The Oregon Food Bank took the unprecedented step of issuing a public statement that begins, “Oregon Food Bank calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire of Israel’s war against Palestine — as well as free and unobstructed access to humanitarian relief efforts to deliver water, food, clothing, medicine and shelter to the people of Palestine. We also call for the release of all hostages by Hamas and condemn all acts of violence that disregard the respect for human dignity and right to life. In response to feedback from our communities stressing the importance of our stance, we acknowledge the delayed release of this statement and regret Oregon Food Bank’s prior silence.
We condemn the indiscriminate attacks by the Israeli army on Palestinians, including the bombardment of neighborhoods, healthcare facilities, humanitarian aid efforts and refugee camps. The Israeli army’s months of assaults have killed over 33,000 and injured over 73,000 Palestinians, putting them at risk of genocide. We also condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which included the killing of over 1,200 Israelis and others, the abduction of over 200 hostages and other atrocities.”
In retaliation for this act of conscience, five Portland synagogues and several Jewish nonprofits, led by the Jewish Federation of Portland, announced that they would halt further aid to OFB. An Oregon Public Broadcasting report noted that the OFB letter explained its action with the statement “We remain committed to addressing the root causes of hunger and work within our scope of influence to strategically dismantle systems that perpetuate hunger and poverty,”
In response to the letter attacking the Oregon Food Bank statement, the Portland chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement of support for OFB that expanded on the justification for the reference to “risk of genocide,” citing the opinions issued by the International Court of Justice and hundreds of genocide experts.
Please read and sign the statement of support by JVP-Portland and contribute to the Oregon Food Bank today.
Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 