Mondoweiss: Jewish anti-occupation activism and accountability to Palestinians

7/15/2015 If Not Now, When?: Jewish anti-occupation activism and accountability to Palestinians Mondoweiss

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/04/occupation-accountability-palestinians 1/5

Shortly after Israel launched a brutal ground operation in Gaza last summer, a group of roughly a

dozen American Jews began to organize in Brooklyn, seeking to protest Jewish communal

organizations complicity in the violence. The group called itself If Not Now and rapidly gained

support among left-leaning Jewish activists after hosting a series of public demonstrations outside the

headquarters of the Conference of Presidents (http://www.conferenceofpresidents.org/) (the largest

alliance of Jewish organizations in the United States) which culminated in the arrest of nine American

Jewish activists (http://forward.com/articles/203111/j-streets-gaza-war-support-wins-moderate-praise-

-/?p=all) for civil disobedience.

I happened to be among those who were arrested, and when the nine of us were released from jail the

following day I hoped that the action among a wave of other public demonstrations

(http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/assault-disobedience-protest) opposing the assault on Gaza would

spark a larger movement against Israels violence. Since then, the activism of If Not Now has marked

what many of us believe to be a substantial and tragically overdue shift in public opinion on Israel.

However, there are reasons to be deeply concerned that the movement is wasting a critical opportunity

and, in doing so, inadvertently maintaining Israels oppression of Palestinians.

If Not Now, When?: Jewish anti-occupation activism andaccountability to PalestiniansJulia Carmel (http://mondoweiss.net/author/julia-carmel) on April 21, 2015 9 Comments (http://mondoweiss.net/2015/04/occupation-accountability-palestinians#comments)

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If Not Now members hold up a banner at aNew York City protest. (Photo: BUDKOROTZER/DESERTPEACE)

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After the ofcial ceasere from ghting in Gaza in August, the leaders of If Not Now announced that

they would be transitioning from a moment into a movement.

(https://www.facebook.com/IfNotNowOrg/posts/710023369084634) The organizers had collectively

decided to take time to cultivate the movements growth and to develop a thoughtful strategy moving

forward, preparing to eventually host a public action around Passover.

In preparation for the Passover action, organizers circulated a Commitment to Act

(https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-ifnotnow-commitment-to-act), which is essentially a

vaguely-worded petition to join If Not Nows meaningful, nonviolent, dignied public actions to

make clear that we, members of the American Jewish community, are against endless occupation and

committed to freedom and dignity for all Palestinians and Israelis. A week later, If Not Now gathered

more than 40 American Jewish activists outside of Jewish Federations of North Americas New York

headquarters to hold an alternative Passover seder, where they proclaimed that our liberation [as

Jews] is not complete without the liberation of Palestinians. Their seder in the streets,

(https://www.facebook.com/events/638583122941552/) which included a haggadah supplement

(https://drive.google.com/le/d/0Bzyc0kqaF_ZKSkJZcXlENkxldlZ0cmdyTnEybmgzN25BRzVJ/view?

usp=sharing) and the text of 18 short prayers (http://thelefternwall.com/2015/04/03/next-year-in-a-

better-jerusalem-18-mini-prayers/), sought to protest the role that JFNA and other American Jewish

organizations have played in supporting Israels oppression of Palestinians. At the end of the seder,

the group brought a copy of the Commitment to Act to JFNA, once again entering the space of a

Jewish communal organization to declare that we refuse to sit comfortably as violence and

occupation are waged in the name of our Jewish values.

But even as If Not Now is re-emerging and continuing to empower many to speak out against Israels

crimes, the movements statements particularly their Commitment to Act continue to be

conspicuously vague about what those crimes actually are.

This is perhaps most evident in If Not Nows repeated demand for an end to endless occupation,

which refuses to dene what the occupation specically entails. Does their use of the term

occupation recognize that the Israeli State has brutally occupied Palestinian land since the moment

it was established? Does occupation recognize that Israels control over the West Bank and the

ruthless blockade of Gaza? The question of dening If Not Nows use of the term occupation was

rightly raised by several activists during the groups Action Planning Meeting in August but the

question was ultimately dismissed. The organizers seemed to conclude that this underlying question

was irrelevant to the goal of ending the American Jewish establishments support forwell, the

occupation.

Whats also disconcerting is If Not Nows subtle endorsement of organizations which, despite

ofcially stating otherwise, have perpetuated Israels oppression of Palestinians for years. While the

movements organizers insist that If Not Now is not afliated with any political organization, their

Commitment to Act directly links to a J Street petition (http://act.jstreet.org/sign/time_for_change/?

t=1&referring_akid=3795.187774.J885la). This is certainly an equivocal move, not least because J

Street has actively sought for years to be accepted by the same American Jewish establishment

(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/us/jewish-coalition-rejects-lobbying-groups-bid-to-join.html?

_r=0) that If Not Now has attempted to target. Given J Streets cowardly statements that failed to

condemn Israels assault on Gaza (http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-statement-on-the-current-

crisis_1), as well as how J Street has actively and categorically rejected BDS, theyre not an

organization that If Not Now should tacitly align themselves with. By doing so, If Not Now only

solidies the concerns that some activists have expressed to me about their purpose.

Rob Bryan, an activist who participated in several of If Not Nows public actions and organizing

meetings in New York since last summer, is among those who question the movements effectiveness.

I always felt like the heart of If Not Now was in the right place, Rob told me. But I think that If



Not Now runs the risk of duplicating the kind of segregation that theyre trying to end. Fighting for

Palestinian liberation can involve the lessons and customs of Judaism, but its essential to dene the

occupation, embrace BDS, and forge alliances with non-Jews, especially with Palestinians, as well.

These concerns that certain characteristics could likely alienate non-Jews are not just indicative of

challenges that If Not Now inevitably faces in its tactics and presentation. Rather, when the

movement claims to advocate for Palestinians civil rights, and yet fails to substantially demonstrate

solidarity with Palestinian civil society, it indicates a serious problem of its purpose and goals.

Numerous progressive Jewish organizations that criticize Israeli policies already exist, some of

whom, including Jewish Voice for Peace, celebrated If Not Nows activism last summer. Recognizing

the need to distinguish themselves among these pre-existing groups, If Not Nows organizers have

done so by emphasizing their clear strategy: to specically target the American Jewish institutions

which uphold the occupation. Stated plainly as the movements theory of change, (https://scontent-

lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-

9/s720x720/10563098_686304784789826_6263151130248254930_n.jpg?

oh=8bc016c621db1b8b3602e8c6345a319a&oe=55A5C651) their overall strategy is straightforward

and essentially seems reasonable. In fact, its imperative that If Not Now continues to target the

institutional power that enables Israels crimes, the power which has historically been held by Jewish

communal organizations outside of Israel. However, the glaring problem remains that the movement

has continued to tacitly support (by association) the very same organizations whose power it seeks to

dismantle. Meanwhile, whats perhaps even more problematic is that If Not Nows organizers have

managed to completely avoid publicly supporting strategic, nonviolent Palestinian resistance.

A simple chant, inspired by an aphorism of Hillel the Elder, has been echoed in every If Not Now

public action since last summer: If we are only for ourselves, then who are we? My fear is thats

exactly what If Not Now will be: a movement that, regardless of pure intentions, only truly benets

ourselves. We are witnessing a moment in which American popular support for Israel nally appears

to be wavering, where progressives are especially disillusioned by Likuds victory in the Knesset

and are deeply disturbed by the Israeli political climate that enabled it to happen. Its an

unprecedented opportunity for American Jews to nally stand unequivocally with Palestinians in the

face of the institutions which oppress them. But as long as If Not Now fails to clearly and

unapologetically support the Palestinian cause, that opportunity will ultimately be wasted.

Cliff (/prole/cliff) April 21, 2015, 11:41 am

Occupation forever! For the Jewish motherland! Antisemitism, Holocaust, etc. etc.!

Liz18 (/prole/liz18) April 22, 2015, 10:01 am

The problems that exist on the left are very disconcerting. There is a lot of posturing, a lot of

self-righteousness. It seems more and more that it comes down to sifting through and nding

those on the left who are truly committed to justice and peace because it is the right thing to

do, not simply to make themselves feel good.Giles (/prole/giles) April 22, 2015, 11:36 am

These Jewish Peace Groups are, for the most part, merely controlled

opposition.

For decades the subjugation and murder of the Palestinians (and others) by

Israel went on with no sign of any such organizations. Then about 9-10 years

ago knowledge of and criticism of Israels policies began to seep into the

American public and suddenly we have J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace, etc.JeffB (/prole/jeffb) April 23, 2015, 3:06 pm

@Giles

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Mondoweiss: Jewish anti-occupation activism and accountability to Palestinians