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]

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
AbbreviationIJAN
Formation2008 (2008)
FounderSara Kershnar
TypeNetwork
PurposeTo oppose Zionism and the State of Israel

Policies and membership

Sara Kershnar[2] and others founded the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network in 2008.

The IJAN views Zionism as a racist movement, and Israel as an apartheid state. 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."[1] It 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,[3] Canada, India, Argentina, and several European countries.[4]

Activities

During the Gaza War (2008–2009) six members chained themselves to the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, California, while around 40 others protested in front, shutting it down for two hours.[5] Members of IJAN participated in a protest in London at the same time.[6]

In 2010 Ireland's national trade-union federation invited the Network to a conference in Dublin about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[7]

IJAN member and Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer,[8] author of The End of Judaism: An Ethical Tradition Betrayed, was a key speaker in IJAN's 2010–11 "Never Again – For Anyone" tour, with talks in the UK and Ireland.[9]

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".[10]

In November 2012, members of the IJAN participated in a protest against a meeting of the Jewish National Fund in Toronto.[11]

Third party views

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".[12]

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".[13]

In 2010, the Jerusalem Post correspondent Jonny Paul characterised IJAN as a "small radical fringe group".[14]

Notes
  1. "Charter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network". International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Retrieved January 19, 2016. We pledge to: Oppose Zionism and the State of Israel
  2. J.P. FREIRE. Student anti-Zionists bar Jews, pro-Israel advocates from "free and open" event, Washington Examiner, January 30, 2011.
  3. Rebecca Tumposky. Group aims to provide voice for Jews who oppose Zionism, registerguard.com, February 24, 2010.
  4. Landy, David (2011). Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights: Disapora Jewish Opposition to Israel. Zed Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-84813-926-8.
  5. "Community Briefs". Jewish Journal. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  6. "Downing Street 'appalled' by Gaza violence". Belfast Telegraph. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  7. Paul, Johnny (2010-04-16). "Irish unions host 'anti-Israel' parley". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  8. Exclusive: Graeme Murray and Chris Watt (2010-01-24). "Auschwitz survivor: 'Israel acts like Nazis'". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  9. Oliver Zwartong (January 30, 2010). "Auschwitz survivor supports campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel". Indymedia Ireland. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  10. Horn, Jordana. "Pro-Palestinians invoke Shoah, raise Jewish ire". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  11. "Canadian Jewish community holds anti-Zionist picket", Crescent International, November 2012.
  12. Landy, David (2011). Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights: diaspora Jewish opposition to Israel. London/New York: Zed Books. pp. 213–14. ISBN 978-1-84813-926-8.
  13. "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.
  14. 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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