P.O.Box 46081, London W9 2ZF jfjfp@jfjfp.org

You can view our brochure here

View our list of signatories
Add your name here

“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary.”
RABBI HILLEL

WE BELIEVE THAT

• Peace in the Middle East will only come about with mutual recognition and respect and must be seen as just by both sides.
• Peace requires the end of illegal occupation and settlement.
• Violence against civilians is unacceptable.
• Israel’s policies in the West Bank and Gaza are breeding hatred and resentment.
• It is crucial that Jews speak out for Palestinians’ human rights.
• The humanitarian values of Judaism have been corrupted by the Israeli state’s human-rights abuses.
• A lasting peace must be seen as just by both sides.
• Britain, the EU, the USA, Russia and the UN must be persuaded to implement UN resolutions on Palestine.

IF YOU AGREE then link up with over one thousand six hundred other Jews in Britain who make up Jews for Justice for Palestinians

The Torah teaches: ‘Justice, justice, you shall pursue’ (Deuteronomy 16:20).
To secure a lasting settlement to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis so they can live in peace and security, thrive side by side, and co-operate together, Jews today are obligated to pursue justice on behalf of both peoples.”

RABBI ELIZABETH TIKVAH SARAH

WHO WE ARE

Jews for Justice for Palestinians is a network of Jews who are British or live in Britain, practising and secular, Zionist and not. We oppose Israeli policies that undermine the livelihoods, human, civil and political rights of the Palestinian people.

We support the right of Israelis to live in freedom and security within Israel’s 1967 borders.

As well as organising to ensure that Jewish opinions critical of Israeli policy are heard in Britain, we extend support to Palestinians trapped in the spiral of violence and repression. We believe that such actions are important in countering antisemitism and the claim that opposition to Israel’s destructive policies is itself antisemitic.

We cooperate with other organisations on specific issues without necessarily endorsing everything they do.

We work to build world-wide Jewish opposition to the Israeli Occupation, with like-minded groups around the world and are a founding member of European Jews for a Just Peace, a federation of Jewish groups in ten European countries whose principles include:

• condemnation of all violence against civilians in the conflict, no matter by whom it is carried out;
• recognition of Israel’s 1967 ‘green line’ borders;
• commitment to the Palestinians’ right to a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza;
• calling on Israel to acknowledge its part in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem and its obligation to negotiate a just, fair and practical resolution of the issue.

“Israel must withdraw from all the settlements and dismantle the wall within Palestinian territory.
Then, perhaps, we may at last see some justice for Palestinians.”

MIRIAM KARLIN OBE

At the end of 2010, our over 1,600 signatories included six rabbis; 110 professors (including five Fellows of the Royal Society and two fellows of the British Academy); 150 medical and academic doctors; several OBEs, CBEs and MBEs, six knights, one Member of Parliament and one member of the House of Lords.

The list includes Helen Bamber OBE, Prof Zygmunt Bauman, Sir Geoffrey Bindman, Rex Bloomstein, Sir Anthony Caro, Prof Stan Cohen, Jenny Diski, Moris Farhi MBE, Bella Freud, Stephen Fry, Prof Eric Hobsbawm, Dr Julian Huppert MP, Sir Nicholas Hytner, Prof Mary Kaldor, Miriam Karlin OBE, Nicolas Kent, Beeban Kidron, Baroness Oona King, Prof Francesca Klug OBE, Mike Leigh, Miriam Margolyes OBE, Mike Marqusee, Dr Jonathan Miller, Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, Sophie Okonedo OBE, Prof Susie Orbach, Prof Jacqueline Rose FBA, Mike Rosen, Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah, Alexei Sayle, Prof Lynne Segal, Will Self, Sir Antony Sher, Prof Avi Shlaim FBA, Gillian Slovo, Sir Tom Stoppard, Janet Suzman and Zoë Wanamaker CBE

“Jews for Justice for Palestinians gives expression to the many alternative views within the community.”

MICHAEL ROSEN

All our signatories can be found here.

What we do

“Jews for Justice for Palestinians is concerned for justice for them—and us!
Without justice for Palestinians, there is no hope for Israel.”

RABBI JEFFREY NEWMAN

We support many Israeli peace and human-rights organisations morally and financially including:
ACRI (Association for Civil Rights in Israel), Adalah, Breaking the Silence, Coalition of Women for Peace, Gisha, Gush Shalom, ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions), Machsom (Checkpoint) Watch, New Profile, PHR-I (Physicians for Human Rights), PCATI (Public Committee Against Torture in Israel), Rabbis for Human Rights, Ta’ayush (Arab-Jewish Partnership), Yesh Gvul (There is a Limit) and Zochrot (Remembrance).

We organise meetings across the UK and produce information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—both printed and web-based at www.jfjfp.org

We lobby on issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, often in association with Palestinians.

We publish adverts occasionally about important current issues in the national and Jewish press

We promote boycott, divestment and sanctions initiatives against Israeli and foreign companies profiting from the illegal occupation.

We support a wide range of Palestinian peace and humanitarian organisations.

We channel humanitarian aid through the British Shalom Salaam Trust, an independent grant-giving charity.

We provide practical support to the Palestinian economy: planting olive trees, supporting Zaytoun, a fair-trade organisation marketing Palestinian olive oil, and encouraging fact-finding trips to the area.

“The work that Jews for Justice for Palestinians has done is of profound importance for the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis and for reaffirming the long association between Jewish people and the struggle for human rights everywhere.”

FRANCESCA KLUG OBE

HOW YOU CAN HELP

• Encourage Jewish friends, relatives and colleagues to join our growing list of signatories.
• Get involved with other signatories where you live. There are very large numbers in the London region, and clusters of signatories in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Newcastle, Norwich, the West Midlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Contact us for information on local groups including Just Peace Leicester, Justice for Palestinians-West Midlands, Merseyside Jews for Peace and Justice, Norfolk Jewish Peace Group and Scottish Jews for a Just Peace.
• Write letters to the local and national press – JfJfP can help.
• Help organise meetings in your synagogue or area – JfJfP can supply speakers.
• Join in fundraising for humanitarian and campaigning activities.
• Lobby your MP to speak out against the Occupation.
• Support boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against those profiting from the occupation.
• Help distribute information on JFJFP events, campaigns and relevant issues.

For further information visit jfjfp.com e-mail info@jfjfp.org or write to JFJFP, PO Box 46081, London W9 2ZF

Students can contact the student group at students@jfjfp.org

Organisation

Everyone who adds their name is included on two mailout lists: one a weekly summary of postings made to the website, the other is occasional with notices of campaigns and actions, but do ask if you don’t want to receive them. If you are not on email, please send us 5 stamped addressed A4 envelopes for our monthly postal mailouts.

There is no membership fee, but donations to support our work will be gratefully received. We hold regular meetings in London and Manchester and work with others in Scotland and in Liverpool, Leicester, Norfolk and elsewhere. JfJfP is a national network; you can be a signatory as well as a member of one of these other groupings.

Some contact details:
Scottish Jews for a Just Peace – info@sjjp.org.uk
Manchester JfJfP – mjfjfp@tiscali.co.uk
Merseyside Jews for Peace and Justice – via info@jfjfp.org
Just Peace Leicester – via info@jfjfp.org
Norfolk Jewish Peace Group – via info@jfjfp.org

JfJfP In the Community

JfJfP signatories include Jews from across the religious and political spectrum. We value contributions to the struggle for justice for Palestinians by Jews from every background, in Britain, Israel, and across the world.

It is sometimes difficult for us to make our voices heard within formal Jewish structures. Too often we are misrepresented as ‘traitors’, ‘self-hating Jews’, or worse. Yet among JfJfP signatories, and those who share our vision of justice for Palestinians, are Jews who play an active role in numerous synagogues and other Jewish groups. They know that their views do not compromise their identity, but enrich their commitment to Jewish life. This is true for Jews from all traditions: secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, identifying with any or none of the denominational groups.

Despite the claims of some communal figures, there is no consensus among British Jews about the political situation in Israel and Palestine. The last authoritative research on the subject, undertaken by the UJIA in 2004, showed that 22% supported the policies of the then government of Ariel Sharon, and 28% opposed them. The views of the remaining 50% were ‘not sure’ or’ mixed’. Furthermore, 31% of British Jews described themselves as ‘often very critical’ of Israeli government policies.

For JfJfP signatories and sympathizers, honest discussion about Israel and Palestine often risks painful disagreements with family, friends and colleagues. That is why JfJfP has launched a series of grassroots initiatives designed to help British Jews who want to express their commitment to justice for Palestinians within their own communities.

If you want to know more about this work, or to discuss how you can make your voice heard within your community, please contact community@jfjfp.org