Simply put, I wore the shirt to honor my Jewish ancestors. They escaped antisemitic hatred in Eastern Europe and became involved in leftist anti-racist and anti-capitalist activism in the United States. My maternal grandparents were involved in the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-poverty movement of the mid-twentieth century. In addition, my father was a documentary filmmaker who told the story of the Weather Underground and Muhammad Ali’s exile years. My mom is a licensed clinical therapist who tremendously improves the mental health of her patients every single day.
This solidarity work, more broadly, is the Jewish-American historical legacy — aligning Jewish values with the fight to liberate all oppressed groups, supporting mutual emancipation from systems of social, political and economic domination that elevate a few individuals at the expense of the collective — that is who we are.
I believe this Jewish-American historical legacy is entirely consistent with anti-Zionism. I can say with absolute certainty that my immigrant ancestors would have deplored the idea of murdering (as of July 9, 2024) at least 38,764 Palestinian people (and possibly more than 186,000, according to the Lancet medical journal) for the purpose of supposedly protecting Jewish safety.
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About one hour after the plane departed, I decided to re-display my “Jews Say Ceasefire Now” shirt. (At this point, the lights were dimmed and it was much more difficult for anyone to even see the shirt’s text). After about 20 minutes, the purser and another flight attendant returned and again demanded that I cover up. I told them to stop policing how I publicly expressed my Jewish identity. They then threatened to land the plane on a tarmac and kick me off the flight unless I permanently covered up the shirt. I reluctantly obliged their demands.
About 10 to 15 minutes later, the purser returned, handed me a sheet of paper with the headline “Notice of U.S. Federal Regulation Violation” and told me, “The captain wanted you to read this.” They warned me that if I displayed my “Jews Say Ceasefire Now” shirt again, they would hand me over to the police once the plane landed. They repeated this message over and over again. I stated that I heard them nearly five times before they finally left my seat. The purser’s last remark before she left was, “Our intention was for you to have a good flight.”