Divestment resolution harms Jews, won’t help Palestinians

I have visited Israel four times since October 7, 2023. Each trip left images I cannot escape: the pleas to “Bring Them Home,” the clock in Hostage Square counting every second of captivity, the fields of the Nova Festival, the bomb shelter where two dozen innocent young adults tried to survive grenade after grenade, the burnt homes of grandparents at Kibbutz Holit, and the charred cars at Tekuma — silent witnesses to families who never made it home.

I have sat with Israelis as tears poured down our faces, whose parents, spouses, children, grandparents and friends were murdered, kidnapped or called into months of reserve duty. I have seen families shattered, communities emptied and survivors somehow finding the courage to smile again. These are not abstractions. They are names, faces, bedrooms, photographs, toys, unfinished meals and empty chairs.

I mention these memories not because they excuse every decision Israel’s government has made, but because they remind me that this debate is about real human suffering and the terror that started it. Israel did not ask for this war, just as most of the Jewish community in Providence did not ask for this ballot measure.

That is why Providence’s Question 7 feels so painful to so many Jews. It arrives in a local climate where many of us feel raw and exposed. I moved here only months ago and have been warmly welcomed generally. Still, when the mayor’s campaign signs were defaced with antisemitic and Nazi imagery, it shook me. When symbols at businesses tied to this conflict appear less like empathy for Palestinians and more like hostility toward Israel’s existence, some of us wonder whether we are truly welcome here as our full selves.

At the Jewish Alliance, we would much rather spend our resources on learning, care, engagement and building bridges across Rhode Island. We would rather celebrate Jewish joy than defend Jewish legitimacy. We did not ask for this fight. When a ballot measure singles out Israel, even in universal language, silence would not feel like peace. It would feel like accepting that Jewish connection to Israel is a problem to be eradicated.

For many Jews, Israel is not a talking point. It is part of our identity, our people’s story, our ancestral homeland and a country that has provided refuge and tremendous achievements for the world. Supporting Israel does not mean endorsing every decision of any Israeli government. Many Jews who oppose Question 7 also have deep concerns about Israel’s current leadership. But criticism of a government is different from a civic campaign that has let propaganda shape the moral high ground and makes Jews who believe in Israel’s right to defend itself feel suspect.

The financial case for the proposed ordinance is weak, which makes its symbolic impact harder to ignore. If the practical effect is minimal and the cost is real, the measure functions less like serious investment policy and more like public condemnation of a core part of many Jews’ identity.

And because the measure is largely symbolic, the choice of symbol matters. Jews face increasing harassment, vandalism, violence and suspicion simply for being Jewish, Israeli or caring about Israel. In this climate, a municipal ballot measure targeting the world’s one Jewish state does not feel like solidarity. It feels like targeted hostility. Something that Jews have faced for millennia.

Yes, Question 7 sounds broadly moral. But proponents have made clear that Israel is the intended target. That selectivity matters. It flattens a painful, complicated conflict into a slogan and ignores the reality that Israel, for all its flaws, is a diverse society where Arab citizens vote, serve in public life, sit in the Knesset and participate in the judiciary.

The world is not short on grave abuses. Russia has forcibly “disappeared” thousands of Ukrainian children. 150,000+ have been killed in Darfur since 2023. Iran has murdered 40,000+ protesters in 2026 alone. China has ethnically cleansed Uyghurs. Some Americans see profound injustice in ICE detentions and deportations here at home. If Providence wants an ethical investment policy, it should not begin and end with Israel, yet the supporters of this bill have said this bill will not do anything against those atrocities. It will only target Israel.

It is also worth noting that since the last Israeli hostages were released from Gaza in October 2025, the Gaza Health Ministry itself (which is run by the terrorist organization Hamas) claims the killing of its people has dropped by more than 96%, with what remains being focused on targeted offenses (where Hamas continues to use civilians and children as human shields).

This ballot measure is not in a vacuum. Words and campaigns shape the climate our neighbors live in. When Israel is placed on a local ballot, many Jewish residents hear a message, whether intended or not: Your connection to Israel is a civic problem that is not welcome here. This shifts the conversation within our own community around Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.

There are better ways to respond to human suffering — ways that help people rather than isolate neighbors. Providence could mobilize humanitarian aid, strengthen education about antisemitism and Islamophobia and build spaces for real conversation. These are things the Jewish Alliance does. We should expand compassion, not turn one people’s trauma against another’s.

That is why I urge a “no” vote on Question 7. Not because Providence should ignore suffering brought about by war. Not because Hamas or Israel are beyond criticism. And not because Jewish pain matters more than anyone else’s. I oppose it because it is selective, divisive and asks our city to make a symbolic statement that will deepen fear among many Jewish residents while doing nothing to help Palestinians.

We should not have to shrink our Jewish identity to be accepted in the city we call home.

STEVEN BAKER is the president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.