Trees of Reconciliation

The Trees of Reconciliation project was created in 2008 by members of PJJP and is now a national campaign of American Jews for a Just Peace.

The campaign has two major goals:

• to support the planting of olive and fruit trees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly in the West Bank, on contested land or on land whose farmers have sustained losses because of the Occupation

• to raise awareness in the U.S. about the history and current truths of tree planting and uprooting in Israel/Palestine, and of the Jewish National Fund's role in the Zionist project, in order to build a movement for a just peace.

To date, Trees of Reconciliation has three main components:

Tu B'Shvat Seders

Each year, we observe the  Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat (“The Birthday of the Trees”) with a ritual seder that explores the meaning and history of trees in Jewish, Palestinian and Israeli contexts.  Click here to download a Tu B’Shvat haggadah and leaders guide.

Curriculum & Teacher’s Guide

In 2009, we developed a curricular unit for teaching about trees, disputed claims to land, and environmental justice issues in Palestine/Israel.  Click here to download the Curriculum and Teachers Guide.

The Blue Box Campaign

AJJP’s “Blue Box Campaign” will reclaim the blue “tzedakah” box from the Jewish National Fund as both an education/advocacy project and to collect funds for the replanting of olive trees on disputed land in Occupied Palestine. 

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

In 2005, Palestinian civil society issued a global call for boycott, divestment and sanctions until Israel ends its illegal occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and complies with international law.  American Jews for a Just Peace has endorsed the call for BDS and its members around the country have undertaken various projects in support of this work.  In Philadelphia, we are focusing our BDS work in two directions:

1. •De-shelving of Israeli products
   

• Advocating for enforcement of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and other U.S. and international laws

PHILLY BDS:  Flash Dance for Boycott  Hits West Philly Supermarket

On October 24, 2010 shoppers and employees at the Fresh Grocer's flagship store at 40th and Walnut Street were surprised by a choreographed flash dance that was performed in the store this afternoon by activists calling for a boycott of products that support Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians.  About 20 neighborhood residents dressed in black and wearing sequined red accessories danced in unison and sang an adaptation of a popular song by Lady Gaga to deliver their request that the store and its customers stop selling and stop buying Sabra and Tribe hummus products because of those companies' connections to human rights abuses in Occupied Palestine.  Sabra & Tribe products directly subsidize Israeli human rights abuses through their support of the Israeli Defense Forces and infrastructure of the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. 

The store's security staff attempted to intervene and stop the disruption, but the flash dancers were able to finish performing their song that included lyrics urging Fresh Grocer that shoppers  "Don't buy into Israeli Apartheid!"   As customers watched and applauded, the dancers left the store chanting "No Justice, No Chick Peas!" in a humorous play on the "No Justice, No Peace!" chant often heard in earlier movements for civil rights and social justice.  They then repeated their song and dance routine on the Walnut Street sidewalk, directly in front of the store. 

"As a customer and as a Jew, I'm hoping that Fresh Grocer will pay attention to the concerns of its community and stop carrying Sabra hummus and Tribe hummus, said Hannah Schwarzschild, a member of Philly BDS.  "Not only would it be a significant step in support of justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, it would also help educate our own community about the power of our consumer choices.”

Organizers said they had previously requested meetings with Fresh Grocer management to ask that the stores stop carrying Sabra and Tribe products, but their requests had been ignored.  Fresh Grocer, based in Drexel Hill, has eight supermarkets in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.  Philly BDS activists said they are asking Fresh Grocer to stop stocking Sabra and Tribe because of Fresh Grocer's stated commitment to meeting the needs of the communities in which their stores are located.  "We don't think the communities where Fresh Grocer is doing business -- West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Germantown, for example -- would appreciate their stores helping to sustain the racial discrimination and human rights abuses that Sabra hummus and Tribe hummus are supporting in Palestine and Israel," Schwarzschild said.

“This campaign marks a new and exciting era of Philadelphia’s involvement in the growing global BDS movement, which is building strong support amongst labor unions, NGOs, religious organizations, universities, grocery stores, and individuals,” commented Mendal Polish, another organizer with Philly BDS.

Philly BDS is creative partnership, including Arab, Jewish, and Christian organizations working for human rights in Israel/Palestine.  The campaign to Boycott Sabra and Tribe has been endorsed by Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace; SUSTAIN: Stop U.S. Tax Aid to Israel Now!; Adalah-NY: The New York Coalition for the Boycott of Israel; Brandywine Peace Community; Build Bridges Not Walls: Grandparents for Peace in the Middle East; Global Women’s Strike-Philadelphia; Hudson Valley BDS; Jews Say No!; Middle East Crisis Response; Network of Arab-American Professionals in Philadelphia; Nico Amador, Training for Change; Payday Men’s Network; Temple Students for Justice in Palestine; Whites in Anti-Racist Solidarity; and Working Group for a Grassroots Movement.