The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network is a left-wing anti-Israel organization opposed to Zionism, the political position that the Jewish people should establish and maintain a national home in the traditional Land of Israel. In a 2012 publication titled “The Top Ten Anti-Israel Groups in America,” the Anti-Defamation League, a left-of-center civil-rights advocacy group, reported that the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network plays an important role in “creating policy and setting anti-Israel agendas.” ¹

The Jerusalem Post has described the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network as a “small radical fringe group.” ²

Background

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network was co-founded by liberal Jewish activists Sara Kershnar³ and Mich Levy⁴ in 2008 to “join the struggle for justice in Palestine and the Middle East” and to “rekindle a long Jewish tradition of participation in struggles for liberation and against exploitation and oppression.” ⁵

The network opposes the political position that the Jewish people should establish and maintain a national home in the traditional Land of Israel and the modern State of Israel and works to challenge pro-Zionism and pro-Israel organizations. ⁶

The network is purportedly comprised of ethnic Jews with Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, and Sephardic backgrounds and claims chapters in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Morocco, India, and Israel. ⁷

Activism and Projects

In 2018, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network started a Change.org petition to defend National Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory against “accusations of antisemitism” from “Zionist organizations”⁸ after public attention focused on connections between anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and Mallory. ⁹

In 2008, members of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network protested against the Gaza War outside the Israeli embassy in London. ¹⁰ Later in 2009, members of the network chained themselves to the entrance of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles to demonstrate against the war. ¹¹

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network is active on college campuses and often hosts educational and training events. ¹² Some of the workshops conducted by the network have included “The Case of Jews against Zionism,” “Joint Struggle against Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression,” and “Pinkwashing Apartheid: Hands off Queer Liberation.” ¹³

A major project of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network is the “Never Again for Anyone” campaign which claims pro-Israel factions misuse the Holocaust to justify Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories. ¹⁴

In an attempt to catalog the money that funds pro-Israel organizations, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network released a report in 2015 entitled “The Business of Backlash: The Attack on the Palestinian Movement and Other Movements for Justice”¹⁵ alleging that prominent right-leaning figures supported the pro-Israel movement. ¹⁶

The network has also published a version of the Haggadah, the religious text used at Seder on the first two nights of Passover, which includes anti-Zionist rhetoric and is tailored to center on radical-left liberation and resistance ideology. ¹⁷

1. “The Top Ten Anti-Israel Groups in America.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/israel-international/Top-10-Anti-Israel-Groups-in-America.pdf
2. Paul, Jonny. “Irish unions host ‘anti-Israel’ parley.” The Jerusalem Post. April 16, 2010. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.jpost.com/International/Irish-unions-host-anti-Israel-parley
3. “Sarah Kershnar.” Jacobin. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.jacobinmag.com/author/sara-kershnar
4. “About Mich.” We Tip the Balance. Accessed September 7, 2020.  http://wetipthebalance.org/about-mich/
5. “International Jewish network condemns Israel and Zionism.” The Electronic Intifada. October 10, 2008. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://electronicintifada.net/content/international-jewish-network-condemns-israel-and-zionism/862
6. “Charter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020. http://www.ijan.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IJAN-Charter-Booklet.pdf
7. “Who We Are.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020.  http://www.ijan.org/who-we-are/
8. “Women’s March Petition: Palestinian liberation is central to a liberatory, intersectional feminist movement.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020.  http://www.ijan.org/new-opinions/womensmarch/
9. Instagram. Mallory, Tamika. May 11, 2017. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.instagram.com/p/BT9wDcUBShs/?utm_source=ig_embed
10. “Downing Street ‘appalled’ by Gaza violence.” Belfast Telegraph. December 29, 2008. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/downing-street-appalled-by-gaza-violence-28459462.html
11. “Jews Shut Down Israeli Consulate for 3 Hours: 10 Jews Chain Together to Block Driveway and Entrance.” Mmonthly Review Online. January 15, 2009. Accessed September 7, 2020. https://mronline.org/2009/01/15/jews-shut-down-israeli-consulate-for-3-hours-10-jews-chain-together-to-block-driveway-and-entrance/
12. “Campus.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020. http://www.ijan.org/tag/campus/
13. “Education and Training.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020.  http://www.ijan.org/category/projects-campaigns/educ/
14. “Never Again for Anyone.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020.  http://www.ijan.org/category/projects-campaigns/nafa/
15. Mondalek, Mark. “Who’s Afraid of BDS?” Jacobin. April 1, 2016. Accessed September 7, 2020.  https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/04/israel-palestine-boycott-divestment-sanction-sheldon-adelson
16. “The Business of Backlash: The Attack on the Palestinian Movement and Other Movements for Social Justice.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020. http://www.ijan.org/resources/business-of-backlash/
17. “Legacies of Resistance: An Anti-Zionist Haggadah for a Liberation Seder.” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Accessed September 7, 2020. http://www.ijan.org/resources/legacies-of-resistance-an-anti-zionist-haggadah-for-a-liberation-seder/