Lily Greenberg Call

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Lily Greenberg Call
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Lily Nikole Greenberg Call is an American political activist and former public servant with a background in political science, humanitarian work, and Israel advocacy. She has been involved in various political campaigns, humanitarian efforts, and advocacy initiatives both in the United States and abroad. [1] [2] She resigned from her post at the US Department of the Interior, becoming the first Jewish political appointee to do so in protest of Israel's war on Gaza.

Contents

Early life and education

Greenberg Call was born and raised in San Diego, California. [3] [2] In 2010, she co-founded "Girls Give Back", a leadership group for teenage girls through San Diego's Jewish Family Services, by which she developed an advocacy program to train girls on community impact and legislative processes. [4] In 2014, she received the Peter Chortek Leadership Award from the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego for her efforts in advocacy and leadership. [5]

After graduating from the San Diego Jewish Academy, Greenberg Call pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in political science and minored in public policy. [2] During her time at UC Berkeley, she was actively involved in student organizations, such as the Cal Berkeley Democrats. [6] She held leadership roles in the Jewish Student Union and Bears for Israel, and served as a student director at the university's Institute of Governmental Studies. [2] In 2015 and 2018, she received the Cal Alumni Association Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership and community involvement among students at UC Berkeley. [7] [8]

Activism and career

In 2014, Greenberg Call covered events leading up to and during Operation Protective Edge as part of the Jewish United Fund's "Write on For Israel" journalism and advocacy program. Following the experience, she spent a year in Israel on the Young Judaea gap year program, which included educational courses and volunteer work. [9] In April 2015, she organized a conference on gender equity that brought together students from 23 high schools in the San Diego area. The event covered issues like pay equity, human trafficking, and sexual assault on college campuses. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about current legislation and to advocate with local politicians. [4]

In 2016, Greenberg Call worked for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. [2] From 2017 to 2019, she served as the president of Bears for Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) affiliate group at U.C. Berkeley. [10] In 2018, she was involved with the Member Engagement department of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Advocacy and Government Relations department of Amnesty International USA. [2] In 2019, she worked for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. [11] During the 2020 US election cycle, she was a field organizer for the Biden-Harris campaign in Arizona and Iowa. [12]

From 2021 to 2022, Greenberg Call worked as a paralegal for Terris, Pravlik, and Millan LLP, a public interest litigation firm, assisting attorneys in civil rights and environmental cases. [13] In 2022, she publicly cut ties with AIPAC and criticized the organization for its unconditional support for the Israeli government. [10]

In February 2023, the United States Department of the Interior announced Greenberg Call as a political appointee, serving as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff. Her responsibilities included supporting the Chief of Staff in strategic planning and coordination of departmental initiatives. [13] On May 15, 2024, Greenberg Call resigned from her position; she was the first Jewish political appointee to do so. [14] She chose to resign on May 15, highlighting Nakba Day, which commemorates the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948 that preceded the formation of the state of Israel. [15] [16] Her resignation letter criticized President Joe Biden's administration's support for Israel's actions in Gaza during the Israel–Hamas war, accusing him of exploiting Jewish people to defend U.S. policy. [17] Call also condemned the administration's stance, stating "I can no longer in good conscience continue to represent this administration amidst President Biden's disastrous, continued support for Israel's genocide in Gaza." [18]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Greenberg Call, Lily (April 13, 2018). "Building bridges to peace in formidable terrain". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lily Nikole Greenberg-Call". Institute of Governmental Studies at Berkeley. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Lily Greenberg-Call". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Kurtz Sloan, Suzanne (May 21, 2015). "San Diego teen empowers girls to become feminist advocates". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ "San Diego Jewish Academy honors Lily Greenberg-Call". Del Mar Times. December 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Lily Greenberg-Call - Political Science". The Magnes Collection. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  7. ↑ "2015-2016 CAA Alumni Scholars". Cal Alumni Association. August 4, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  8. ↑ "2018-2019 CAA Alumni Scholars". Cal Alumni Association. September 1, 2018. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  9. ↑ "CAMERA Fellows in Focus: Lily Greenberg-Call". CAMERA on Campus. November 8, 2016. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Greenberg Call, Lily (May 25, 2022). "AIPAC Endorsing Candidates for PAC". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  11. ↑ Greenberg Call, Lily (May 28, 2024). "Biden was my boss. I resigned because as a Jew I cannot endorse the Gaza catastrophe". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Lily Greenberg-Call". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Interior Department Welcomes New Biden-Harris Appointees" (Press release). United States Department of the Interior. February 10, 2023. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  14. ↑ Abutaleb, Yasmeen (May 15, 2024). "Jewish staff resigns from Biden administration over Gaza policy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  15. ↑ Childs, Jeremy (May 15, 2024). "Biden Appointee, a Jewish American, Resigns Over Gaza Policy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  16. ↑ Olmsted, Edith (May 15, 2024). "Jewish U.S. Interior Department Staffer Resigns Over U.S. Support of Israel". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ "US Interior Department staffer resigns over Gaza policy". The Guardian. Associated Press. May 15, 2024. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  18. ↑ Kelly, Laura (May 15, 2024). "Biden political appointee resigns in protest over Israel policy". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
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