Who are we?
We started out as a small group of Jewish Americans (mostly university professors) who got together by e-mail in April 2002 to draft this Open Letter. It took off more rapidly than we ever dreamed, with hundreds of people spontaneously offering contributions to help publish it as a full-page advertisement in the New York Times.

We have no organizational ambitions of our own. Our goals are to publish the Open Letter as widely as possible, both in the U.S. and in the Middle East, and to put our supporters in contact with existing Jewish peace organizations that have long-term educational and lobbying strategies (see links).

How many people have signed?
There are 3875 signatures as of September 15, 2004. But this figure is already out-of-date, as more signatures are pouring in every day. Click here for the current list of signatories.

Where has the Open Letter been published so far?

New York Times, June 7 and July 17, 2002
Jewish Forward, July 5, 2002
Palm Beach Post, August 8, 2002
L'Unità (Italy), August 10, 2002
Dallas Morning News, August 13, 2002
Ha'aretz (Israel), August 15, 2002, Hebrew and English editions
Jordan Times (Jordan), August 15, 2002
Il Manifesto (Italy), August 25, 2002
Jewish Star Times (supplement to Miami Herald), September 4, 2002
Jewish Journal (supplement to Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel), September 5, 2002
London Review of Books (England), September 19, 2002
Chicago Reader, September 20, 2002
Boulder Sunday Camera, November 24, 2002
Palo Alto Daily News, December 13, 2002
San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 2003

Grass-roots groups in several American cities and towns are now working on publishing the Open Letter (or a locally tailored version of it) in their local newspapers. If you might be interested in organizing such a local effort, please contact us.

How can I sign?
To add your name to the list of signers, click here and fill out the form.

Can non-Jews sign?
When we organized this petition, we made the tactical decision that a petition coming specifically from Jewish Americans was likely to have a greater impact. In particular, we want to contest the "official" Jewish organizations' right to speak in the name of all American Jews concerning the Middle East, and we want to break politicians' fear of an allegedly monolithic "Jewish voting bloc" that uncritically supports anything that any Israeli government does.

So, for the moment we are including as signers of the Open Letter only those people who consider themselves Jewish -- either ethnically, culturally or religiously (we're not imposing any tests: each person decides for him/herself).

But we are also exploring ways of participating in wider pro-peace initiatives -- ultimately this issue concerns all of us, both Jews and non-Jews.

So please do forward the Open Letter, along with this explanation, to your friends and colleagues -- Jewish ones of course, but also non-Jews, as we want the ideas to be discussed as widely as possible among Americans of all ethnicities.

If you are not Jewish and/or not American but want to receive updates on our work, please click here, check the appropriate box, and complete the information in the form.

Do you need contributions?
Yes! We would very much like to publish the Open Letter in as many newspapers as possible, both around the U.S. and in the Middle East. Alas, ads are expensive! If you are able and willing to contribute to this effort, your contribution of any size will be gratefully accepted. Click here for more information on contributions.