Abigail Harris-Ridker
Overview
Abigail Harris-Ridker participated in an anti-Israel activist trip in 2016, has expressed support for violent protesters and is an activist with IfNotNow (INN).She has protested the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), attended a 2017 training event featuring Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and participated in events re-purposing Jewish rituals.
Harris-Ridker is also affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
As of June 2019, Harris-Ridker’s LinkedIn page said she was a “Program Coordinator at Literature For All Of Us,” a teacher of 3rd Grade, 8th Grade and High School students at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, IL since 2015 and a 2014 graduate of the College of Wooster, with a bachelor’s degree in “Religious Studies, Education.”
Activist Trip to Israel
In July 2016, Harris-Ridker traveled to Israel, along with JVP activists, on a Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV)-organized Occupation Is Not Our Judaism tour.CJNV says its partners with anti-Israel groups including Breaking the Silence (BtS) and Youth Against Settlements (YAS).
In a blog post Harris-Ridker wrote about the trip, she said: “My hope in sharing some images and captions is that I can start to spread the atrocities being committed against Palestinians under military occupation.”
On July 14, 2016, Harris-Ridker’s blog was featured on CJNV’s Facebook page and shared by IfNotNow.
On July 15, 2016, Harris-Ridker was tagged in an INN Facebook post that said: “Today, 9 IfNotNow leaders joined with members of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence...The morning ended with Israeli forces arresting 6 Jewish participants -- including IfNotNow Leader Erez Bleicher.”
On August 26, 2016, Harris-Ridker spoke at an event organized by INN activist Rachel Leider: “Shabbatluck Teach-in: Learn About the Occupation with INN Chicago.” The event’s Facebook page said that Harris-Ridker was one of “8 IfNotNow members from across the country [who] recently participated in a 10 day solidarity delegation in the West Bank with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence where they partnered with Palestinian partners on the ground to work on solidarity efforts ranging from agricultural work to civil disobedience.”
Harris-Ridker said on Instagram that she was “Grateful and inspired after a Shabbat teach-in of reflections, learning and honesty about the occupation.”
Supporting Violent Protesters
On May 18, 2018, Harris-Ridker commented on an INN live video from a JVP-organized and INN Chicago-promoted event: “Jan Schakowsky: Justice for Palestinian Protesters.” Harris-Ridker said: “Thank you all for showing up early in the morning and doing such important work!”The event’s Facebook description said: “Over 87 unarmed Palestinians have now been shot dead while protesting as part of the #GreatReturnMarch in Gaza...Rep Schakowsky needs to see and hear that the slaughter of Gazans is of urgent concern to her constituents.”
INN activists read out [00:0012] the names of rioters killed in the Gaza protests and said [00:07:07] the Mourner’s Kaddish in their memory.
The Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish is a prayer customarily reserved for close relatives or Jews murdered for being Jews.
In May 2018, terror organization Hamas instigated the “March of Return.” Thousands of violent rioters attempted numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence with Gaza, seeking to harm Jews across the border. Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of the fence, some by armed Palestinians. On May 15, 2018, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said the Gaza protests were only a pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Harris-Ridker indicated on Facebook that she “went” to INN Chicago’s event: “IfNotNow Chicago Asks #HowManyMore?” on April 13, 2018.
The event’s Facebook description said: “As Palestinians in Gaza have marched by the thousands in nonviolent civil resistance... they have been met with live fire by the Israeli military forces…. Join IfNotNow Chicago Friday morning to say Mourner's Kaddish for those tragically killed in Gaza.”
Most of the Gazans who died between March 30 and April 6, 2018, were identified as terror operatives who were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks, rioting against IDF forces or attempting to breach the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Protesting AIPAC
On March 26, 2017, Harris-Ridker represented INN Chicago in Washington, DC at an INN protest outside the Washington D.C. venue of the AIPAC Policy Conference.Harris-Ridker posed for a photo at the protest shared by INN on Instagram, posed for and shared a group photo on Facebook of members of the INN Chicago group at the protest and shared a live video of the protest on Facebook.
At the protest, some activists chained themselves to the entrance of the conference center.
The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
In an INN-produced video filmed during the protest and posted to Facebook, Thomas Corcoran, then-INN Digital Coordinator, said [00:35:37] that AIPAC had “perpetuated Islamophobia” for years.
Cornel West, anti-Israel Professor, spoke [00:43:42] at the rally. West has dismissed Jewish historical connections to Israel, labeled Israel an apartheid state and equated [00:00:23] the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) with Hamas.
Four INN activists purchased tickets to the conference, posing as AIPAC delegates, in order to gain access to the building. Once inside, the INN activists dropped banners from the center’s third floor, stating that they “reject AIPAC and the occupation,” before being removed by security.
On March 28, 2017, following the anti-AIPAC rally, INN’s activities were endorsed by Robert Warren Ray, a “Feature Writer” from the Neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer.
Ray wrote on the Daily Stormer: “I am officially endorsing the Jew vs Jew AIPAC protests...You’re doing our work for us. Keep it up.”
Harris-Ridker indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an INN Chicago organized event, titled: “Freedom, Dignity, Solidarity” on February 27, 2017.
The event’s Facebook description said: “As we gear up to #ResistAIPAC on March 26...we know we have so much work to do. AIPAC...supports the physical walls that make life a daily nightmare for Palestianians [sic].”
On March 28, 2017, Harris-Ridker wrote on Facebook: “I wrapped up my time in D.C. today with IfNotNow's first national anti-Islamophobia training because we know that fighting the occupation means fighting Islamophobia. — in Washington, District of Columbia.”
Harris-Ridker’s post was about an INN-organized training event in Washington D.C., titled: “ResistAIPAC Anti-Islamophobia Training,” that was “developed and facilitated in coordination” with Taher Herzallah, the Associate Director of Outreach and Grassroots Organizing for AMP.
The training event’s Facebook page promised to “continue the theme of the day with an action” that focused on the ways “AIPAC supports Islamophobia.”
The INN organizers wrote they were “excited to be joined by” Ramah Kudaimi, the Director of Programs and Operations for U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), a coalition of American-based anti-Israel organizations, which lobbies the U.S. Congress to adopt anti-Israel policies and to end support for Israel.
INN reported that the event was attended by “55 IfNotNow members from Washington D.C, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City.”
They also reported that the training session looked at “messages of Islamophobia” and “focused on the ways the Jewish institutions in which many of us grew-up teach and propagate these messages.”
INN then listened to Herzallah go into “greater detail about various Jewish institutions that perpetuate Islamophobia support the occupation.”
The training event was followed by a protest outside of AIPAC's Conference at the Mt. Vernon Convention Center that evening to focus “on the ways AIPAC supports Islamophobia.”
At the protest, INN organizer Jill Raney said that the training earlier that day taught [00:22:10] her how Islamophobia is closely tied to the “American support for the Occupation.”
During the protest, one leader claimed [00:30:18] that AIPAC is “Islamophobic” and “peddles Islamophobia.” Another INN speaker took the bullhorn to explain [00:09:04] that he came out to “make sure that we continue to resist the awful influence that AIPAC has on the Jewish community and our country as a whole.”
The event’s Facebook description stated: “We welcome the ritual of Ashamnu -- we have transgressed: For 50 years American Jewish leaders have been bringing in the new year while supporting an occupation that both denies Palestinian of their rights and ignores the moral crisis within our communities.”
Activists recited the Jewish confessional prayers of Al-Chet and Ashamnu to demonize Israel. Al-Chet and Ashamnu are traditionally said during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The post also contained: “An Open Letter To The American Jewish Community” which said: “For the sin we have committed by...Buying products made in Jewish settlements… Endorsing collective punishment on Palestinian families...Taking advantage of a free trip to Israel without regard for those who can’t.”
On April 20, 2016, Harris-Ridker helped lead an INN Chicago event titled: “Dayenu! No Liberation with Occupation (Chicago).” Activists blocked the entrance to the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago building.
The Facebook description said: “This passover, IfNotNow says dayenu, enough! For too many years, Jews around the world have celebrated our own freedom while actively denying freedom and dignity to the Palestinian people.”
On April 21, 2016, INN Chicago tagged Harris-Ridker in a post about the event that said: “Today, IfNotNow Chicago led its first #liberationseder outside the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago - JUF.”
A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt and their travels to the Promised Land.
Cornel West, anti-Israel Professor, spoke [00:43:42] at the rally. West has dismissed Jewish historical connections to Israel, labeled Israel an apartheid state and equated [00:00:23] the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) with Hamas.
Four INN activists purchased tickets to the conference, posing as AIPAC delegates, in order to gain access to the building. Once inside, the INN activists dropped banners from the center’s third floor, stating that they “reject AIPAC and the occupation,” before being removed by security.
On March 28, 2017, following the anti-AIPAC rally, INN’s activities were endorsed by Robert Warren Ray, a “Feature Writer” from the Neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer.
Ray wrote on the Daily Stormer: “I am officially endorsing the Jew vs Jew AIPAC protests...You’re doing our work for us. Keep it up.”
Harris-Ridker indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an INN Chicago organized event, titled: “Freedom, Dignity, Solidarity” on February 27, 2017.
The event’s Facebook description said: “As we gear up to #ResistAIPAC on March 26...we know we have so much work to do. AIPAC...supports the physical walls that make life a daily nightmare for Palestianians [sic].”
On March 28, 2017, Harris-Ridker wrote on Facebook: “I wrapped up my time in D.C. today with IfNotNow's first national anti-Islamophobia training because we know that fighting the occupation means fighting Islamophobia. — in Washington, District of Columbia.”
Harris-Ridker’s post was about an INN-organized training event in Washington D.C., titled: “ResistAIPAC Anti-Islamophobia Training,” that was “developed and facilitated in coordination” with Taher Herzallah, the Associate Director of Outreach and Grassroots Organizing for AMP.
The training event’s Facebook page promised to “continue the theme of the day with an action” that focused on the ways “AIPAC supports Islamophobia.”
The INN organizers wrote they were “excited to be joined by” Ramah Kudaimi, the Director of Programs and Operations for U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), a coalition of American-based anti-Israel organizations, which lobbies the U.S. Congress to adopt anti-Israel policies and to end support for Israel.
INN reported that the event was attended by “55 IfNotNow members from Washington D.C, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City.”
They also reported that the training session looked at “messages of Islamophobia” and “focused on the ways the Jewish institutions in which many of us grew-up teach and propagate these messages.”
INN then listened to Herzallah go into “greater detail about various Jewish institutions that perpetuate Islamophobia support the occupation.”
The training event was followed by a protest outside of AIPAC's Conference at the Mt. Vernon Convention Center that evening to focus “on the ways AIPAC supports Islamophobia.”
At the protest, INN organizer Jill Raney said that the training earlier that day taught [00:22:10] her how Islamophobia is closely tied to the “American support for the Occupation.”
During the protest, one leader claimed [00:30:18] that AIPAC is “Islamophobic” and “peddles Islamophobia.” Another INN speaker took the bullhorn to explain [00:09:04] that he came out to “make sure that we continue to resist the awful influence that AIPAC has on the Jewish community and our country as a whole.”
Re-Purposing Jewish Rituals
On October 9, 2016, Harris-Ridker held a sign that said: “Heed The Call: For Freedom and Dignity For All” at in the INN Chicago event titled: “Heed the Call: IfNotNow Chicago High Holiday Action.”The event’s Facebook description stated: “We welcome the ritual of Ashamnu -- we have transgressed: For 50 years American Jewish leaders have been bringing in the new year while supporting an occupation that both denies Palestinian of their rights and ignores the moral crisis within our communities.”
Activists recited the Jewish confessional prayers of Al-Chet and Ashamnu to demonize Israel. Al-Chet and Ashamnu are traditionally said during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The post also contained: “An Open Letter To The American Jewish Community” which said: “For the sin we have committed by...Buying products made in Jewish settlements… Endorsing collective punishment on Palestinian families...Taking advantage of a free trip to Israel without regard for those who can’t.”
On April 20, 2016, Harris-Ridker helped lead an INN Chicago event titled: “Dayenu! No Liberation with Occupation (Chicago).” Activists blocked the entrance to the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago building.
The Facebook description said: “This passover, IfNotNow says dayenu, enough! For too many years, Jews around the world have celebrated our own freedom while actively denying freedom and dignity to the Palestinian people.”
On April 21, 2016, INN Chicago tagged Harris-Ridker in a post about the event that said: “Today, IfNotNow Chicago led its first #liberationseder outside the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago - JUF.”
A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt and their travels to the Promised Land.
INN uploaded resources for public use to their website and claimed that approximately 500 people participated in their liberation seders across the country.
INN Activity
On August 20, 2017, Harris-Ridker attended an INN “Leadership Summit.”On November 22, 2016, Harris-Ridker helped lead an IfNotNow Chicago and JVP Chicago co-sponsored event.
On August 12, 2016, Harris-Ridker attended the INN Chicago, CJNV and All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective co-sponsored event, titled: the “Chicago Shabbat Against Demolition.”
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aharrisridker/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-harris-ridker-183835161/
Blog:https://aharrisridker.blogspot.com/
On August 12, 2016, Harris-Ridker attended the INN Chicago, CJNV and All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective co-sponsored event, titled: the “Chicago Shabbat Against Demolition.”
IfNotNow (INN)
IfNotNow (INN) is an anti-Israel organization founded in 2014, in response to Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish value.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1153050773Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aharrisridker/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-harris-ridker-183835161/
Blog:https://aharrisridker.blogspot.com/
