Im Tirtzu (Hebrew: אם תרצו, lit. 'If you will it') is a Zionist extra-parliamentary[1] group based in Israel. Its name is based on a phrase by Theodor Herzl – "אם תרצו, אין זו אגדה" or "If you will it, it is no dream." It has been described as belonging to the ultra-right[2], though it describes itself as "centrist".
Contents |
In 2010, Im Tirtzu published a document [3] and launched a campaign in the Israeli media that alleged connections between organizations supported by the New Israel Fund and the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (also known as the Goldstone Report).[4] The campaign included posters of NIF chairwoman Naomi Chazan with a horn strapped by a string on her forehead (in Hebrew, the word "horn" also means "fund").[5] Chazan responded that, in her eyes, the campaign was directed against democracy itself.[5] The executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Hagai El-Ad, denied Im Tirtzu's allegations.[6] Gideon Levy, writing in Haaretz, likened Im Tirtzu's campaign against NIF to fascist tactics.[7] Gershon Baskin, writing in the Jerusalem Post, accused Im Tirtzu of using an "anti-Semitic motif" as part of a "witch-hunt" that "is reminiscent of the darkest days of McCarthyism."[8]
In 2008, Im Tirtzu published a report about the syllabuses used in various academic departments in Israel. According to the report, authors who reject the notion of nationality, or support anti-Zionist views, get much more exposure in reading lists. In 2010, Im Tirtzu sent the head of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev a letter, demanding that the university stop the "anti-Zionist bias" in its Department of Politics and Government. The letter alleged that 9 out of 11 professors in the department were involved in extreme left-wing activities (among others, attempting to persuade other countries to join the Academic boycotts of Israel). Im Tirtzu threatened to notify the donors of the university if the problem was not rectified.
In a joint statement about the above campaign, the heads of Israel's seven leading universities urged condemnation of what they called Im Tirtzu's bid to create a "thought police."[2] Im Tirtzu responded, "All Im Tirtzu asked from BGU is that a solution be found to the extreme bias found in the Political Science department, where only post-Zionist opinions are presented."[9]
In May 2011 the organization called on Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to launch a criminal investigation into the operations of Machsom Watch for allegedly violating an IDF order prohibiting Israelis from entering the Palestinian village of Awarta.[10]
Also in May 2011, with the approach of Nakba Day, Im Tirtzu launched a campaign accompanied by a 70-page booklet called "Nakba Bullshit" (נכבה חרטא) that describes the 1948 Palestinian exodus, called Nakba by Palestinians, "a lie that threatens to drown us like a tsunami."[11] On 15 May dozens of Im Tirtzu activists gathered outside the offices of UNRWA in Jerusalem holding signs and chanting, "They expelled, they attacked, they lost."[12]
Following the 'Nakba Harta' campaign, Im Tirtzu held its third annual convention. More than 300 activists and supporters participated in the convention. During the convention speeches were made by the movement's chairman, Ronen Shoval, the Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, Yuli Edelstein, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon, Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara, Coalition Chairman Ze'ev Elkin, and Knesset Members Faina Kirschenbaum, Tzipi Hotovely, Otniel Schneller (Kadima) and Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich (Kadima).
According to an article in Haaretz, Im Tirtzu in 2010 received funding from the following sources:[13]
In 2009, Im Tirtzu’s largest donor was the John Hagee Ministries (JHM) via the Christian-Zionist organization Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Im Tirtzu received US$100,000 from JHM and $34,000 from other sources. In 2010, The Jerusalem Post reported that JHM "expressed deep displeasure" with Im Tirtzu after its campaigns against the New Israel Fund and Ben-Gurion University and announced the cessation of its funding. A JHM spokesman said that Im Tirtzu "misrepresented its focus when they told us their mission was strictly Zionist education."[14]
The Houston Jewish Federation also publicly renounced Im Tirtzu's campaign and said that it would no longer fund the group because it had "morphed into a quasi-political organization".[15]
The Inter Press Service has characterized Im Tirtzu as an "ultra-rightist group".[2]
In 2009, Abe Selig, writing for the Jerusalem Post, choose Im Tirtzu as: "Young Israelis of the year: Im Tirtzu (If You Will It): Herzl's army".[16]
Im Tirtzu's website states that it is "a centrist extra-parliamentary movement."[17]