International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) is a network of anti-Zionist Jews pledged to "Oppose Zionism and the State of Israel".[1]

Advocacy and activity

The IJAN views Zionism as a racist movement, and Israel as an apartheid state.[1] The charter of the organization states "[w]e are an international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part. Our commitment is to the dismantling of Israeli apartheid, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the ending of the Israeli colonization of historic Palestine."[2] It also calls for the unconditional freeing of all Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The group also opposes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, capitalism, and Islamophobia. Prominent members of IJAN include feminist activist Selma James and the late holocaust survivor Hajo Meyer. It comprises groups in the United States, Canada, India, Argentina, and several European countries.[3]

Irish academic David Landy describes IJAN as one of the few Jewish organizations not to "sideline" anti-Zionism, "believing Zionism to be the underlying problem that must be tackled in order to achieve Palestinian liberation and incidentally reclaim the Jewish commitment to liberation".[4]

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has said that although the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network does not organise "a significant number of events", it has an important role "in creating policy and setting anti-Israel agendas".[5]

History

Sara Kershnar[6] and others founded the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network in 2008.[7]

During the Gaza War (2008–2009) six members chained themselves to the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, while around 40 others protested in front, shutting it down for two hours.[8] Members of IJAN have taken part in many protests in London and elsewhere.[9]

In 2010 Ireland's national trade-union federation invited the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network to a conference in Dublin on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[10]

IJAN member and Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer[11] author of The End of Judaism: An Ethical Tradition Betrayed, was a key speaker in IJAN's 2010–2011 "Never Again – For Anyone" tour, with talks in the UK and Ireland.[12]

In 2011 IJAN was one of a number of organizations that organized a 13-city speaking tour of the United States, which according to the Jerusalem Post "compares Israel's relations with the Palestinians to the Nazis' treatment of Jews during the Holocaust".[13]

In November 2012, members of the IJAN participated in a protest against a meeting of the Jewish National Fund in Toronto.[14]

Criticism

In addition to criticism by supporters of the State of Israel , IJAN has also been criticized by Gilad Atzmon, a harsh critic of Israel and of what he calls "Jewishness", for operating as a "Jews only" political cell, thereby not being "part of a solution but just another aspect of the problem",[15] calling them "'anti' Zionist stooges".[16] IJAN rejected Atzmon's accusations in a statement that described him as "an antisemitic ideologue and promoter of holocaust denial".[17]

Jonny Paul has characterised the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network in The Jerusalem Post as a "small radical fringe group".[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About Us". International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Retrieved 30 October 2011. We pledge to: Oppose Zionism and the State of Israel
  2. ↑ "About Us". IJAN. We are an international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part. Our commitment is to the dismantling of Israeli apartheid, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the ending of the Israeli colonization of historic Palestine.
  3. ↑ Landy, David (2011). Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights: Disapora Jewish Opposition to Israel. Zed Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-84813-926-8.
  4. ↑ Landy, David (2011). Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights: diaspora Jewish opposition to Israel. London–New York: Zed Books. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-1-84813-926-8.
  5. ↑ "The Top Ten Anti-Israel Groups in America: The Top Ten". ADL. Retrieved 2011-10-26. Other groups, like the Council for the National Interest (CNI), the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, have important roles in creating policy and setting anti-Israel agendas but do not organize a significant number of events.
  6. ↑ http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/01/student-anti-zionists-bar-jews-pro-israel-advocates-free-and-open[]
  7. ↑ http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Israel/never_again_tour.htm[]
  8. ↑ "Community Briefs | Community". Jewish Journal. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  9. ↑ "Downing Street 'appalled' by Gaza violence". Belfast Telegraph. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  10. ↑ Paul, Johnny (2010-04-16). "Irish unions host 'anti-Israel' parley". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  11. ↑ Exclusive: Graeme Murray and Chris Watt (2010-01-24). "Auschwitz survivor: 'Israel acts like Nazis'". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  12. ↑ Oliver Zwartong (January 30, 2010). "Auschwitz survivor supports campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel". Indymedia Ireland. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ Horn, Jordana. "Pro-Palestinians invoke Shoah, raise Jewish ire". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  14. ↑ Canadian Jewish community holds anti-Zionist picket, Crescent International, November 2012.
  15. ↑ "Progressive Choseness: Gilad Atzmon Video Analyzes Israeli Zionist Mentality in Stuttgart" (OPINION EDITORIAL). www.aljazeerah.info & www.ccun.org. September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  16. ↑ Gilad Atzmon (October 9, 2011). "The Strong Arm of the Anti-Zionist Zionists". Pacific Free Press. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  17. ↑ IJAN. "IJAN statement regarding the Freiburg Conference". IJAN. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  18. ↑ Paul, Johnny (2010-04-16). "Irish unions host 'anti-Israel' parley". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-30. ICTU has also invited a member of a small radical fringe group called the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

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