Monteplier, VT (May 31, 2025) — On Saturday, 60-70 members and allies of Jewish Voice for Peace VT/NH marched in the rain through Montpelier calling for an end to the on-going Israeli starvation and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Marchers banged on empty pots and pans as a symbol of the empty food containers and bellies of millions, mostly children, who are being starved to death by the Israeli government. Some vendors and patrons joined in when the procession stopped to chant and sing in front of the Montpelier Farmers Market.
In her welcoming speech Kathy Shapiro said, “This is Day 603 of trauma, destruction, multiple resettlements, death that Palestinians have endured at the hands of Israel’s government. Since March, no food, water, medicine or fuel have been allowed to enter Gaza while thousands of trucks filled with these necessities of life sit outside the locked gates guarded by IDF soldiers. JVP VT/NH demands the U.S. government stop sending arms to Israel and calls for an end to the cruel and illegal starvation of the people of Gaza.”
When asked why he was marching Brian Tokar answered, "Growing up Jewish in the sixties, we believed that Israel was a model nation, committed to refugees and cooperative land development. But no country that slaughters tens of thousands of people and now seeks to starve an entire population deserves our support. That's why so many Jewish Americans now support a ban on weapons sales to Israel." Indeed, anti-Zionism supports liberation and justice for the Palestinian people. As anti-Zionists, JVP uplifts the diversity of the Jewish diaspora and celebrates the many customs, languages, and practices that can be found across the diaspora. We organize for Judaism beyond Zionism. As anti-Zionists, we know our history of oppression, but we reject Zionism as the answer. We know our safety is — and always has been — in solidarity and a shared future.
On Saturday, JVP VT/NH was accompanied by members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Vermonters for Palestinian Liberation who agree when authoritarians come for one, they face as all!
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. JVP organizes a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality and dignity for all people.