Intervenor Voices
Words from the Northampton residents fighting to uphold our right to divest from apartheid
Embedded Files
Anne Fine, published in the Hampshire Gazette on July 9th, 2026
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What would make me feel safe?
Veronica Darmon’s guest column “Pitting Jews against Jews makes us unsafe” [June 15]left me feeling troubled. There is no question that throughout history Jews have been the target of hatred and at the hands of the Nazis were victims of genocide. However, the current government of Israel has for 1,000 days raged a vicious war on Gaza, and many Jews, fearful of growing antisemitism, can’t acknowledge the tragedy of Israeli’s decimation of the Palestinian people. They do not make the connections that both Israeli’s treatment of Palestinians and the attacks on Lebanon are fueling the antisemitism they fear.
As we are in the midst of celebrating the 250th birthday of our now threatened democracy I see some parallels between the American history I was taught in high school and what I learned growing up about Israel in Hebrew school. It took the deaths of Black men like George Floyd and historical work like the “1619 Project” to push many Americans to question past narratives and look at the true history of our country, one of genocide and enslavement. Today our country hasn’t fully acknowledged the humanity and rights of Indigenous people or the ancestors of slaves. Looking at Israel, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have shown that Israel’s policies in Gaza have created an apartheid state. Before the establishment of the modern state of Israel, the country was multicultural and multiethnic. People shared a land that had never belonged to one religious group. What has the creation of a Jewish state wrought?
I am one of the 30 Northampton residents who is an intervenor in a lawsuit defending the right of the mayor to disinvest from companies that have been charged with international war crimes. Several of these companies supply the state of Israel with the means of killing Palestinians. I think that it is necessary to study history and not fall prey to the idea that Jews can somehow be safe by attempting to obliterate another people. What kind of security does that bring us?
Jenny Bender, published in the Hampshire Gazette on July 23rd, 2026
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Divestment: a non-violent way to stop violence
I have been an activist and community organizer for much of my life, and though my areas of focus shift, all of my movement work emerges from the same guiding belief that our humanity and liberation are inextricably interdependent.
In the last couple of years, I have focused my organizing on ending the war overseas in Gaza and the war on immigrants in my home country. These are not separate movements. For years, U.S. federal agencies, including ICE, have trained with Israeli forces. We house a weapons manufacturer in Northampton, L3 Harris, that is generating huge profit by selling to and hence supporting both the IDF and ICE. One of the many ways that the Trump administration is threatening our constitutional and civil rights is by using ICE to target pro-Palestinian student activists for arrest, detention and deportation. We hear the same rhetoric coming from the U.S. and the Israeli governments about “our” safety being dependent on controlling borders.
I know that my safety as a Jewish person is not dependent on suppressing (displacing, genociding) the Palestinian people, just as I know that my safety as an “American” is not dependent on suppressing (terrorizing, abducting) our immigrant neighbors of color. I know the opposite is in fact true: These escalating cycles of violence locally and abroad are escalating antisemitism, xenophobia, racism and all forms of injustice; and hence are diminishing all of our safety.
For the reasons above and more, I oppose the genocide in Gaza; I support Northampton’s resolution to divest from companies complicit in human rights violations in Israel and Palestine; and I am amongst the 30 intervenors in the lawsuit against our city for passing this resolution. History shows us that divestment is an effective, non-violent tool for the kind of change I dream and struggle for: where every one of us is safe and free.
Weaver
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I'm Weaver, I have lived in Northampton for 10 years. I work as a carpenter and I am Jewish and involved in the Jewish artistic and cultural community in our town. I'm also a member of the local chapter of the DSA.
I am very proud to be among the 30 northampton residents intervening in the repressive, anti-democratic Hale vs. Northampton lawsuit, including fellow DSA and JVP members!
As a socialist, I believe that profit should never be put over human lives. Hale argues that the city should not take into account any ethics in investment beyond a cold calculation of what has the best returns financially. While this premise is here being mobilized against the movement for Palestinian rights, it has disturbing implications that reach far beyond that one struggle -- as is the case with much of the legislation and legal repression the movement has faced nationwide over the past year.
As a socialist, I also believe the people have a right to decide, together, how to live. The resolution passed unanimously with an outpouring of popular support, and it is no accident that this attempted legal suppresion is happening behind the closed doors of the court. Hopefully, the large number of people intervening in this lawsuit will open up this legal decision to happen before the eyes of all the people.
And as a Jew, I am proud to stand beside other Jewish and non-Jewish Northampton residents to fight for Palestinian freedom. The myth of Jewish consensus on Israel is falling apart. With so many Jews taking up the Palestinian cause on various fronts, the pro-Israel camp can no longer consider us fringe upstarts that can be discounted. They can no longer claim to speak for us, now that so many of us are speaking for ourselves.
Thank you so much to the people who have fought to bring the resolution this far. Lets bring it over the finish line together, and then keep fighting!
Ryn Hodes
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I was born and raised in New York City surrounded by Jewish family and culture. Every summer between ages eight and thirteen, I visited relatives in Israel. In 1970, the plane I was on while returning home from Israel was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist-Leninist outgrowth of the Arab National Movement. I was held hostage for a week and returned home to begin seventh grade. While I had intense feelings and thoughts about this event, it was not until 2000 that I sought out non-Zionist Jewish thinkers and Palestinian writers in order to more deeply process what I had experienced. After the murder of Rachel Corrie and a growing awareness of Israel’s aggression, colonization, and occupation I turned towards Jewish Voice for Peace and a diasporic Jewish identity. With great heartache, I believe Israel has become the greatest threat to Jewish safety today and I am intervening in whatever ways I can to end American complicity in Israel’s domination and annihilation of Palestine and its people.
Jane Fleishman, Mariel Barnesky, Joan Tabachnick, Noah T. Winer and Judi Wisch, Published in the Hampshire Gazette on July 16th, 2026
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Speaking out against violence makes us safer
We are writing in response to Veronica Darmon’s July 2 guest column, “Pitting Jews against Jews makes us unsafe.” We respect and agree with the writer in many ways. We agree that a vibrant democracy is a fundamental protection for everyone. We agree that there has been a rise in antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world. We agree that it is frightening to see, hear, and experience the hatred that has been easily thrown at Jews. We also agree that there are many other conflicts around the globe that need our attention. We must be courageous and speak out wherever human rights are being violated.
However, the Israeli army has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank which is not providing more safety for Israel; it is quite possibly creating less safety. We support the right for Jews to criticize the Israeli government for its policies just as we have done so many times in our own country.
The resolution calls for Northampton to divest from companies supplying weapons and materials for the attacks on Gaza and the West Bank. These are companies whose products are used to harm families and destroy homes. We agree fully with this resolution. The lawsuit against the city challenges our city’s ability to use divestment as a tool for social change. We are among a group of 30 Northampton residents who are intervenors in this lawsuit. As intervenors, we believe that the city does have the right to use the tools of divestment as cities have done successfully in the past to voice opposition to the Vietnam War, apartheid in South Africa, and fossil fuels.
Speaking as Jews, we believe that the more we speak out against violence, whether it is the senseless slaughter of young people at a concert or families living in Gaza, we are all safer when we do call out this violence, for everyone’s safety
Katherine Yagle
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Northampton's unique character -- rural but progressive, small-town but inclusive, friendly but direct -- is like nowhere else in the world. Part of what drew me to this town is the community's rich history of activism and engagement with world issues. I was really proud last year when the City Council passed the Divestment Resolution.
This recent lawsuit is deeply discouraging; it asserts that individual cities don't get to have a say in the way their money is invested. The companies and investments our tax dollars support have an impact on the world, and Northampton (and all cities) deserve the autonomy to use funds in ways that support our values.
I'm proud that the city is defending the Resolution, and enthusiastically add my name to the list of intervenors
Rene Theberge
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I have been asked why I am an intervenor in this lawsuit. I have a long history with the Palestinian people’s movement – 56 years now – and the simple answer is that it is the right thing to do and the least I can do to support the Palestinian people and add my voice against the genocide currently taking place in Palestine.
A more complete, and complex, answer is that this lawsuit against the City of Northampton (and by extension ourselves, its residents) is a not simply misguided or a difference in opinion. No, it is a direct attack on our right as residents of Northampton:
· To give our government direction on how we want our taxes spent;
· To choose our financial policy for ourselves, not have policy imposed by non-residents of Northampton;
· And to continue to choose ethically based policies as has been a long tradition in Northampton.
I am honored to be an intervenor and I hope this simple act inspires other residents of Northampton (and elsewhere!) to step forward in support of the Palestinian people and our democratic rights.
Lois Ahrens, published in the Springfield Republican July 17th, 2026
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In the 46 years I have worked and lived in Northampton, I have worked alongside and supported city residents when we brought resolutions and proclamations to the City Council in support ending apartheid in South Africa, the campaign to freeze nuclear weapons and ending the city’s investment in fossil fuels.
On Sept. 18, 2025, the City Council unanimously passed a Resolution Calling for the City of Northampton to Divest from Entities Complicit in Human Rights Violations in Israel and Palestine.
Never do I remember “lawfare” organizations, one in Boston and the other in Tennessee, filing a lawsuit to stop the council from implementing a resolution. It is this attempt by right-wing groups to intercede and overturn the will of the council and Northampton residents which caused me to join with 29 other Northamptonites to file a motion in support of the council’s right to take a principled stand against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.
Now and in the future, the residents of Northampton and other cities and towns must stop this dangerous anti-democratic precedent and help guarantee that elected officials will be able to act on what they and their constituents believe without outside interference.
Marc Gurvitch
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I am an intervenor against the law suit trying to eradicate Northampton's divestment resolution. I am a resident of Northampton since 2021 and a member of Congregation B'nai Israel. I am proud to live in a city that has taken a stand against genocide, human rights abuses and the complicity of weapons manufacturers. It is important for me to take a public stand especially when these horrific acts are committed by the the State of Israel in the name of the Jewish People with the support of the U.S. Government to whom I pay taxes. The Trump administration continues this support in spite of the majority of American people disapproving of Israel's genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. Northampton's monetary divestment is small, but the political impact can be significant. Many American cities and towns will look to Northampton as an example of democratic action they can take when the federal government refuses to listen.
Jon Liebman
I joined this effort because I support the Northampton City Council's resolution concerning divestment of city funds from companies directly involved in war crimes in Israel/Palestine. My decision to be an intervenor was motivated by a desire to support that decision against a spurious lawsuit brought against the city which, if successful, would undermine our ability as a community to oppose crimes against humanity and the rule of international law, and our ability as Northampton residents to direct the investment of our funds in ethical ways.
It should be clear to all from the language of the resolution that it does not call for the destruction of Israel, nor is it anti-Semitic, as has been claimed. The resolution is a legitimate, albeit small, effort to pressure the state of Israel to end its illegitimate policies of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and occupation of neighboring countries, which while directed at Palestinians, also fosters ongoing war and antisemitism. As a Jew living in America, it is clear to me that the safety and well-being of my family and of the larger community is best served by embracing diversity and the respect for the rights of all people, Jews and Palestinians included.
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