Holding signs that read “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel,” “Not in Our Name,” and “Stop Funding Genocide,” Jewish peace activists gathered in Charles Village on Nov. 10 to protest U.S. support for Israel and grieve the tens of thousands of lives lost in Gaza.
The demonstration was part of a growing movement led primarily by young American Jews who are committed to supporting Palestinian rights through bold action. Over the past year, thousands have participated in protests across the country, with hundreds arrested for acts of civil disobedience at the U.S. Capitol and New York Stock Exchange throughout 2024. Despite tension with some members of their faith community — and promises by the incoming Trump administration to crack down on Pro-Palestine Protests — these activists vowed to continue their advocacy.
The demonstration was part of a growing movement led primarily by young American Jews who are committed to supporting Palestinian rights through bold action.
“We know that a fascist is coming into office…someone who wants to repress Palestinian organizing and pro-Palestinian voices, someone aligned with white supremacists, and someone who has said the genocide in Gaza is not happening fast enough,” said Nikki Morse, an organizer with the Baltimore chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the largest anti-Zionist Jewish organization in the U.S.
Around 100 people attended the day-long vigil at Homewood Friends Meeting House, a Quaker place of worship on North Charles Street. The venue also serves as a synagogue for Hinenu, a local Jewish congregation focused on inclusivity, mutual aid, and the liberation of Palestine. Participants called elected officials, urging them to oppose billions of dollars in weapons sales to Israel, and marked The Children’s Day of Action for Palestine, inspired by Gazan poet Mosab Abu Toha. In mid-December, the official death toll in Gaza had surpassed 45,000, with tens of thousands more believed to be buried under rubble or dead from starvation and lack of medical aid. According to the United Nations, the majority of victims are women and children.
Next door, Johns Hopkins University’s Hillel building stood in stark contrast, adorned with an Israeli flag and posters of hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, which also killed over 1,100 Israelis. Over the past year, university security has been a constant presence outside of Hopkins Hillel, reflecting heightened safety concerns for its Jewish community.
Many mainstream Jewish organizations like Hillel have steadfastly rallied behind Israel, arguing its actions in Gaza are necessary steps that will ensure Jewish safety. However, not all Jews see it this way.
“What Israel is doing is not making Jews safer. It’s putting Jews in more danger,” Morse, who is also a member of Hinenu, said.
Supporters of Israel’s actions often argue that the pro-Palestinian movement is inherently anti-Semitic. Jewish peace activists stress that combating antisemitism and advocating for Palestinian rights can happen simultaneously.
Supporters of Israel’s actions often argue that the pro-Palestinian movement is inherently anti-Semitic. Jewish peace activists stress that combating antisemitism and advocating for Palestinian rights can happen simultaneously. Many, like Morse, are compelled by their faith to challenge the narrative that all Jews support Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“Judaism requires us to live in peace with our neighbors, protect the oppressed, and seek justice. What the state of Israel is doing contradicts these values,” said Morse.
The U.S. has long backed Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, which are widely regarded as apartheid: a system of institutionalized segregation and discrimination designed to uphold the dominance of one group over another.
Jonathan Rochkind, a member of Hinenu and the JVP’s Baltimore chapter, invoked Fannie Lou Hamer’s declaration: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
“You’re creating structures of violence that won’t make you safer. The only way we can be safe is by all of us protecting each other,” said Rochkind.
“It’s almost like a law of physics. You can’t make yourself safer by attempting to eliminate another people’s society. What Israel is doing right now is genocide. It’s an attack on the entire society in Gaza.”
Activists are not the only ones accusing Israel of genocide. Two leading human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have recently published reports supporting this claim.
Israel has acted in violation of the Genocide Convention, “with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, in a press release. “Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.”
Even as national polls have found that a majority of Americans support an arms embargo, the U.S. has transferred nearly $18 billion in military aid to Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project. Leaked memos obtained by Reuters revealed that U.S. officials have warned the State Department that Israel may be in violation of U.S. laws prohibiting funding to militaries that block medical and food aid to civilians during wartime. In recent months, a former Israeli defense minister publicly accused Israel of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and a senior Israeli Air Force official told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that without U.S. support, “Israel’s war effort could not last more than a few months.”
Meanwhile, the efforts to criminalize pro-Palestine activism are growing. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the “Nonprofit Killer” bill, allowing the government to revoke the nonprofit status of any group they accuse of providing material support for terrorism. And the group behind Project 2025, a radical blueprint to dismantle the federal government, is calling for a crackdown on groups they accuse of antisemitism. JVP is among the organizations explicitly singled out by name.
Rochkind remains committed to his advocacy despite the growing threats.
“The community gives me hope and makes me feel less scared. Knowing I have a group of people dedicated to protecting each other, our city, and our communities gives me strength,” he said.
At the vigil, activists urged Maryland’s U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen to support Senator Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD), which aimed to block arms transfers to Israel. Buoyed by grassroots support, Van Hollen emerged as one of the measure’s most outspoken supporters, standing in front of posters of emaciated Palestinian children as he declared at a press conference, “All of this death and destruction is being supported by U.S. taxpayers. As Americans, we are complicit.”
Although the measures ultimately fell short, they garnered a record 18 votes in support. Activists see this as a sign of shifting attitudes toward Israel in Congress, as well as a reminder of the long fight ahead.
“We want to keep building our community and preparing for the longer fight for a free Palestine. The JRD is just one step toward ensuring that everyone can be safe and free — from the river to the sea,” said Morse.