Jewish Voice for Peace 's Ellen Brotsky attacks peaceful anti-terror vigil at Reem's, Oakland

On July 8, several community members held a vigil at Reem's Okaland restaurant, to protest a mural glorifying convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh.

Reem Assil has since characterized this as a "racist" attack by "Zionists"

This is what Reem's calls a racist sign.

 

Photos have just been released  showing the assault.

Ellen Brotsky, a  self described activist from Jewish Voice for Peace wrestled this sign out of the hands of member of the vigil, while another opponent of free speech stood by.  Its been reported that the younger woman attempted to steal the activists purse during the scuffle.

JVP's Ellen Brotsky attacking local peace activist

Ellen Brotsky  proceeded to rip up the stolen sign. 

JVP's Ellen Brotsky steals sign from a 78 year old Warsaw ghetto survivor

Destroyed signs

Why are "Jewish" Voice for "Peace" activists so afraid of allowing dissenting voices to be heard?

First National Bank of Northern California no longer listed as sponsor of Reem's food n' farm tour

Reem's Bakery in Oakland, notorious for its mural glorifying convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh is being featured on a new food & farm tour, with the theme Crickets and Community: Women Changemakers Food Tour. CUESA - the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture is sponsoring the event.

As of yesterday, the First National Bank of Northern California was also listed as a sponsor. After a letter writing campaign that appears to have originated here, their name has been taken off the page promoting the event.

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Its not clear if the First National Bank of Northern California has actually pulled their sponsorship of the event or has simply removed their name from the event page. In either case, they've recognized that they don't want to be publicly associated with the toxic plume of Reem Assil, and that is a good thing.

Its not over yet. Please contact the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture's facebook page for the event, and let them know why hate, bigotry and intolerance will never be accepted in our community.

UPDATE:
The Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture has cancelled the event.

Reem's: Quashing constitutional rights in the name of "Community"

On July 25, another vigil was held at Reem's, in what appears to be the latest in an ongoing series of actions. The peaceful low-key lunch hour event was again disrupted by a blatant attempt to infringe on the groups constitutional rights of freedom assembly and freedom of expression

And again, Reem Assil's reaction to a non-violent protest was to call  "security"

However, there are no trained security guards at Fruitvale Village.

According to the East Bay Express, several years ago, the Unity Council, the non-profit that owns Fruitvale Village decided to end its contract  with Universal Protection Services, a unionized security company. Instead, the trained guards were replaced with "neighborhood ambassadors" -workers without guard cards or formal security training.

Reem Assil and the Unity Council are now relying on these "neighborhood ambassadors" to curtail the civil rights of the lawful protesters. The ambassadors from the Safety Neighborhood Ambassador Program (SNAP) are employees of Peralta Service Corporation, a subsidiary of the Unity Council, and are clearly uncomfortable being asked to infringe on people's constitutional rights

UPDATE:
Legal Insurrection posts more details of the legal protections afforded to the vigil in California in their article Anti-Israel activists try to shut down protests over California bakery honoring Palestinian terrorist

In an important 1980 case, Pruneyard Shopping Center vs. Robins (447 U.S. 74, 80), the SCOTUS upheld the general claim that citizens have no free expression rights in private shopping centers, but found that state constitutions could confer broader speech rights, if they so desired, permitting free speech in these private arenas.

Pruneyard involved a group of California high school students who were denied permission by the manager of a private mall in Campbell to man a table, hand out leaflets, and collect signatures for a petition against the virulently anti-Israel and antisemitic UN General Assembly Resolution 3379, which determined that ‘Zionism is a form of racism’.

The Court stated that the student group had the right to set up a table, and approach passersby in order to solicit names for their petition, discuss the issue, and distribute their literature because the broadly worded California Constitution does in fact give citizens the right to speak and assemble freely, and to petition, including in private malls.

That is, the Supreme Court recognized that state constitutions may provide more protection than the U.S. Constitution does when it comes to speech in privately-owned malls.

The subsequent history of the decision bears out the free speech rights of the vigil participants

Again, from Legal Insurrection

Thirty-seven years later, another group of pro-Israel protesters stand to benefit from this SCOTUS ruling, and other subsequent California Supreme Court decisions upholding free speech rights at shopping malls.

Particularly relevant for Reem’s protesters is a 2007 case (Fashion Valley Mall, LLC vs. NLRB, 42 Cal. 4th) which held that the state’s constitution even protects “non-commercial expressive activity” in shopping centers that involves advocating for the boycott of a store or business there. More recently, a 2013 court of appeal decision held that

"a shopping mall must allow protests within aural and visual range of a targeted business whenever the mall is open to the public.”

Vigil at Reem's Oakland. July 22

While Reem's California patrons chanted a call for the genocide of the Jewish nation, progressive community members, including a former delegate for Bernie Sanders expressed their heartfelt desire for peace.

These are the people Jewish Voice for peace and their unsavory allies characterized as the alt-right, btw



From the side of peace and light:

"As long as this community continues to bless terrorists by putting their images on the wall there will never be peace in Oakland or in your hearts"

"By embracing terrorist and giving them platforms your are destroying the credibility of peaceful Muslims everywhere. "

Who are the real "progressives" here?  People calling out hate, people yearning for co-existence and mutual respect, or those calling for the genocide of the Jewish people?