The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), stand firmly in our founding values, namely that the inherent violence of walls, borders, and forced migration must be condemned. We stand with communities that, for 75 years, have been pitted against each other and join the call for a ceasefire, release of hostages, and termination of US military aid to Israel. 

NJAIJ mourns and condemns the targeting of civilians in all circumstances. NJAIJ also mourns that the polarization of the war, fueled largely by US military aid and media coverage, further divides communities here in New Jersey who are seeking healing. As a coalition that fights against the inherent cruelties of border violence and enforcement, we condemn that US taxpayer dollars are actively funding the targeting, displacement, and extermination of Palestinian civilians, including a staggering number of children.

NJAIJ believes that all people deserve justice and liberation, but genocide is not justice. We call on our federal representatives to back an immediate ceasefire and to terminate all military aid to Israel. 

Through military aid, the United States is complicit in both the apartheid system and the act of genocide. Beyond the immoral and irresponsible support of Israel’s military violence, there are clear connections between apartheid and border violence against Palestinians and the US’s own militarized border enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security regularly awards contracts to corporations in the Israeli security industry for surveillance and radar systems along the US Border. ICE and law enforcement officials also engage in regular joint exercises and training exchanges with the Israeli Defense Forces. 

The dehumanizing and heavily polarized media reporting following the start of the war has inspired violence here in the US, including a terrifying rise in bias, discrimination, and hate-motivated attacks in New Jersey. For years now, New Jersey has reported an alarming rise in both Islamophobia and antisemitism. Anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry -- like antisemitism -- are weapons that divide communities motivated by peace, collective liberation, and shared belonging.

NJAIJ believes fighting for immigrant justice in the United States and abroad means fighting against border violence in all forms. Because New Jersey’s own City of Paterson and neighboring areas are home to over 20,000 Palestinians—the largest concentration of any U.S. city—it is doubly necessary that we stand in support of local Palestinian communities in their demand for dignity and struggle for freedom.

Although many of us are dealing with an immense amount of pain, we can find purpose in taking action. 

Empower

• Learn more about Palestine: Palestine Resource Guide by the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) 
• Learn more about Border Militarization and Corporate Outsourcing through NNiRR

Protect

• Council for American Islamic Relations New Jersey (CAIR-NJ) is taking incident reports of Islamophobia, bias, discrimination, and hate
• Both CAIR-NJ and PACC are hosting KYR clinics
  

Act

• Call Congress: Stop the Gaza Genocide - Call Script by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• Call on Biden, Congress, and Media with Jewish Voice for Peace

To share additional resources, learning opportunities, or calls to action, please contact: [email protected]

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) is the state’s largest immigration coalition. NJAIJ uses the power and strength of 50+ member organizations to fight for policies that empower and protect immigrants.