalston — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 10:03:00 +0000

Jewish Greens completed our busiest conference.
,
In addition to our usual members meeting and Saturday night meal we held two speaker events. The first featuring Jewish Greens Policy Officer, Joshua Alston, speaking on a panel about how to address fascism. There he drew lessons from his research area into the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa. He talked about the importance of drawing together a broad coalition, working together on the ground in communities, and not expecting the electoral commission or another large public body to come and save us.

The following day we held a joint event with Muslim Greens featuring Susan Fox from Eco Synagogue and Kamran Shezad Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environment and Bahu Trust. We talked about the importance of faith as a mobilising factor in action and the importance of the Jewish tradition of stewardship.

Conference finished voting though a new policy on legal language the party should be using to describe Israel. Jewish Green members voted either side on the motion.

Interestingly, the Sky news report on the conference decided to feature almost exclusively Green party members: https://news.sky.com/video/how-worried-should-labour-be-about-the-green-party-13211671

Joint session on faith and the environment with Muslim Greens.

Joint session on tackling the rise of the far right with Jewish Greens Policy Officer Joshua Alston, External communications Green party executive member Molly Scott Cato, Mothin Ali Councillor for Gipton and Harehills ward, Tom Scott Campaigns Coordinator for the Green Party of England and Wales.

The post Jewish Greens at conference appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens at conference

samalston — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:20:54 +0000

Jewish Greens activities at Conference

We have a record number of Jewish Greens sessions at conference:

Sat 7th: 09.00-10.15
Fascism: what it is; how we defeat it.
One of the speakers being JG Policy Officer, Joshua Alston.

Sun 8th: 09.00-10.15
Jewish and Muslim Perspectives on environmental stewardship and climate action
Speakers:
Susan Fox, Southport & District Reform Synagogue, recipient of the Silver Eco Synagogue award
Kamran Shezad, Director for the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences and the Sustainability Executive for the Bahu Trust.

Sun 8th: 12.45-14.00
Jewish Greens meeting where we’ll discuss our support for Jews in the party and reaching out to the wider Jewish communities. Open to all members.

The post Jewish Greens at conference appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Joint Statement with Lord Mann

samalston — Sun, 19 May 2024 13:44:58 +0000

The Green party has issued a statement following discussion with Lord Mann.
“Lord Mann and the leadership team at The Green Party of England and Wales met last week to discuss the important issue of antisemitism. Both parties have committed to continued dialogue and working together to ensure that antisemitism, like all racism, has no place in Green politics and to better educate Green representatives about anti-Jewish racism. The Green Party has taken a series of proactive steps towards these goals but understands that this will take consistent work going forward.”

This can also be found on the Green party website

Back to main news page

The post Joint Statement with Lord Mann appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Joint Statement from Jewish and Muslim Greens

samalston — Sun, 19 May 2024 13:40:33 +0000

Together, we oppose any efforts to exploit the ongoing tragedy in Israel-Palestine to foster division, intensify antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism.

Within our communities, individuals and groups hold differing views. However, we recognise our shared common humanity and our collective pain. It’s crucial to build bridges that encourage unity and prevent division from taking root.

We live in a multicultural, multi-faith society. That is something to be celebrated, enjoyed, and safeguarded.

Furthermore, we firmly reject racist misinformation and hate speech, perpetuated by certain media narratives. We oppose external pressures urging us to adopt specific stances or actions.

We will continue to work to help all Party members have a better understanding of what constitutes anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim racism. We will persist in our collective efforts, working for a fairer, greener future

The post Joint Statement from Jewish and Muslim Greens appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens AGM 29th October 2023

davidfarbey — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 15:02:22 +0000

Here’s a brief summary of our AGM which was held on Zoom on 29th October 2023. There were 20 people present. The full minutes will be published after approval by the new officers committee

1. Officers report for 2022-2023 (previously circulated to members):

The officers report was accepted, with thanks to the outgoing officers team.

2. Officer elections results:

The results of the officer elections were announced. The Jewish Greens Officers for 2023-2024 are:

Chair – Vivien Lichtenstein

Secretary – David Farbey

Treasurer – Zack Polanski

Policy Officer – Josh Alston

Officers without portfolio – Sam Alston, Jo Bird, and Elly Stanton

3. Motions:

Three motions were discussed: how to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) in the Green Party; restricting office-holders and voting members to party members who identify as Jewish (in line with SOC guidance); and revisiting our position on social media (we currently have a Facebook page only). We agreed to mark HMD with a “survivors stories” event, and Sam Alston will lead on organising this. We agreed to amend our rules on who can be a voting member and who can stand for office in line with SOC guidance for liberation groups. We decided to postpone our discussion on social media presence to a later date.

The post Jewish Greens AGM 29th October 2023 appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Jewish Greens at Conference Autumn 2023

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:28:42 +0000

Jewish Greens had a typically frenetic conference with multiple new members and requests for our antisemitism training. We also saw multiple members address conference including our Treasurer, Zack Polanski. Membership Officer, Vivien Lichtenstein, was also elected to the Alterative Disputes Resolution Committee.

Alongside this we held our social and heard from Brighton Progressive Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber who spoke about the festival of Simchat Torah and the atrocious attacks on Israel by Hamas the day before, and how we Greens continue to work for a better future. Alongside some excellent cake and typically vigorous discussion.

Possibly most excitingly we were able to see the two motions Jewish Greens members agreed to support at our meeting last month become policy: D06 Promote Gypsy, Roma and Traveller representation in the Green Party and the B01 Gypsy Roma Traveller Policy Working Group Voting Paper.

The post Jewish Greens at Conference Autumn 2023 appeared first on Jewish Greens.

Happy New year

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:23:58 +0000

The post Happy New year appeared first on Jewish Greens.