Boston Workers Circle is a politically diverse organization, one of the oldest American Jewish organizations in Boston, and a proud inheritor of the centuries-long Jewish socialist tradition. It is in our political tradition that we are called upon to speak in defense of students whose right to free speech in support of Palestinian liberation is being brutally repressed on college campuses today. 

Since October 2023, our organization has condemned the ongoing massacre in Gaza in the strongest possible terms. We are continuously horrified and outraged by the destruction of homes and hospitals and universities; deprivation of food, water and medicine; and the unimaginable loss of human life. We are inspired by the leadership of students on campuses in Boston and beyond calling for their institutions to cut ties with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, to disclose academic funding and investments, and to divest from companies that fund the occupation. It is our 124-year long history as the Boston Workers Circle that compels us to raise our voices both in support of the free speech of the protestors and their demands for a lasting ceasefire. 

We call on Mayor Wu, DA Kevin Hayden and all elected officials to stop the violent repression of protestors who are lifting up their voices for justice and liberation, and to drop the charges against them. We call on President Biden and all of our elected officials to do everything in their power to stop the massacre in Gaza, free all hostages and political prisoners, and ensure safety, justice and equality for all Israelis and Palestinians. We call on the Boston Globe and all media publications to report accurately on both the events in Gaza and the actions of protestors in the United States in solidarity with Palestinians. 

We act every day in the Jewish political tradition of our forebears who have defied state repression while speaking for justice; whether deposing tyrants in ancient Egypt; defying police to march on the picket line outside of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory; fighting for democracy in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer; throwing their bodies onto the gears on campuses from Berkeley to Kent State to end the US war on Vietnam; and in the multi-ethnic, multi-faith coalitions that have emerged on college campuses to end the atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza. To all who honor this history with us, we invite you to join us by taking action alongside all who are speaking in their legacy today:

1. Call Mayor Wu and ask her to stop brutalizing campus protests and to drop the charges: (617) 635-4500
2. Call Senator Warren (617) 565-3170, call Senator Markey: (617) 565-8519 and call your Member of Congress to ask them to use all levers available to them to stop the massacre. 
3. Call the Boston Globe and ask them to retract the slander against peaceful protestors at Northeastern and Emerson encampments: (617) 929-3100