International Jewish network condemns Israel and Zionism

Release, IJAN, 10 October 2008

As Jews around the world observe the Jewish New Year, a new Jewish group honors the holiday by denouncing Israel and Zionism. The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) launches this week, with a month of actions and events in over eight countries and the release of its founding charter.

This growing network of Jews, with local network affiliates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Israel, India, Morocco, Mexico and Argentina, was formed to join the struggle for justice in Palestine and the Middle East and challenge the Zionist censorship of Palestinian and other resistance to Zionism. IJAN seeks to rekindle a long Jewish tradition of participation in struggles for liberation and against exploitation and oppression.

"We intend to contribute to a growing international voice that challenges Zionism and its claim to speak on behalf of Jews worldwide; Israel and the Zionist ideology upon which it was built does not speak for us, nor does it reflect our vision of a just and safe world," says IJAN organizer Sara Kershnar. "The movement against Zionist apartheid must be as uncompromising as was the movement against South African apartheid. Anti-Zionism is part not only of the movement against racism but also the movement against war. We are convinced that we speak to a great unexpressed, in fact censored sentiment of support for this perspective, including among Jewish people."

IJAN distinguishes itself from Jewish and other peace groups that do not reject Zionism or the continuation of an exclusionary Jewish State. IJAN's charter states,

"We commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the liberation of Palestine. We commit our hearts, minds and political energy to supporting the varied and vibrant resistance movement of the Palestinian people, the solidarity of individuals and organizations in every country and to confront the injustices for which the countries we live in are responsible. We unequivocally support the Palestinian right of return. We respond wholeheartedly to the call from Palestine for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel."

The International Jewish anti-Zionist Network is an independent organization that supports the indigenous Palestinian struggle and leadership. The IJAN Charter states, "The justice we work for must be built by those throughout Palestine, including Israel, and those in Palestinian refugee camps, whose struggle for self-determination can lead to equity and freedom for all who live there and in the surrounding lands."

Note also that (taken here):

1. The terms Jews and Judaism refer respectively to a religious not racial entity, the ideology known as Zionism consists of:

• an attempt to transform this religious entity known as the Jewish people into a racial entity of people bound together only by shared national characteristics such as language common history etc. irregardless of belief in the Creator and observance of His commandments,
• Judaism, for all believing Jews denotes the system of beliefs, laws and teachings, etc. which we believe were given to our forefathers by the Creator (may His name be blessed) through Moses our teacher and other Prophets, this meaning of the word is transformed by the Zionists from a Divine revelation to a mere set of common traditions shared by a specific racial group. The above however, according to the Torah* could not be further from the truth, since according to the Torah the value of a person has no relationship with race rather with actions, example any Jew who denounces belief in the One Creator or in divine revelation through the Prophets or any of the other fundamentals of Judaism is no longer considered part of the Jewish people and loses his share in the afterlife, whereas on the contrary a non-Jew who because of belief in the Creator and his Prophets accepts upon himself to observe the basic laws which were commanded to all mankind such as the prohibitions of idol worship, stealing, murder etc. is considered from the righteous people of the world. In fact to be a faithful Jew and be faithful to ones country be it the US, Iran or any other country is no contradiction whatsoever.

2. Considering the above and the fact that the founders of Zionism were self proclaimed atheists the Zionist ideology considers the hope of the Jewish people in racial terms i.e.,, to have a state, army etc. Orthodox Jews, however, do not believe that we were exiled from our land app 2000 years ago because of military weakness rather as a result of sins which we committed while dwelling in the land, in fact we are instructed by the Creator through his Prophets not to try to remedy this exile ourselves through human means (see Talmud tractate Kesubos 111a), rather we must remain loyal citizens to the governments of the nations wherever in which we dwell. The hope of Orthodox Jews therefore is not for any such man-made redemption such as a state or army, rather our hope is for the spiritual redemption promised to us by the Creator through our Prophets and Sages which will on the contrary be a time of peace when all mankind with one heart, will come together to serve the One Creator, and in that time we will be able to serve the Creator his Holy Land. (Although throughout history, even after our exile, there have always been Jews living in the Holy Land this is no contradiction to the above since they have always lived peacefully subordinate to the ruling nation without making any attempt to create a state or army as the Zionists have done, in fact even now there are many thousands of Jews living in the Holy Land who oppose the Zionist state and even refuse to accept monetary aid from the government or participate in their elections, Rabbi Moshe Hirsch of Jerusalem regularly meets with PLO leaders to publicize that it is the will of Orthodox Jews in the Holy Land to live under Palestinian not Zionist rule).

3. Unfortunately however, through money, propaganda and therefore media control the Zionists continue to portray themselves to the world as representatives of the Jewish people. In their propaganda they also continue to use the various groups of so-called 'religious' Zionists to fool the world into believing that their occupation of the Holy Land and their injustices against the Palestinian people have a foundation in Judaism. The murders and injustices which they commit and have committed against the Palestinians therefore hurt us doubly since by carrying such things out in the name of the Jewish people through misuse of Judaism they are profaning the name of the Creator and dirtying our faith.

It is for these reasons that we see it as our duty to proclaim to the world that the true Jewish people, i.e., those true to the Creator and his Torah, the world over, oppose the Zionists and the injustices they commit falsely in the name of our people. On the contrary we oppose the Zionists and their 'state' vigorously and we are deeply disturbed by these injustices and share in the grief of those stricken, and we continue our prayers for the dismantlement of the Zionist 'state' and peace to the world.