Jill Raney
Overview
Jill Raney has spread anti-Semitism and was arrested while leading an IfNotNow (INN) protest against Senator Ben Cardin’s anti-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) legislation.Raney has expressed support for violent protesters, protested against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and attempted to ban Jewish symbols at the 2019 D.C. Dyke March as a leader with INN.
She has also led an INN DC event repurposing Jewish rituals, expressed opposition to Israel being a Jewish state, demonized Israel and expressed support for anti-Israel agitators.
As of April 2019, Raney’s LinkedIn page said she was Founder and CEO of “Practice Makes Progress” in Washington, D.C., since 2015.
Raney’s LinkedIn also said she received a bachelor’s degree in Women and Gender studies in 2006 from the University of Virginia (UVA).
Spreading Anti-Semitism
Raney retweeted a March 28, 2019 tweet that said: “Jews were involved in the slave trade. Sing that song, during Passover, white Jews.”Arrest
On April 16, 2018, Raney was arrested for occupying U.S. Senator Ben Cardin’s office, while leading [00:07:07] an INN DC disruption in partnership with Taher Herzallah, the Associate Director of Outreach & Grassroots Organizing of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The disruption was to protest Senator Cardin’s proposed anti-BDS legislation.During the disruption, Herzallah criticized [00:06:06] Cardin’s anti-BDS legislation, Senate Bill S.720. As INN activists were nodding in approval, Herzallah said [00:06:55] “we stand here today to oppose S.720.”
Herzallah also demonized the Israeli response to the Great March of Return protests on their border with Gaza was that [00:05:42] “the Israeli soldiers pick off Palestinian protesters like it’s open season.”
Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] the March of Return protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of Israel’s border fence, some by armed Palestinians. One Hamas leader declared [00:00:30]: “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.”
During the disruption, Raney called [00:09:55] on Senator Cardin to condemn: “Israeli violence against peaceful protesters.”
INN activist Sarah Beth Alcabes read out the names [00:07:17] of Palestinians [00:20:20] “killed by the IDF for protesting” and led [00:09:10] activists in saying the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer for them.
The Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish is a prayer customarily reserved for close relatives or Jews murdered for being Jews.
Following INN’s intrusion into Cardin’s offices, Herzallah was interviewed [00:44:49], for INN’s Facebook page, pledging: “we will continue to stand every Friday, ‘til we return, continue on the Great March.”
On April 18, 2018, Raney tweeted a video of the disruption and commented: “This may well look like it's for show, but I've legit been crying off and on since March 30 over the dead, wounded, and otherwise traumatized Palestinians who IDF snipers picked off for the same nonviolent protesting I did at the airport protests last year. #HowManyMore?”
Supporting Violent Protesters
On April 5, 2018, Raney participated in an INN DC demonstration outside AIPAC’s headquarters in Washington D.C.: “to protest the killing of Palestinian protestors” during the Great March of Return on Israel’s border with Gaza.During the protest, Raney [00:33:56] and Natalie Bernstien, an INN activist, read [00:32:19] out the names of the Palestinians killed during the protest and then INN DC recited the Mourner’s Kaddish for them.
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.
Also on April 5, 2018, Raney tweeted a video of herself singing at the INN DC demonstration outside AIPAC’s headquarters in Washington D.C. “to protest the killing of Palestinian protestors” during the Great March of Return on Israel’s border with Gaza.
That same day, Raney tweeted: “IfNotNow DC blocking the doors of @AIPAC because they refuse to speak out against Israel...SHOOTING AT nonviolent Palestinian protestors. #EnoughOccupation.”
On May 14, 2018, Raney led [01:42:01] an INN DC demonstration in Washington, D.C. to mourn [01:09:33] the Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return protests on Israel’s border with Gaza.
During the demonstration INN protestors chanted [01:32:00] “We are horrified by Israel’s violent response to Palestinian non-violent protests.”
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.
Also on April 5, 2018, Raney tweeted a video of herself singing at the INN DC demonstration outside AIPAC’s headquarters in Washington D.C. “to protest the killing of Palestinian protestors” during the Great March of Return on Israel’s border with Gaza.
That same day, Raney tweeted: “IfNotNow DC blocking the doors of @AIPAC because they refuse to speak out against Israel...SHOOTING AT nonviolent Palestinian protestors. #EnoughOccupation.”
On May 14, 2018, Raney led [01:42:01] an INN DC demonstration in Washington, D.C. to mourn [01:09:33] the Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return protests on Israel’s border with Gaza.
In May 2018, terror group Hamas instigated violent riots on the Israeli-Gaza border. Thousands of rioters attempted to breach Israel’s border fence, declaring their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
During the demonstration INN protestors chanted [01:32:00] “We are horrified by Israel’s violent response to Palestinian non-violent protests.”
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.
The May 14, 2018 event also protested the U.S. government’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
That same day, Raney tweeted: “We just learned that TWENTY FIVE MORE Palestinian residents of Gaza were killed by the IDF today just for demonstrating for their freedom. Nobody is going to shoot at me for protesting today. How dare the IDF shoot peaceful protesters. #EmbassyOfFreedom.”
Also that day, Raney tweeted: “It may look perfornative but I'm crying in the street this morning. I just learned that THIRTY EIGHT Palestinians died today alone because the IDF met their peaceful demonstrations with live ammunition. #EmbassyOfFreedom #WeWillBeTheGeneration.”
Later on in the protest, Raney was interviewed by News2Share, where she alleged [00:00:27] “that young American Jews are encouraged to idolize a military that murdered 41 people today.”
On May 19, 2018, Raney posed for a group photo posted on Facebook, from an INN DC training event co-led by Herzallah from AMP.
INN’s comment on the Facebook photo described the training as gathering to “learn more about the history of Gaza, Palestinian non-violent resistance and how our community can take action to oppose the Israeli Military's recent actions.”
That same day, Raney tweeted: “We just learned that TWENTY FIVE MORE Palestinian residents of Gaza were killed by the IDF today just for demonstrating for their freedom. Nobody is going to shoot at me for protesting today. How dare the IDF shoot peaceful protesters. #EmbassyOfFreedom.”
Also that day, Raney tweeted: “It may look perfornative but I'm crying in the street this morning. I just learned that THIRTY EIGHT Palestinians died today alone because the IDF met their peaceful demonstrations with live ammunition. #EmbassyOfFreedom #WeWillBeTheGeneration.”
Later on in the protest, Raney was interviewed by News2Share, where she alleged [00:00:27] “that young American Jews are encouraged to idolize a military that murdered 41 people today.”
On May 19, 2018, Raney posed for a group photo posted on Facebook, from an INN DC training event co-led by Herzallah from AMP.
INN’s comment on the Facebook photo described the training as gathering to “learn more about the history of Gaza, Palestinian non-violent resistance and how our community can take action to oppose the Israeli Military's recent actions.”
Protesting AIPAC
On March 26, 2017, Raney participated in an INN protest outside the Washington, D.C. venue of the AIPAC policy conference, where some activists chained themselves to the entrance of the conference center.
During the protest, Raney posted to Instagram a photo of herself with fellow INN activist Ricki Horne, adding: “So proud to #ResistAIPAC for the second time with this gal. #JewishResistance#IfNotNow.”
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.
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.”
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.”
On March 27, 2017, Raney participated in an INN-organized training event in Washington D.C., titled: “ResistAIPAC Anti-Islamophobia Training,” that was “developed and facilitated in coordination” with Herzallah of 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 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.”
On March 21, 2016, Raney led an INN DC protest outside the Washington, D.C. venue of the AIPAC Conference, calling to “#DumpAIPAC.”
INN organizers claimed on Facebook that AIPAC's invitation to the U.S. President revealed AIPAC was “more invested in the politics of hate than in a vision of a peaceful Middle East.”
Banning Jewish Symbols
In June 2019, Raney was an INN leader “involved in organizing” the INN co-sponsored the June 7, 2019, D.C. Dyke March. Raney reportedly crafted the policy to ban the Jewish pride flag - a rainbow flag with the Star of David in the center.On June 6, 2019, Raney was interviewed for an INN article on Medium, where she referenced Dyke March organizers Yael Horowitz and Amanda Rae Gaines (a fellow INN member), who labeled the Jewish Pride flag as “lazy symbolism,” “a Zionist symbol” and “violent nationalism.”
Raney also said that “Israel violates Palestinians’ human rights in the name of Jews around the world” and accused Israel of “Pinkwashing.”
“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel. \
Gaines and Horowitz also said that they organized the march “as specifically and explicitly Jewish Anti-Zionist Dykes” and accused Israel of “settler colonial violence” and “nationalism and xenophobia.”
Raney blocked a group of demonstrators carrying Jewish Pride flags from joining the Dyke March and said [00:00:15] “In order to have the Jewish pride flag not be about Zionism, all you gotta do is just move the star.”
Raney was recorded saying to the demonstrators with the Jewish Pride flags [00:01:20] “We are allowing Palestinian flags.” Raney claimed [00:06:42] that “the Palestinian flag is a symbol of a Peoples’ freedom - not a government.”
In an interview published in the Jerusalem Post, Raney said: “Symbols of governments that cause human rights abuses” were not allowed.
The demonstrators were eventually permitted to join the Dyke March with their Jewish Pride flags.
Repurposing Jewish Rituals
On April 19, 2016, Raney helped lead an INN DC “liberation seder” in front of Hillel International’s office in Washington, D.C. The activists can be seen sitting at a mock Passover Seder table and wearing t-shirts that say: “No Liberation With Occupation.”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 and claimed that approximately 500 people participated in their liberation seders. Twenty three INN activists were reportedly arrested at liberation seder events across the country.
On April 17, 2016, Raney participated in an INN DC demonstration outside of the Yiddish theatre, Theatre J, in Washington, D.C. The event took the form of a Jewish Havdalah ceremony to oppose the “Occupation.” The Havdalah ceremony is traditionally performed at the conclusion of the Jewish Sabbath.
On April 17, 2016, Raney participated in an INN DC demonstration outside of the Yiddish theatre, Theatre J, in Washington, D.C. The event took the form of a Jewish Havdalah ceremony to oppose the “Occupation.” The Havdalah ceremony is traditionally performed at the conclusion of the Jewish Sabbath.
On October 13, 2016, Raney participated in an INN DC-hosted second day of fasting, following the Jewish fast day of Yom Kippur, “to atone for 50 years of occupation.”
Opposing Israel as a Jewish state
On February 11, 2019, Raney tweeted that when Israel “achieves a Jewish majority via violence & discrimination against non-Jews, people of conscience will rightly advocate for that harm to end.”
On October 24, 2018, Raney tweeted: “Zionism was an experiment to end antisemitism and that experiment has failed. Jewish liberation is possible and I wish @URJPresident would fight for it. Instead you're insisting on a ‘Jewish & democratic’ country.”
On June 29, 2018, Raney and fellow INN member Ilana Levinson gave an interview with Judaism Unbound discussing INN.
During the interview, Raney labelled [00:38:15] Israel a “moral disaster” and claiming [00:24:39] that the “horrifying harms that Israel’s policies under Occupation is causing to Palestinians it’s deeply twisting our souls as Jewish people.”
Raney also referred [00:15:24] to pro-Israel education as “toxic racist othering of Palestinians and othering of non-Jews in general.”
On May 14, 2018, Raney tweeted: “We are mourning! 700,000 Palestinians were displaced or killed in the Nakba, the catastrophe, in 1948. Jewish liberation does not come at the expense of another people! #EmbassyOfFreedom.”
The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.
On May 10, 2016, Raney tweeted: “‘Jewish and democratic’ huh? What's democratic about a theocracy? This Jew has more rights in the US than in Israel - advise? #AskNetanyahu.”
Demonizing Israel
On October 24, 2018, Raney tweeted: “Declaring Reform a Zionist movement is exclusionary bulls**t, @URJPresident. The political Zionism of the Israeli government isn't Jewish liberation, it's spiritual, economic, physical, and sexual violence against Palestinians and against many Jews.”On August 8, 2018, Raney authored a piece published in Medium, titled: “What White Jews Can Learn from Charlottesville About White Nationalism.” Raney said: "Building on years of practice dehumanizing the Palestinians, millions of whom are refugees as a direct result of the unnecessary anti-Arab violence of Zionist militias in 1947–48."
On April 20, 2018, Raney co-authored an article in the Forward defending actress Natalie Portman’s decision to reject the Genesis prize. The article claimed that Israel “directed snipers to fire live ammunition” at “unarmed Palestinian” protesters during Gaza’s violent March of Return riots.
On April 18, 2018, Raney tweeted: “This Friday @IDFSpokesperson is planning to shoot at peaceful Palestinians again.”
Raney signed an October 11, 2016 letter in support of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) policy platform, after it had been condemned by Jewish reform leaders and organizations for its language on Israel.
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) Platform stated: “The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.”
Jewish reform leaders and organizations issued a statement on August 4, 2016, calling it “offensive and odious” that the M4BL’s accused Israel of apartheid and genocide.
The letter that Raney signed stated: “We support the Movement for Black Lives platform of August 1, 2016 without reservation.”
On March 6, 2016, Raney tweeted a video of herself participating [00:00:09] in an INN protest outside the Jewish Film Festival, demanding “an end to the occupation.”
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitators
On February 11, 2019, Raney tweeted: “Who's ready for a calm and measured rant thread about this nonsense about Ilhan Omar pointing out that money influences politicans? Let's do this!”Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.Omar has demonized Israel and endorsed BDS. In July 2019, Omar introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress, which she described as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support…the BDS movement.”
On February 11, 2019, Raney also tweeted: “Reps. Omar and Tlaib have said nothing about dual loyalty AFAIK [as far as I know].”
On April 20, 2017, Raney appeared in a Facebook photo from a joint INN and AMP rally held that day.
On April 20, 2017, Raney appeared in a Facebook photo from a joint INN and AMP rally held that day.
The rally was in support of AMP leaders Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny who were arrested and charged with unlawful conduct and disrupting the U.S. Congress. In February 2017, they joined with three INN activists and one CODEPINK activist in disrupting a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on David Friedman's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
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).
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1501706
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillraney/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jr3wx
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/jr3wx/
Medium:https://medium.com/@jr3wx
Videos
9 videos
Photos & Screenshots
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Infamous Quotes
“In order to have the Jewish pride flag not be about Zionism, all you gotta do is just move the star.”
“The political Zionism of the Israeli government isn't Jewish liberation, it's spiritual, economic, physical, and sexual violence against Palestinians and against many Jews.”
