JVP-RI: Rep Magaziner ignored calls for ceasefire; JVP-Rhode Island confronted him

As Rhode Islanders, we expect our elected officials to represent our views—not those of the Israel lobby or the weapons industry.

From a press release:

Today in Providence, Jewish Rhode Islanders confronted Representative Seth Magaziner on his ongoing refusal to call for a permanent ceasefire to demand the United States government act to save lives in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In a video released on JVP-Rhode Island’s Instagram, Magaziner is seen outside at a neighborhood event when he is interrupted and a banner reading “Ceasefire Now!” is held behind him.

Zack Kligler, an organizer with JVP-Rhode Island, confronted Magaziner, saying, “We are Jewish constituents here asking you to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, where 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in the last 70 days using our tax dollars. When are you going to call for a ceasefire to save lives?”

While Magaziner calls the United States-backed genocide a “terrible, tragic situation” and says he has “strong disagreements with the way the Israeli government has been conducting the war,” he dodges the call for a ceasefire by saying, “I think there are atrocities being committed now on both sides.”

JVP-Rhode Island unequivocally rejects Magaziner’s invocation of this “both sides” framing. There is no justification for the ongoing slaughter of thousands of Palestinian civilians. 

There are no “both sides” when the United States government has sent more than $300 billion to aid and abet the Israeli government while dozens of international human rights organizations have named the decades-long occupation and oppression of Palestinians as apartheid. Each day Magaziner refuses to call for a ceasefire, he demonstrates his complicity in genocide and his unwillingness to stand with the global movement to save lives.

Kligler went on to say, “The people of Rhode Island want you to call for a ceasefire. 80% of Democrats call for a ceasefire. We’re calling on you to stand with us, and not with AIPAC, and not with the weapons industry. We’re calling on you to call for a ceasefire because it’s the only way to save lives, and frankly, it’s unacceptable to the people of Rhode Island that you’re standing by as people continue to die every day.”

While Magaziner stated he “would be happy to have another conversation,” his staff has ignored our meeting requests, which came after December 5 when the Representative voted “present” vote on H.Res. 894, refusing to reject the dangerous conflation of anti-semitism with anti-Zionism.

Rep. Seth Magaziner received $18,496 from J Street, a pro-Israel lobbying group. Despite presenting itself as a liberal critic of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), J Street has full-throatedly supported Israel’s current war and opposed a ceasefire, even threatening to pull its endorsements from lawmakers who don’t back pro-Israel resolutions. 

As Rhode Islanders, we expect our elected officials to represent our views—not those of the Israel lobby or the weapons industry. We call on our delegation to join the majority of the American people in pushing for an end to Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.

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JVP-Rhode Island is the local affiliate of Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. JVP is organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of United States Jews in solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.