On Sept. 4, 2024, after nearly a year of unconscionable destruction and slaughter in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli government, the City Council of Portland, Maine, took a stand for justice and liberation by voting to divest from Israel. All seven council members present and Mayor Mark Dion voted unanimously in favor of a resolution, written by concerned constituents of diverse backgrounds, including Jews, to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide and illegal occupation of Palestine.

After sharing his belief that a vote for divestment was “sending a message [to Israel] that says ‘that’s enough,’” Mayor Dion has since walked back his support for this message, stating that he now believes that the council should not act on international issues and that the council’s action hurt Portland’s Jewish community.

As Jews and as Portlanders, we are extremely proud of our city leaders for listening to the people of Portland and following their moral compass. We are deeply disappointed in the mayor’s abandonment of the strong moral position he took last month, and in his treatment of Portland’s Jewish community as a monolith.

Mayor Dion’s apology demonstrates a total disregard for the respect and safety of Palestinian, Muslim and Arab members of our community. As Jews, we squarely reject the notion that divestment harms Portland’s Jewish community. This idea reveals a dangerous conflation between the Jewish identity and the ethnonationalist, racist, settler colonial ideology behind Israel’s apartheid system: Zionism.

Antisemitism is real, and it is increasing, but it is being perpetrated most virulently by far-right extremists, not by supporters of Palestinian liberation. We hold that there is no justification for Israel’s genocidal regime; its actions make no one safer, and that includes Jews.

We understand that the Jewish community is divided when it comes to support for the Israeli state. We ask kindly that our city leaders include our voices when they consider the fears and perspectives of the Jewish community.

We remain steadfast in our conviction that divestment, a nonviolent strategy to pressure the Israeli government, is a local issue. Palestine may be thousands of miles away, but our city funds were, until recently, paying for the production of weapons and surveillance equipment used to carry out this genocide.

As was shared publicly at the Sept. 4 meeting, the City Council chose to proactively divest from L3Harris Technologies as a result of the resolution. We applaud the City Council immensely for aligning Portland’s values with the way that city programs and resources are funded, and for committing to no longer investing in complicit companies until the end of the occupation of Palestine. We hope this signals a beginning for Portland and other city governments to take stock of how local taxes may be supporting U.S.-backed violence around the world, and to stand firmly against militarism in solidarity with all oppressed people.

Portland’s divestment marks a necessary step in combating U.S. complicity in funding Israel’s genocide. We applaud our city councilors for voting with their humanity and for their commitment to protecting Portland’s Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities from antisemitic, Islamophobic and anti-Arab violence.

Thank you, Portland City Council and the people of Portland, for divesting from a future of escalating brutality and destruction. May we all continue to celebrate this victory in the struggle for Palestinian liberation, and may Portland guide the way for communities around the world to do the same.