Celebrating Together - Struggling Together (online-only edition)
March Updates from Sawa: Newton-Area Alliance for Peace and Justice
MA Commission on Combatting Antisemitism Next meeting to be in Newton - April 7
The sixth meeting of Massachusetts’ Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism is scheduled for April 7th @ 1pm in Newton City Hall and will be livestreamed here. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE COMMISSION IS ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEY NEED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE! We strongly encourage allies to sign up to give public comment in person (or provide testimony in writing):
Live testimony (in-person or virtual): you must register directly with the Commission here (deadline April 2nd @ 5pm) to give public comment. There is a hard 3-minute time limit per speaker. A panel of speakers will be limited to 6 minutes (per panel, not per speaker).
Written testimony: submit to SCCA@malegislature.gov.
Share a copy of your testimony with your state senator and state representative.
TIM is tracking the Commission’s gatekeeping of viewpoints aligned with our coalition. Please help by forwarding your testimony to us at inclusivemassachusetts@proton.me.
Need guidance on what to include in your testimony? TIM drafted this tip sheet including topics the Commission is required to address as well as sample talking points.
The hearing will also feature two presentations:
Eric Olshan, Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania, lead prosecutor in U.S. v. Robert Bowers (Tree of Life Synagogue Case)
Ariella Hellman, Director of Government Affairs Agudath Israel of America, New England Office. (Agudath Israel published an op-ed in the Boston Globe defending Columbia University’s capitulation to the Trump administration’s demands)
Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts
Sawa’s organizing around this commission is done through our membership in Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts (TIM). We have written about TIM and the Commission before, in this newsletter:
Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts (December)
Massachusetts Commission on Combatting Antisemitism (January)
Sawa Participates in TIM Panel at Commission Hearing… (February)
Sawa remains concerned that concerned that the recommendations of the Commission will focus on silencing criticism of the State of Israel and US policy towards Israel/Palestine, instead of addressing the dangers of real antisemitism in Massachusetts. Please consider attending the hearing in Newton, and submitting testimony, whether oral or written (see instructions above).
Tracking anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and related experiences in Newton
At this time of increased censorship, fear and intimidation, Sawa is taking the initiative to confidentially and securely collect information about our diverse community’s experiences of racism, discrimination, and silencing related to being Palestinian, Muslim, Arab or their allies in Newton. Our community has experienced an increase in such incidents since October 2023, yet it appears that our experiences are not consistently identified, reported and/or categorized as hate or discrimination incidents. Tracking these incidents is an important step in being able to advocate for change in policies within our school system, our city, and our state.
The experiences that we want to track include incidents and/or situations of hate, bias, prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation, microaggressions, silencing, censorship, threats, hostility, assault, slander, and retaliation. This encompasses interpersonal incidents, but also emails, events, curricula, situations where your identity, views or thoughts are under attack or are being disregarded, or other expressions of bias and discrimination that make us feel unwelcome, unsafe or silenced.
CAIR-MA’s recent report examining bullying and Islamophobia in Massachusetts public schools documents an increase in such incidents, as reported by the students who participated in the organization’s survey. It notes that in the 2023-2024 school year, nearly half of the students reported experiencing anti-Muslim bullying, 22% of them experiencing this on a regular basis. Our evaluation of the current atmosphere is that there is substantial self-censorship and under-reporting.
We invite community members to share with us their experiences of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and related discrimination, racism and silencing in Newton. The information that you share with us will remain confidential, and will be saved in a secure database.
If you would like to share your experience, and/or learn more, please email sawabr@proton.me, text 617-795-4170, or find additional information/background here.
Please share this information with trusted contacts who you think may have information to add. If you are a member of an allied group outside of Newton that would like to set up a system like this in your own community, we’d be happy to discuss tips and pointers with you.
What Sawa Members Are Reading…
(Book and film recommendations from Sawa Members…)
D.K: Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters by Kelena Cobban & Rami G. Kouri (2024 O/R Books). The word “terrorist” is invoked in world politics to silence further discussion. It’s not “supporting terrorism” to think it would be good to know more about the “Islamic Resistance Movement”, aka Hamas. The authors of this book interview a number of authorities with knowledge and varying ideas about the history and nature of this organization. The book is based on their podcast series - all chapters are also available as podcast episodes at Just World Educational.
Hamas had its start in the Islamic civil sector - providing and administering charitable services such as education, health care, food support: “Islamic” because the agencies conducted themselves in accordance with Islamic principles of charity and civic responsibility, not because they necessarily tried to inculcate Islam in clients. An excellent book on the Islamic Social Sector, based on extensive field work in Gaza by a Jewish-American development economist, is Sara Roy’s Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza: Engaging the Islamist Social Sector. (2013 Princeton University Press)
Brittany S: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (2025 Knopf). Mixing current events with memoir and history, this book is a cathartic critique of the West, centered around the genocide in Palestine. The title comes from a tweet by journalist El Akkad in late October 2023, a few weeks into the escalation of attacks on Gaza: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” Much of the information El Akkad shares about current events will not be new to Sawa readers; yet I found it so powerful to have all these things we know & feel summed up in such a sharp and succinct way. I recommend it! (You can also join the waitlist at the library or preview/purchase the audiobook)
Lorenz: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2024 One World). I am only halfway through and have already been very moved by Coates’ analysis of his own and his students’ experiences of minority and intellectual oppression in the US. A brief section on transactional pedagogy in US primary and secondary schools is especially thought-provoking as was his intensely moving description of visiting Senegal for the first time with its deep connection to kidnapped and enslaved African people and their descendents across the Atlantic. Based on reviews and interviews I’ve read and heard, I look forward to Coates’ reporting in the next sections of the book on his visit to Palestine and comparisons to Jim Crow segregation in the US, Apartheid South Africa and the humanitarian and geopolitical disaster inflicted on Palestinians.
Susan D: She by Lebanese-American photographer, Rania Matar is a stunning collection of images of young women both in the United States and in the Middle East. Matar’s work is also displayed on her instagram account @RaniaMatar and read and learn more about her at raniamatar.com
Sawa Signs in Support of Joint Resolutions of Disapproval.
Sawa has signed onto a letter in support of Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) in Congress that would block the delivery by President Trump of an additional $12B of U.S. weapons to Israel, over and above the record-breaking amount of $25.9B in weapons already sent by the Biden administration between October 7, 2023 and January 20, 2025. The weapons include: Bombs, direct attack munitions, missiles, warheads, bulldozers, as well as fusers, primers, charges, and any spare or repair parts for such weapons. The JRDs also prohibit training equipment and U.S. software, engineering, technology, and logistics support.
The resolutions are S.J.Res.20, 21, 22, 23 and S.J. Res. 32, 33, 34, 35 in the Senate, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, and H.J.Res. 68, 69, 70, and 71, introduced by Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Rashida Tlaib.
The lead organizations that drafted the letter are Massachusetts Peace Action, Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, CD8 for Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace Boston.
You can read the text of the letter here. To state your report for the resolutions as an individual, use THIS LINK.
Photo credits (for images in this and the email edition)
Newton City Hall: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0> (slightly cropped)
Sharing knowledge in the month of Ramadan: Dikyedarling, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>
A Talit, Keffiyeh and Palestinian scarf: Michael Plutchok, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0> (slightly cropped)
Illustration of books: The Lamp, Vol 26, #2, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, Public domain
All from Wikimedia Commons
“Sawa” Means Together…
Driven by a vision of collective liberation, our diverse peace alliance advocates for equality and justice for Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and inclusion for all.