Each year, we here at rabble ask our readers: “What are the organizations that inspire you? Who are the people leading progressive change? Who are the rabble rousers to watch?” Every year, your responses introduce us to a new group of inspiring activists. This is our ‘rabble rousers to watch’ series. Follow our rabble rousers to watch here.
Amid ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the next ‘rabble rouser to watch’ for 2024 is the Independent Jewish Voices (IJV). The grassroot organization has amplified the voices of Canadian Jewish people in support of Palestinian people facing oppression under Israel’s occupation.
rabble.ca spoke to Willa Holt, national communications coordinator at IJV, about how they mobilize people across the country to fight for a just peace and the human rights of Palestinian people.
Can you tell us about the work that you’re doing with your organization?
Willa Holt: I’m Willa, and I serve as Independent Jewish Voices’ national Communications Coordinator. This means I’m responsible for managing our internal and external communications as well as coordinating media features and interviews with our network of members and supporters across Canada.
At IJV, we work together as Jewish members and non-Jewish supporters to help build a just peace in Palestine-Israel by organizing across Canada in the form of direct action, government and organizational lobbying, and building cross-movement partnerships in solidarity with Palestine. We believe that we have a special duty as Canadian Jewish people to speak out against Israeli crimes being committed both in our name as Jews and through the use of our nation’s resources.
How did you first get involved in activism?
WH: Personally, I started my involvement at IJV after working as a journalist in Montreal. I met many incredible activists through that work, and realized I wanted to organize with them full-time rather than struggling to get writing about their activism published in the mainstream journalism scene.
What does being nominated as a ‘rabble rouser to watch’ mean to you?
WH: It means that IJV’s work is making an impact on Canadians, which is a primary goal and is something we are very grateful for. Since October of 2023, our organization has grown exponentially, and it’s heartening for that growth to be recognized by those around us.
How do you take care of yourself and find the drive to keep going?
WH: As an organization, IJV relies primarily on volunteer labour, so we keep each other going by leaning into our sense of togetherness and our shared values as Jewish activists. Personally, I find community events to be the best way to rejuvenate and reinvigorate my drive to work more towards our goals, and I think many at IJV would say the same.
What is one goal you have in the next year?
WH: In the next year, and ideally much sooner, we would like to see Canada sanction Israel and impose an arms embargo, require a ceasefire from the Israeli military and provide for the safe return of Palestinian political prisoners and hostages. These are among the most pressing needs we see in the movement right now, and for Independent Jewish Voices, reaching these goals requires growth in terms of membership and supporters, as well as increased interorganizational solidarity and collaboration.
What do you wish people knew about the organizing you do?
WH: There’s a really concerning tendency for folks in the West to behave as if the “situation” in Palestine is a very complex one with a high barrier to entry in terms of understanding what’s going on. This tendency comes from a distinctly Zionist place, where convincing the general public that this subject is too big for them to get invested and in actively helps normalize Israeli crimes, including genocide. The truth is that Palestinian liberation and the ethical underpinnings for it are quite intuitive to many people already interested in decolonial work, and efforts to obscure the simple truths at the heart of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians are efforts to continue that oppression.
In short, it’s easier than you might think to get a working understanding of the situation Palestinians face in 2024, and we encourage everyone to educate themselves and reach out with curiosity. As we often say: if not now, then when?
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Nick Seebruch, editor
