The Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom (JMUF) is an activist group that works to bring attention to the treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic populations in northwestern China, which it and many international observers have described as a “genocide.” Founded in 2020, the organization started out as a student group, but has since recruited recent college graduates, as well as supporters from the broader Jewish population and other ethnic-minority activist spheres. ¹ As of February 2024, the organization’s website is no longer online and appear to be defunct.

Background

Uygurs are a majority-Muslim ethnic group who have historically lived in the region where central Asia meets China. Today, approximately 12 million Uyghurs live in China’s Xinjiang province, where they are the largest minority population. Since at least the 1990s, an Uygur separatist movement has existed in the province, occasionally escalating into violent insurgent activity against Chinese authorities and civilians. In turn, the Chinese state has ramped up policing of the region, with many foreign observers accusing the government of religious persecution, mass incarceration, and ethnic cleansing. Chinese officials have denied most of the allegations while defending the use of harsh law enforcement tactics and prison camps as necessary counter-terrorism measures. ²

In recent years, some Jewish activist groups have adopted the Uyghur cause as one of their own, sometimes drawing parallels to the difficulties faced by Jews in the Soviet Union following the Second World War. Some have also compared China’s crackdowns in Xinjiang to the Holocaust, as well as to the struggles of the nation of Israel as described in the Old Testament. Recently, the Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom has collaborated with similar organizations such as Jewish World Watch and the Uyghur Human Rights Project. ³

Activities

In 2021, the Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom participated in an “Uyghur Week of Action” together with other Jewish pro-Uyghur activists and organizations. The initiative included distributing readings for the Jewish Passover Seder that aimed to connect the story of the ancient Israelites under Egyptian domination to the oppression of Uyghurs in China. The organizers indicated that this theme was intentionally chosen because they believed that Uyghurs, who mostly practice Islam, would be familiar with it. ⁴

That year, the JMUF also issued a statement supporting the United States Department of State’s decision to label the Chinese government’s campaign in Xinjiang a genocide. At the same time, the organization’s spokesperson criticized the outgoing Trump administration for the alleged “motivations” behind the State Department’s decision, claiming that the move was part of the United States government’s effort to push back against China’s geopolitical influence. ⁵

In 2022, the JMUF announced its “Let My People Go” letter campaign, which would involve volunteers from the organization and from other Jewish groups writing to Uyghurs in Xinjiang believed to have been arrested by Chinese Communist authorities. The JMUF indicated that the name of the campaign was a reference to a similar initiative in the 1980s, when Jewish activists wrote to ethnic minority groups in the former Soviet Union, including Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate or forcibly relocated by the Soviet state. ⁶

As of February 2024, the organization appears to be defunct as its website is no longer online.

Leadership

Tzofiya Bookstein is the founder of the Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom. She launched the organization as a student at Harvard University, where she was also involved with several other Jewish and minority activist groups. ⁷

As of 2023, Jonah Kaye was the director of communications at the JMUF. He joined the organization as a student at the University of Chicago. Kaye has written for publications such as Newsweek to promote the agenda of the JMUF. ⁸

Justin Jon Rudelson is a member of the JMUF advisory board. ⁹ He is also a board member with the Uyghur Human Rights Project, which collaborated with the JMUF on a 2021 activism campaign. ¹⁰

Sherman Teichman is a member of the JMUF advisory board and the founding director of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. He is also an advisor to the Human Rights Foundation. ¹¹

1. Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://jewishmovementforuyghurfreedom.org/about
2. ^[1]“Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide?” BBC. May 24, 2022. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037
3. Stewart Ain. “Jewish groups aim to make Uyghur liberation a Passover theme.” The Jewish Daily Forward. March 10, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://forward.com/news/465519/jewish-groups-aim-to-make-uyghur-liberation-a-passover-theme/
4. Stewart Ain. “Jewish groups aim to make Uyghur liberation a Passover theme.” The Jewish Daily Forward. March 10, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://forward.com/news/465519/jewish-groups-aim-to-make-uyghur-liberation-a-passover-theme/
5. Jonah Kaye. “Recognizing the Uighur Genocide was the Right Decision.” Newsweek. January 22, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/recognizing-uighur-genocide-was-right-decision-opinion-1563370
6. ^[1]“Let My People Go.” Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://jewishmovementforuyghurfreedom.org/let-my-people-go
7. ^[1]“Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom.” The Trebuchet. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.the-trebuchet.org/jewish-movement-for-uyghur-freedom
8. Jonah Kaye. “Recognizing the Uighur Genocide was the Right Decision.” Newsweek. January 22, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/recognizing-uighur-genocide-was-right-decision-opinion-1563370
9. ^[1]“Advisory Board.” Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://jewishmovementforuyghurfreedom.org/advisors
10. Stewart Ain. “Jewish groups aim to make Uyghur liberation a Passover theme.” The Jewish Daily Forward. March 10, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://forward.com/news/465519/jewish-groups-aim-to-make-uyghur-liberation-a-passover-theme/
11. “Advisory Board.” Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://jewishmovementforuyghurfreedom.org/advisors