September

30th, 2013



To the Honorable State Sen. Anthony Williams:
It is with great concern that we call your attention to the activities, statements, and mission
of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), which has bestowed its Friend of Zion
award on you this year. Knowing you as a defender of equality, non-discrimination,
fairness, and justice, we ask that you decline this award from an organization with a
disturbing history of words and deeds hostile to Arabs, Muslims, and Palestinians.
First, let us explain the ZOAs record of bigotry and chauvinism.
When the ZOA was established in 1897, it was indeed associated with distinguished
American Jews from the liberal-left wing of the Zionist movement such as Rabbis Stephen S.
Wise, Abba Hillel Silver, and Justice Louis Brandeis. In recent decades, however, the ZOA
has moved to the fringe right-wing of the American Zionist spectrum, opposing the Oslo
Accords, supporting the illegaland chronically violentsettler movement in the
Occupied West Bank and Gaza, and opposing Palestinian expressions of national rights,
even going so far as to support revoking the citizenship of Israels Arab citizens.
The ZOA does not represent the majority of Jews, even those who identify as pro-Israel.
Repeated polls have shown that American Jews strongly support a two-state solution and
abhor anti-Arab racism. We call attention to some of the ZOAs stances over the last twenty
years:

The ZOA has repeatedly criticized mainstream American Jewish and pro-Israel
organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for their support of a negotiated two-state solution to the
Israel-Palestine conflict.

The ZOA has been a prominent booster of US anti-Muslim blogger and activist
Pamela Geller, whose ad campaign on the New York City transit systemalmost
universally condemned by mainstream Jewish groupsdescribed Arabs and
Muslims as "savages." Gellers organization is classified as a hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
In 2009, the ZOA issued a statement of "strong support" for Dutch Parliamentarian
and far-right anti-Muslim activist Geert Wilders. Wilders, at one point barred from
entering the United Kingdom because of his extreme Islamophobic views, has
proposed a punitive tax on women who wear the hijab and describes Islam "not as a
religion, but as a dangerous, totalitarian ideology equal to communism and fascism."

ZOA President Morton Klein confirmed the organization's support for a 2011 Israeli
lawagain, highly criticized by mainstream American Jewish and pro-Israel groups
as a violation of basic civil rights--that imposes civil penalties on Israeli citizens who
express their support for economic boycotts targeting Israel's occupation.

If you were to accept the ZOAs award on October 9th, you would be standing on the same
platform as Nonie Darwish, an anti-Muslim bigot who has made a career of defaming
Islamconflating a diverse and variegated religion of more than 1.5 billion adherents with
terrorism, misogyny, anti-modernism, and totalitarian aspirations. This pattern of fringe
bigotry extends to her account of President Obama and American liberalism. She has
written, Obama's behavior over the last four years regarding Islam has convinced me that
Obama has a Socialist/Islamic centered worldview.

We know that you stand for higher values: pluralism, fairness, justice, and anti-racism.
Accepting this award may have been an oversight, committed in the mistaken belief that
the ZOA is an organization worthy of attention, representative of the Philadelphia Jewish
community, and wholesome in its endeavors. It is not. The ZOA is, for many Philadelphians,
a hate group. Please decline their award.
Signed,*
Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace Philadelphia
The Middle East Working Group of the Episcopal Diocese
The Philadelphia Coalition of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Against Israel
Rabbi Linda Holtzman, Director, Tikkun Olam Havurah of Philadelphia
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Professor of Religion, Temple University
The Rev. Judith T. Beck, Christian-Jewish Allies of Greater Philadelphia
The Rev. Sharlene A. Fulton, Christian-Jewish Allies of Philadelphia
The Very Rev. E. Clifford Cutler, Pastor St. Pauls Episcopal Church of Chestnut Hill
Allen L. Bartlett, Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, Retired
Professor Elliot Ratzman, Jewish Studies, Temple University
Professor Amy Kaplan, University of Pennsylvania
Susan Landau, Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace
Rachel Brown, Jewish Voice for Peace
Matt Berkman, Jewish Voice for Peace
Xavier Anguela Marttinez, Philly BDS
Soni Guedan Carrio, Philly BDS
Katherine Cohen, Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace
Shaina Adams-El Guabli, Christian-Jewish Allies of Greater Philadelphia
Lauren Ballester, Penn for Palestine
Monika Negpal
Philippa Townsend
Scott Lamson, voter in district
Emma Grigore, Philly BDS
Evan Hoffman, Philly BDS and voter in district

Matt Graber
Nathaniel Miller, Philly BDS
A Abbas Naqvi, Philly BDS
Jane and Ahmed Gamal-Eldin
Mohamed Gamal-Eldin, Philly BDS
Peter Doris, The Middle East Working Group
Mary D. Allen, The Middle East Working Group
Katherine Kurtz
Anne Tyler Attlee, The Middle East Working Group
* Institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only.