Hug Liat Weingart

Interview & Hug by Jawad Ali
Photos by Liv Leader

Liat Weingart is the Director of Campaigns and Programs at A Jewish Voice for Peace. Find out more about Liat and JVP here.

MWU!: Why do you suppose you are getting this award?

LW: Because I am friends with Jawad. And ‘cause I moderated the JVP lecture series and was funny doing it.

MWU!: Your acceptance speech please.

LW: No!

MWU!: So, what’s JVP all about?

LW: We mean it when we say that the Occupation should end and that the Palestinians deserve justice. I would also add that we understand the legacy of distrust that has been built by the silence of the Jewish community in speaking out against Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. We want to stand with Palestinians and acknowledge that there can be no peace for Jews without justice for Palestinians.

MWU!: And who are these progressive Jews?

LW: I must tell you that being the child of an Ashkanazi Jewish mother--aka a Yiddish Mama-- makes us behave in certain ways. I have organized workshops on how to use guilt to get what I want. Every other month my colleagues and I gather to evaluate the status of the romantic relationships in our organization, and then we coordinate demonstrations when we don’t approve. I'm only kidding of course.

MWU!: Are you a 1-stater, or a 2zer?

LW: I wake up one morning and I think–Palestinians and Israelis together in one state! What a great idea. Why didn’t I think about this yesterday? Then, tomorrow, I wake and I think these people hate each other. It’ll never work. I can’t believe I forgot that yesterday. Regardless--Palestinians and Israelis are two peoples with one future.

MWU!: So if I were to make trading cards with these Hug-a-Jew columns, do you think that one Liat Weingart plus one Joel Beinin would be a fair trade for two Medea Benjamins?

LW: I am not answering that. &*$#@ you! Are you really going to use this?

MWU!: Should Jews organize a Hug-a-Muslim column?

LW: Well, it’s a good idea, but we Jews are the privileged minority here. We should organize a “Give a Muslim your house”. Seriously, we have to remember that in Jewish history this country was not a safe place for Jews. Today we have to stand with those experiencing persecution and that's why JVP has demonstrated and will continue to protest the INS detentions and round-ups.

Liat Weingart
Liat Weingart is Director of Campaigns and Programs at A Jewish Voice for Peace. She was formerly the National Coordinator for the Tikkun Community and earned her masters degree from the London School of Economics in Nationalism and Ethnicity. Her work has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and she speaks and teaches regularly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A Jewish Voice for Peace
A Jewish Voice for Peace is a grassroots organization working in the San Francisco Bay Area for peace, social justice, and human rights. The group is maintained by a democratic community of activists inspired by Jewish tradition. JVP works with peace activists in Palestine and Israel, and works in broad coalition with other Jewish, Arab-American, faith-based, peace and social justice organizations in the United States. The group supports the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for security and self-determination. Specifically they support:

• A U.S. foreign policy based on promoting peace, democracy, human rights, and respect for international law
• An end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem
• A resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem consistent with international law and equity
• An end to all violence against civilians
• Peace among the peoples of the Middle East