Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action is a left-of-center anti-Israel group that is the lobbying and political action arm of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a self-described Jewish group that opposes U.S. assistance to the state of Israel and supports allowing Palestinians to live on land within Israel vacated by Arabs during the Israeli War of Independence. 1 2
JVP Action supports federal politicians and policies who oppose Israel, as well as the broader boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. 3 The group endorsed several anti-Israel candidates across the 2024 United States House of Representatives election cycle. 4
Stefanie Fox is the executive director of both Jewish Voice for Peace and JVP Action. 5 6
Activities
Campaigns and Initiatives
Jewish Voice for Peace Action has three main campaigns. First, JVP Action advocates for several legal actions at the federal level in support of Palestinian nationalism. Its website lists a campaign for the Palestinian Children and Families Act, legislation introduced to the United States Congress by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) in 2021 that was stalled in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 7 JVP Action’s website also encourages its supporters to sign two petitions: one to pressure the U.S. Congress to support Palestinians and another to encourage Holocaust survivors to oppose the United States’ support for Israel. 8 9
Palestinian Freedom 2020 is JVP Action’s campaign to secure a congressional arms embargo against Israel. 10
JVP’s third campaign is the No Way to Treat A Child initiative, which opposes Israel detaining Palestinian children impacted by ongoing conflict in the region. JVP claims that Israel mistreats Palestinian children when fighting Hamas and other terrorist forces. 11
JVP Action also supports the BDS movement, an international effort to delegitimize the state of Israel through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions. 3
Following the Hamas terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, JVP Action expressed its support for Palestinians and said that the Biden administration was “complicit in genocide.” 12 13
Political Influence and Endorsements
Jewish Voice for Peace Action has supported several U.S. Representatives who hold anti-Israel stances. In 2024, JVP Action endorsed a letter written by anti-Israel United States Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and then-Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) to the Biden administration. The letter questioned the involvement of the United States Armed Forces in the Israeli government’s prosecution of the Israel-Hamas War and argued for a ceasefire. 14
In July 2024, JVP Action posted an image to its X (formerly Twitter) account in support of United States Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) who held a protest sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to U.S. Congress. U.S. Rep. Tlaib’s sign had said Netanyahu was a “war criminal” who was “guilty of genocide.” 15
During the 2024 elections, JVP Action endorsed a slate of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel candidates for the United States House of Representatives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and then-Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO). 4 16 17
Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace Action is the 501(c)(4) political action arm of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a left-wing self-described Jewish group that supports the BDS movement to delegitimize and isolate the Jewish state. 1 18
The group “unequivocally oppose[s] Zionism.” 18 This stance has put it at odds with other left-of-center Jewish groups, notably the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). ADL tracks JVP Action’s activities together with those of other anti-Israel groups, such as the radical-left Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). ADL claims that JVP campus chapters “work closely with SJP” and that JVP “strenuously advocates for the eradication of … a connection to Israel from the lives of Jews worldwide.” 19
The right-of-center Zionist Organization of America has also attacked JVP for its apparent ties to radical pro-Palestine groups, as well as for including notable far-left anti-Israel activists such as Judith Butler and Noam Chomsky on its advisory board. 20
Leadership
Stefanie Fox is listed on Jewish Voice for Peace Action’s tax forms as the group’s executive director. 6 Fox is also the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, the parent group of JVP Action. Fox spent a decade advocating for left-wing social policies before joining JVP in 2009 as a national organizer. She has written extensively on left-of-center topics including race, economics, and the Israel-Hamas conflict and is a frequent guest on various political television outlets. 5
Fox has a long history of anti-Zionism and opposition to the state of Israel, including support for the BDS movement. 21 In 2021, Fox posted praise for academics who said that “boycotts of Israel, calling Israel a settler colonial state, or opposing Zionism – is not antisemitic.” 22
Finances
In 2023, Jewish Voice for Peace Action reported $803,184 in revenue, $507,999 in expenses, and $976,513 in total assets. 6
JVP Action has received several grants from prominent left-of-center philanthropic organizations and advocacy groups. In 2021, JVP Action received $150,000 from the Open Society Policy Center, a left-wing advocacy group that operates within George Soros’ broader Soros Network. 23 JVP Action received another $300,000 grant from the Open Society Policy Center in 2023. 24 Jewish Voice for Peace and JVP Action have received at least $650,000 from various branches of George Soros’ philanthropic network since 2017, $441,510 from the Kaphan Foundation, $340,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and smaller amounts from other left-of-center donors. 2
In 2023, JVP Action received a $100,000 grant from Tides Advocacy, another large left-of-center grantmaking advocacy group. 25
In 2023, JVP Action received a $30,000 grant from Proteus Action League and another $30,000 grant from Women Donors Network Action. 26 27 That same year, JVP Action also received a $10,000 grant from 128 Collective Initiatives. 28
References
- “Home.” JVP Action. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jvpaction.org/
- MacDougald, Park. “The People Setting America on Fire.” Tablet Magazine. May 6, 2024. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/people-setting-america-on-fire-soros-tides-wespac
- “Platform.” JVP Action. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jvpaction.org/platform/
- “Our 2024 Candidates.” JVP Action. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jvpaction.org/our-2024-candidates/
- “Stefanie Fox – Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jvped/
- “Jewish Voice For Peace Action Incorporated – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/841816752/202411369349316996/full
- “H.R.2590 – Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.” Congress.gov. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2590
- “Tell the Senate: No more repression of the Palestine rights movement.” JVP. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/repression-of-palestine-movement/
- “‘Never again’ is now: Holocaust survivors, refugees, and their descendants speak out.” JVP. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/never-again-is-now-speak-out/
- “Tell Congress: ARMS EMBARGO NOW.” JVP Action. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://act.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/a/arms-embargo-now?sourceid=1000714&_ga=2.57629737.2016066601.1737218929-61978508.1737218929
- “No Way to Treat a Child.” JVP Action. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.jvpaction.org/no-way-to-treat-a-child/
- “@JvpAction Post.” X. October 10, 2023. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://x.com/JvpAction/status/1711943323764576607
- “@JvpAction Post.” X. January 21, 2024. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://x.com/JvpAction/status/1749152707993034974
- “Rep. Omar Joins War Powers Letter to President Biden.” Ilhan Omar Congressional Page. November 1, 2024. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-joins-war-powers-letter-president-biden
- “@JvpAction Post.” X. July 24, 2024. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://x.com/JvpAction/status/1816185932326002806
- “Jamaal Bowman.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Jamaal_Bowman
- “Cori Bush.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Cori_Bush
- “JVP’s Approach to Zionism.” Jewish Voice for Peace. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/zionism/
- “Anti-Israel Activism on U.S. Campuses, 2021-2022.” ADL. October 12, 2023. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/anti-israel-activism-us-campuses-2021-2022
- “Jewish Voice for Peace’s Anti-Semitic Leaders and Partners.” ZOA Campus. August 1, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://campus.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/08/FACT-SHEET-Jewish-Voice-for-Peace—s-Anti-Semitic-Leaders-and-Partners-1.pdf
- “Stefanie Fox.” Canary Mission. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://canarymission.org/individual/Stefanie_Fox
- “@StefanieLFox Post.” X. March 25, 2021. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://x.com/StefanieLFox/status/1375258765793001477
- “Open Society Policy Center Inc – 2021 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522028955/202223199349317682/IRS990ScheduleI
- “Open Society Policy Center Inc – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522028955/202433199349319003/IRS990ScheduleI
- “Tides Advocacy – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943153687/202413189349311441/IRS990ScheduleI
- “Proteus Action League – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/223888268/202443199349302544/IRS990ScheduleI
- “Women Donors Network Action – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/823733951/202433129349304093/IRS990ScheduleI
- “128 Collective Initiatives Inc. – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/842624417/202402489349300945/IRS990ScheduleI