Yvonne Lerew

Passionate and practical non-profit leader and educator dedicated to closing Opportunity Gaps.

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

We love good conversations AND good public policy here at @CitizensLeague - and today, you can support both!

Become a sustaining donor ($12/month or more) and we’ll send you a special gift: a Minnesota Chat Pack card deck sure to spark fun conversations! https://t.co/tIzgF8ckin

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

Read the Latest from the League: #CapitolPathways, Interconnected, and other policy events & opportunities from @ruralpolicymn, @MplsChamber, @HHHSchool and @BridgeEntLabs: https://t.co/8puMlMO6H9 #mnleg

[Dov Waxman @DovWaxman]

I’m a scholar of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a longtime advocate for peace and for Palestinian rights. I have publicly opposed Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, and its blockade and now destruction of Gaza. I support the rights of students and faculty to peacefully protest against Israel, including by establishing protest encampments, such as the one on my campus at UCLA. I do not want these protest camps to be removed by the police, whose propensity for unnecessary and excessive use of force is well-established.

As a Jew, I do not personally feel threatened or unsafe because of the protest encampment at UCLA. I know some of the students taking part and believe they are well-intentioned. Many, probably most, of the protesters are simply horrified by the mass killing and near-famine in Gaza and want it to end. So do I. But I cannot join this protest because it is not just a protest against the war in Gaza.

Among the demands of the protest organizers is the demand to “sever all UC-wide connections to Israeli universities, including study abroad programs, fellowships, seminars, and research collaborations, and UCLA’s Nazarian Center.” Needless to say, I oppose the demand to boycott the Nazarian Center, which I direct. The Center is devoted to the academic study of Israel and has no ties to the Israeli government. I also oppose boycotting Israeli academic institutions and academic boycotts in general.

But it isn’t only the demands of the protest organizers that I have a problem with. One of the organizations behind the protest, Students for Justice in Palestine, has expressed support for Hamas and has even celebrated the massacre of Israelis on October 7. Being in solidarity with Palestinians does not necessitate supporting Hamas. On the contrary, Hamas oppresses Palestinians and has no concern for the lives of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. They have openly stated that they are willing to sacrifice countless Palestinian lives—“martyrs”—for their cause, which is the ultimate eradication of Israel. They have spent billions building a vast underground network to protect themselves and their weaponry, but they haven’t built a single bomb shelter for Gazan civilians or sheltered them in their tunnels. They are prolonging the devastating war in Gaza, and the humanitarian crisis there, in order to maintain their power and authoritarian rule in Gaza.

I know that many people in the pro-Palestinian movement don’t support Hamas and don’t praise the October 7 massacre, but groups like SJP lead the movement on many college campuses, exploiting the sympathy that many students rightly feel for the suffering of Palestinians. Students and faculty demonstrating in support of Palestinians shouldn’t ignore the fact that the organizers of these demonstrations are, in many cases, ideologically committed to eradicating Israel and expelling Israeli Jews, supportive of violence against Israeli civilians, and willing to ignore or even justify Hamas’ strategy of sacrificing Palestinian civilians for their political ends.

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

We were proud to honor Dr. Josie Johnson at the 2017 #CivicCelebration for her dedication to public service and leadership. Don't miss this @tpt documentary on this extraordinary leader in Minnesota: https://t.co/XAFk8ZJ9bX

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

Exciting to see so many people at #MNKeystone luncheon and thrilled that all 3 honored companies are @CitizensLeague partners! Congrats @GoffPublic @FredriksonLaw @usbank

[David H. Montgomery @dhmontgomery]

NEW: Full-time caregiving is the #1 reason prime-age Americans don't work. In my latest for the @MinneapolisFed, I break down the stats behind this key demographic group:

- mostly parents
- mostly but decreasingly women
- mostly happy staying home
https://t.co/XuE8HUEGFc

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

We're #hiring! Seeking a dynamic and strategic individual to serve as our next Executive Director. Learn more about this exciting opportunity to assume leadership as we embark on several new projects to make MN a better place to live and work for everyone. https://t.co/JGBwqfFGbV

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

MN Legislature doubles funding for student homebuilding program https://t.co/LetSy1VmYW via @pioneerpress

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

https://t.co/uRHw4qezGx

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

A group of grandmothers in Zimbabwe is helping the world reimagine mental health care with The Friendship Bench, an inexpensive, effective way of providing #intergenerational support. @YellowIs4Hello (h/t: @Co_Generate) https://t.co/UWh44Jt2Uo

[Qasim Rashid, Esq. @QasimRashid]

After unanimously voting NO in 2022 for $35 insulin—GOP starts 2023 w/calls to raise the social security retirement age, raise taxes on working people to 23%, cut the IRS's ability to catch billionaire tax cheats, & cut taxes on billionaire donors

GOP war on poor on full display

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

Join @CitizensLeague and @ruralpolicymn Tues, Dec 13 at 1:00 pm for this FREE webinar conversation exploring shared challenges and opportunities facing local elected officials in rural and urban areas. https://t.co/jEqb4f4GNX @LarsonForDuluth @ffmayorben @lukehellier @bmcclung

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

Executive Director @kcimino: When it comes to finding good solutions in our communities, there are countless ways forward that we can create. The more people involved, the better off we're going to be.

Support our work with a gift today: https://t.co/L4rgZD5Jpd #GTMD22 @givemn

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

Looking for organizations to support tomorrow on #GTMD22? Join me in adding @CitizensLeague to your list! Yes I now have an inside view. So I can tell you this small but mighty org has a huge impact on engaging community to make MN work better https://t.co/56LKWA9m8V

[Citizens League @CitizensLeague]

Folks are already having their donations DOUBLED by our Give to the Max Day Match! Love to see it. ANY amount gets us closer to taking full advantage of our $10,000 match.

You can donate now here: https://t.co/L4rgZD5Jpd

#GTMD22 @givemn

[Today Years Old @todayyearsold]

Martin Luther King Jr and Anne Frank would be the same age today as Barbara Walters. We tend to think they existed in very different times but they were all born in 1929.

[Qasim Rashid, Esq. @QasimRashid]

Labor Day reminder: If the min wage increased at the rate of inflation & productivity since 1960 it'd be $24 today—not $7.25. Meaning—billionaires & corps have stolen at least $17/hour from working Americans for 60 years

We don't suffer a lack of resources—but an excess of greed

[Marella Gayla @MarellaGayla]

“Betty Ann had borrowed twenty-nine thousand dollars in federal loans. Today, she owes $329,309.69 in student debt. She is ninety-one years old.” some incredible reporting in this piece by @EleniSchirmer
https://t.co/XfbFZyzYUv

[Yvonne Lerew @ylerew]

Driver's license academy is a smart investment.
St. Paul, Ramsey County partner on $24.8 million in investments for young workers https://t.co/WZZfVK2ya1 via @pioneerpress

[Eugene Vindman @YVindman]

Refugees have always made America stronger. 

@KenBurns and his team at @UNUMKenBurns asked @AVindman and me to reflect on our own story and how the refugee crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine demands a stronger response from the U.S. https://t.co/w41qzIerwE