Jewish Voice for Peace

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Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is an American Jewish advocacy organization that opposes some of the current Israeli government's policies, such as the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier and military excursions into Gaza and the West Bank, and supports Israeli refuseniks. Unlike many other organizations concerned with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jewish Voice for Peace "endorses neither a one-state solution, nor a two-state solution."[1]

Contents

[edit] Opinions and stances

JVP opposes the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has published articles criticizing the "severe human-rights violations that Israel engages in every day,"[2] such as the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier on Palestinian land, the hermetic blockade of the Gaza Strip, and military invasions of Gaza and the West Bank. While calling for an end to the occupation, it has not endorsed a particular solution to the conflict, saying it "endorses neither a one-state solution, nor a two-state solution."[3]

[edit] Activities

[edit] Distinguishing criticism of Israel from antisemitism

In 2004, Jewish Voice for Peace published a collection of essays entitled Reframing Anti-Semitism: Alternative Jewish Perspectives. Among the topics discussed in Reframing Anti-Semitism are antisemitism and stereotypes of Jews in modern America, how the Jewish left and critics of Israeli policy have ceded the fight against antisemitism to the Jewish right, and why criticism of Israel or Israeli policies is not antisemitism.[4] As of March 2007, Reframing Anti-Semitism was in its sixth printing.

[edit] Support for Israeli refuseniks

JVP supports the Israeli refuseniks and has hosted events in which Israeli refuseniks spoke before American audiences.

[edit] Selected divestment

During 2004 and 2005 Jewish Voice for Peace targeted Caterpillar Inc. for selling bulldozers to Israel, and claimed that Israel's use of the D9 armoured bulldozers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is a violation of human rights and Caterpillar's business code of conduct. Along with four Christian groups, JVP introduced a shareholder resolution calling on Caterpillar to re-examine its sales of bulldozers to Israel, but the resolution was rejected by 97 percent of the votes at the 2005 shareholders' meeting.[5]

In a speech to the Chicago Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in February 2005, then-JVP Co-Director Liat Weingart said that "JVP was the first Jewish group to publicly support the Presbyterian Church's decision to investigate selective divestment." She described the Church's decision "to investigate selective divestment from companies profiting from Israel's occupation" as "incredibly brave" and said that there is "very little evidence" that "divestment from Israel's occupation will hurt Israel's economy."[6]

[edit] Opposition to AIPAC

In 2006, Jewish Voice for Peace helped organize a demonstration outside the meeting of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Sacramento, California. The purpose of the protest, according to the organizers, was to demonstrate that AIPAC doesn't represent the views of all American Jews regarding Israel.[7]

[edit] Muzzlewatch

In early 2007, Jewish Voice for Peace launched MuzzleWatch, the first blog dedicated to tracking and exposing intimidation and suppression of voices who are critical of certain Israeli policies. [8] MuzzleWatch was nominated for 2007 Jewish and Israel Blog Awards in three categories: Best New Blog, Best Left-Wing Political Blog, and Best Jewish Anti-Establishment Blog. After the first round of voting, MuzzleWatch was a finalist in all three categories, but it did not win any awards in the final vote.[9][10] The Jewish and Israel Blog Awards describe themselves as "an informal annual award contest" whose purpose is to "direct new readers towards Jewish, Israeli, and pro-Israel blogs."[11]

MuzzleWatch reported, for example, that Hasbara Fellowships, a program started in “conjunction with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” was recruiting paid employess and unpaid volunteers to edit Wikipedia articles to "make sure Israel is presented fairly and accurately."[12]

[edit] Opposition to Israeli settlements in West Bank

On February 25, 2007, JVP was one of twelve human rights groups that sponsored a demonstration in Teaneck, New Jersey against the sale of homes in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The organizations said that in the past, such homes have "been sold exclusively to Jewish people" and that Palestinians were not allowed to buy them "because of their religion and their ethnicity." The groups alleged that the home sale, which took place at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, may violate international law and New Jersey laws against discriminatory sales practices.[13][14]

[edit] Controversy

The Jewish Bulletin of Northern California wrote in 2003 that "the mainstream Jewish community has viewed A Jewish Voice for Peace [sic] as a group of radical Jews who air dirty laundry by criticizing Israel when the Jewish state is under attack. Some go as far as to label the members self-hating Jews."[15]

In 2004, Jewish Voice for Peace was denied permission to set up a booth at "Israel at the Ballpark," described by one writer as "the Bay Area's biggest Jewish community event of the year." The event's sponsors told the organization that it "didn't sufficiently support Israel."[16]

On January 28, 2007, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) convened "Finding Our Voice", a conference co-sponsored by more than 50 Jewish organizations for the purpose of discussing the rise in antisemitism. Its co-sponsors represented a wide range of Jewish opinion, including the ADL and AIPAC on the right and Americans for Peace Now and the Jewish Labor Committee on the left. Tikkun and Jewish Voice for Peace were not invited to co-sponsor the conference. A spokesperson for JVP said, "From our perspective, you cannot get to the roots of anti-Semitism in the progressive movement without honestly addressing the severe human-rights violations that Israel engages in every day. Judging by the lineup, that kind of honest examination is not likely to happen at this conference."[2] In February 2007, Rabbi Ira Youdovin, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, wrote a column in The Forward about Jewish critics of Israel, and the way in which many Jews and Jewish organizations "squash" such dissent. In his column, Youdovin wrote that "the line separating calumny from legitimate dissent is unclear and ever shifting," but he added that "Jewish Voice for Peace, which supports divestment and is currently circulating a petition urging Congress to heed [former president Jimmy] Carter’s words, is certainly beyond the pale."[17] Mitchell Plitnick, Director of Education and Policy for JVP, responded by calling Rabbi Youdovin's line "arbitrary" and saying that "Youdovin misrepresents JVP’s position" concerning divestment. Plitnick emphasized that JVP supports "selective and targeted divestment that is aimed exclusively at the occupation, not at Israel itself." Plitnick wrote that "[m]ost Jews believe that there should be pressure on both Israelis and Palestinians to make peace" and that "JVP advocates nothing more or less than that."[18]

[edit] Selected policy papers

[edit] Selected op-eds


[edit] References

  1. ^ Plitnick, Mitchell, and Picciotto, Henri (January 2007). One State or Two? A Jewish Voice for Peace position paper. Jewish Voice for Peace. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  2. ^ a b Harris, Ben (2007-01-23). 'Progressive' anti-Semitism? S.F. meet considers phenomenon. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Plitnick, Mitchell, and Picciotto, Henri (January 2007). One State or Two? A Jewish Voice for Peace position paper. Jewish Voice for Peace. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  4. ^ Picciotto, Henri, and Plitnick, Mitchell, eds. (2004). Reframing Anti-Semitism: Alternative Jewish Perspectives. Oakland: Jewish Voice for Peace. ISBN 0976080605. 
  5. ^ Rothstein, Jordana (2005-04-22). Caterpillar rejects anti-Israel motion. Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  6. ^ Weingart, Liat (March 2005). Speaking to the Presbyterians About Selective Divestment. Jewish Voice for Peace. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  7. ^ Scheide, R.V. (2006-12-14). The Lobby: Local activists take on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Sacramento News and Review. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  8. ^ MuzzleWatch website
  9. ^ 2007 Jewish & Israel Blog Award Best All Around Winners
  10. ^ 2007 Jewish & Israel Blog Award Best In Class Winners
  11. ^ Jewish & Israel Blog Awards Introduction
  12. ^ [http://www.muzzlewatch.com/index.php?s=Hasbara+Fellowship&submit=Search Changing Wikipedia entries-nice work if you can get it,] MuzzleWatch, 22 Jun 2007
  13. ^ Israeli settlement sale in Teaneck discriminatory, may violate international law and the roadmap. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (2007-02-23). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  14. ^ Lee, Trymaine (2007-02-26). Seeking New Israeli Settlers, Synagogue Draws Protesters. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  15. ^ Wall, Alexandra J. (2003-01-24). Jewish Voice for Peace gets grants, opens area office. Jewish Bulletin of Northern California. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Esther (2004-07-12). The Jewish Divide on Israel. The Nation. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  17. ^ Youdovin, Ira (2007-02-23). Is Community Open to Critics of Zionism?. The Forward. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  18. ^ Plitnick, Mitchell (2007-02-28). Who’s "Beyond the Pale?", Part 2. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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