Emily Mayer: The Activism Activator
Emily Mayer
IfNotNow has grown in prominence every year since its 2014 founding. But this past year proved to be its most high-profile one yet. Its campaign against Birthright Israel – planting activists to record themselves walking off the free trips – earned the group a New York Times profile. Local chapters, called “hives,” also came into their own, independently partnering with progressive initiatives like the D.C. Dyke March. The organization also took steps to professionalize – delineating an organizational hierarchy and creating a sister organization that can engage in domestic political activities.
As political director, Emily Mayer, 28, has led actions since campaign season kicked off. Activists birddogged presidential candidates, surprising them at town halls and asking them where they stand on Palestinian rights and aid to Israel. Such efforts were likely instrumental in getting many to call for conditions on Israeli aid.
Emily Mayer
What do you have for breakfast? Any kind of carbs I can get my hands on.
What’s the last thing you listened to on your phone? The IfNotNow Soundcloud
Earliest Jewish memory? In the first grade, I came home from Jewish Day School and told my parents that Bill Clinton had “broken the Ten Commandments” through his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Hero: Bernie Sanders — he embodies the Jewish tradition of my grandmother, who worked for the United Autoworkers, and my dad, who was an activist in the civil rights and student movements. He also is one of the most prominent Jews using his platform to advocate for Palestinian rights and freedom.
2019 memory: This past April, hundreds of IfNotNow high school and college students showed up outside the Birthright HQ office in Midtown to demand Birthright engage meaningfully with Israel’s occupation. It was amazing watching so many young people (some as young as 15) act with such moral clarity and courage. A few former campers of mine from Jewish summer camp were there, joining hands across 3rd Ave during rush hour!
What is your favorite thing about being Jewish? So many things — a rich tradition centered around argument and (re)interpretation, Ashkenazi speech patterns, how important eating together is. If I had to choose one, I would say the fact that fighting for freedom is embedded into our foundational texts and ritual, and that for thousands of years Jews have been fighting for our own liberation and that of our neighbors. I also just really love “The Prince of Egypt.”
What app can you not live without? Don’t trust any millennial that doesn’t answer this question with the most obvious answer — texts! But also Twitter — so often I find myself laughing out loud at how genius and weird people are.
Weekend ritual: Waking up late and cooking elaborate brunch — potatoes, eggs, veggies, condiments, the works — with my roommates.
Read more:
The Forward’s coverage of IfNotNow
Follow Emily Mayer on Twitter @emilyfmayer
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Culture In Germany, a Jewish family is reunited with a treasured family object — but also a sense of exile
-
Music Even the Holocaust could not silence the music of these composers
-
Culture Einstein or Edison? Jordan or LeBron? A rabbi explains why Jews debate who is greatest
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.