Today, I joined Jewish Voice for Peace in SLU

Graphic by Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle

This morning, I participated with over a hundred Jews and allies in an action led by Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle, calling on Washington state to divest from the surveillance company Palantir. Today’s action was the public launch demanding that the Washington State Investment Board divest from genocide. 

Our government has been complicit in genocide and mass deportation for too long. When my partner and I married, we covenanted to each other, in the witness of God, our family and friends, to "be devoted to justice, to acts of lovingkindness, and be partners in repairing the world." Further on in our Ketubah, we honor the covenant of love and compassion between Ruth and Naomi – "wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God." My husband and I have shared in collective grief since October 7 as a core tenant of our faiths – b’tzelem elohim, we are all made in the image of the Divine – has been manipulated and distorted.

Over the past year and a half, we've shared how the Church Council's organizing around land stewardship and migrant justice leads us to respond to the genocide being committed against Palestinians. This impetus became even more vivid through today's demand for Washington State to divest from companies like Palantir, who not only contribute surveillance technology to advance the genocide of Palestinians, but are turning that technology against our communities to commit mass deportation.

As we respond to the escalating dehumanization of our neighbors, our prayers for peace and declarations for justice must be embodied, putting our bodies on the line. As people of faith, we have a moral imperative to hold our government and elected leaders accountable to represent the people they serve, not corporations who are profiting from genocide and mass deportation.

The Church Council demands that our government and elected officials divest from genocide and mass deportation. Palantir has a $30 million contract with ICE to track migrants through creating a "master database" of Americans' tax and immigration records. Their AI technology is used by the Israeli military to produce extensive kill lists. Washington State invests nearly $750,000 of our public funds in Palantir, and Senator Patty Murray accepted $27,600 in her most recent campaign. It's time we tell our elected officials to divest from genocide and mass deportation now!

We have signed onto a letter to our elected officials with today's demands, and we encourage you to as well - you can sign on as an organization or an individual. There will be ongoing opportunities to participate in this divestment campaign - stay tuned as we share invitations from our partners to participate in this crucial work to protect and care for our neighbors.

In solidarity,

Joey Lopez (he, him)

Co-Executive Director,
Church Council of Greater Seattle