One of the comments on Mondoweiss shared that Omani proverb which apparently means "if your intentions are noble you will not be harmed by the farting of the donkey."
I received more e-mails today. Three of the Anti-Defamataion League's "Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups" have something to say about their new status. Enjoy.
Dear Jessica,
My family survived the pogroms of Eastern Europe and came to the US before the outbreak of WWII only to see many close relatives killed in the Holocaust. My grandparents took their profound grief and channeled it into creating a state they hoped would be safe for Jews and a light unto nations. It is because of their story that I was brought up to remember the past and to create a world that refuses to remain silent in the face of such persecution.
And it is because of their story that I’ve dedicated myself, like so many of you, to doing everything I can to push for a truly just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians that recognizes the full humanity of all peoples.
But to be told by the Anti-Defamation League, as we were last week when they named us one of the top-ten "anti-Israel" groups in the US, that this dream makes me anti-Israel and somehow less Jewish is beyond repugnant.
To the Anti-Defamation League: you do not speak for me, for my family, for our community.
For all of us who support the work of Jewish Voice for Peace, our belief in the universal value of human life is essential, not negotiable. Our work for human rights is based on a vision of possibilities for all of us.
The story about the ADL’s top ten list has made the news across Israel – in Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post, and Ynet . But it’s also triggering quite a reaction here in the United States, revealing yet one more way the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman has a broken moral compass when it comes to Israel.
Below is JVP’s official response to being named on the ADL’s Top Ten list. I’ve also included links to various media reports and analyses. Finally, if you are as offended as I am by the assertion that the work we do to support universal human rights is in any way anti-Israel, I invite you to join the many others who have made a gift to JVP in honor of Abe Foxman himself by CLICKING HERE NOW.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace statement on making it on the Anti-Defamation League's list of top ten "anti-Israel" groups
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is at it again. They just came up with a list of the top ten most influential anti-Israel Groups in America, and Jewish Voice for Peace makes the list. We appreciate the honor, except that the ADL--as usual--got a few things wrong in describing us.
(1) JVP IS NEITHER ANTI-ISRAEL NOR ANTI-ZIONIST.
We do not hold Zionism as a litmus test for membership. Some of our members are Zionists, some are anti-Zionists, and some are non-Zionists. We believe you can define yourself in any of these ways as long as you support an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- and Gaza, and you advocate for human rights, which naturally apply equally to Israelis and Palestinians.
We stand by Israelis that hold these views, such as Israeli conscientious objectors and Israeli actors refusing to play in illegal settlements in the West Bank.
We stand by Palestinians that hold these views, such as Palestinian activists protesting the Israeli confiscation of land in the West Bank town of Bil'in.
We stand by internationals that hold these views, such as students pressing for divestment from occupation and war crimes or activists trying to break the siege of Gaza.
What unites us is our belief in human rights and equality.
(2) WE DO NOT 'USE' OUR JEWISH IDENTITY TO PROTECT ANTI-SEMITES.
We are Jews and allies who strongly oppose anti-Jewish hatred, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism.
We do understand that as Jews we have a special role to play in bringing about a change in American and Israeli policy. Israel claims to be acting in the name of the Jewish people. Some American Jewish organizations defend Israel right or wrong, claiming to be representing all American Jews. It is up to us to set the record straight.
We strongly reject the misleading accusations of anti-Semitism that the ADL and others have used in other to protect Israel's policies. For example, when the ADL accuses Archbishop Desmond Tutu of anti-Semitism, it is not only wrong, but it also makes all Jews less safe when facing a real case of anti-Jewish hatred.
(3) ACKNOWLEDGING THE NAKBA IS NOT OPPOSING ISRAEL'S EXISTENCE.
Would the ADL call those that acknowledge the genocide of Native-Americans in this land anti-American?
We believe that in order to reach a just and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the Nakba must be addressed. Without acknowledging the events of 1947-9, there will be no truth and reconciliation. JVP adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country." Israelis should acknowledge the Palestinian refugees' right of return and negotiate a mutually agreed just solution based on principles established in international law, including return, compensation, and/or resettlement.
We acknowledge our own legacy of suffering and the horrors of the Holocaust, but we do not allow these to blind us to the suffering of others. Quite the opposite, we have learned from our own history and from our own tradition not to stand silent when others are suffering. The ADL, on the other hand, fights Holocaust-deniers and denies full recognition of the Armenian genocide at the same time.
(4) THE ADL IMPOSES ON PALESTINIANS A BURDEN IT DOES NOT IMPOSE ON ITSELF.
Jews in America constitute fewer than 2% of the population. We would be rightfully upset if we had to recognize the United States as a "Christian state." And yet, he ADL expects Palestinians -- 20% of Israel's population -- to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." The ADL apparently has learned little from Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."
Response from Students for Justice in Palestine
Response from CAIR-Council on American Islamic Relations
Rabbi Brant Rosen's On JVP: Zionism and Jewish Community Growing Pains
Bottom line? Jewish Voice for Peace is an example of a new Jewish organization that speaks to a young post-national generation of Jews that simply cannot relate to Zionism the way previous generations did. Indeed, increasing numbers of Jewish young people are interested in breaking down walls between peoples and nations – and in Israel they see a nation that often appears determined to build higher and higher walls between itself and the outside world. (It’s a poignant irony indeed: while Zionism was ostensibly founded to normalize the status of Jewish people in the world, the Jewish state it spawned seems to view itself as all alone, increasingly victimized by the international community.)
Whether the old Jewish establishment likes it or not, there is a steadily growing demographic in the American Jewish community: proud, committed Jews who just don’t adhere to the old narratives any more, who are deeply troubled when Israel acts oppressively, and who are galled at being labeled as traitors when they choose to speak out.
Want to read more?
Salon:Anti-Defamation League beclowns itself, again
Daily Beast on ADL's "desperation."
New York's Jewish Week
Bay Area's Jweekly
