Independent Jewish Voices
Encyclopedia
For the Canadian group see Independent Jewish Voices (Canada). For the Australian group see Independent Australian Jewish Voices
.
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) is an organization launched on 5 February 2007 by 150 prominent British Jews such as Nobel laureate Harold Pinter
, historian Eric Hobsbawm
, lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman
, Lady Ellen Dahrendorf
, film director Mike Leigh
, and actors Stephen Fry
and Zoë Wanamaker
. The organization is reportedly "born out of a frustration with the widespread misconception that the Jews of this country speak with one voice –– and that this voice supports the Israeli government's policies." IJV stated it was founded "to represent British Jews ... in response to a perceived pro-Israeli bias in existing Jewish bodies in the UK," and, according to Hobsbawn, "as a counter-balance to the uncritical support for Israeli policies by established bodies such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews
."
Its signatories attest to being guided by five principles presented in the Declaration:
Signatories to the Declaration state their shared beliefs that "the interests of an occupying power should not count for more than the human rights of an occupied people" and that "the Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank
and Gaza Strip
face appalling living conditions with desperately little hope for the future"; they pledge their "support for a properly negotiated peace between the Israel
i and Palestinian people
and oppose any attempt by the Israeli government to impose its own solutions on the Palestinians."
blog featured publication of a large number of essays by IJV signatories and their supporters.
Signatories include Lisa Appignanesi
, Sir Geoffrey Bindman
, Gerald Cohen
, Stanley Cohen, Lady Ellen Dahrendorf
, Jenny Diski
, Nicole Farhi
, Stephen Fry
, Alexander Goehr
, Eric Hobsbawm
, Ann Jungman
, Anne Karpf, Beeban Kidron
, Brian Klug
, David Lan
, Mike Leigh
, Steven Lukes
, Shula Marks
, Mike Marqusee
, Adam Phillips
, Harold Pinter
, Nigel Rodley, Jacqueline Rose
, Leon Rosselson
, Andrew Samuels
, Richard Sennett
, Avi Shlaim
, Gillian Slovo
, Shawn Slovo
, Janet Suzman
, Zoë Wanamaker
and Sami Zubaida
.
, a spokesperson for the Board of Deputies has responded to the IJV's launching: "If Brian Klug and the other signatories to IJV chose to engage with the institutions of the Jewish community, rather than shouting from the sidelines, they may find that most Jews
disagree with much of what they say."
!", which was printed as a full page advertisement in The Times
. The statement called for Israel to lift its economic blockade of the territory, while condemning both collective punishment
against the people of Gaza and Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel, and encouraging both sides to observe a cease-fire.
Independent Australian Jewish Voices
Independent Australian Jewish Voices is an Australian Jewish advocacy organisation that opposes some of the current Israeli government's policies...
.
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) is an organization launched on 5 February 2007 by 150 prominent British Jews such as Nobel laureate Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, historian Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
, lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman
Geoffrey Bindman
Professor Sir Geoffrey Lionel Bindman QC is a British solicitor specialising in human rights law, and founder of the human rights law firm Bindmans LLP, described by The Times as "never far from the headlines." He has been Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights since 2005...
, Lady Ellen Dahrendorf
Ellen Dahrendorf
Ellen Dahrendorf, Lady Dahrendorf is a British historian and translator of Russian political works, and the former wife of the late German/British academic and politician Ralf Dahrendorf....
, film director Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
, and actors Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
and Zoë Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
. The organization is reportedly "born out of a frustration with the widespread misconception that the Jews of this country speak with one voice –– and that this voice supports the Israeli government's policies." IJV stated it was founded "to represent British Jews ... in response to a perceived pro-Israeli bias in existing Jewish bodies in the UK," and, according to Hobsbawn, "as a counter-balance to the uncritical support for Israeli policies by established bodies such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews
Board of Deputies of British Jews
The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the main representative body of British Jews. Founded in 1760 as a joint committee of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewish communities in London, it has since become a widely recognised forum for the views of the different sectors of the UK Jewish...
."
IJV Declaration
The group's "Declaration" states:Its signatories attest to being guided by five principles presented in the Declaration:
- Human rights
Human rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
are universal and indivisible and should be upheld without exception. This is as applicable in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the occupied Palestinian territoriesIsraeli-occupied territoriesThe Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
as it is elsewhere.- Palestinians and Israelis alike have the right to peace and security.
- Peace and stability require the willingness of all parties to the conflict to comply with international law
International lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
.- There is no justification for any form of racism
RacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, including anti-Semitism, anti-Arab racism or IslamophobiaIslamophobiaIslamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
, in any circumstance.- The battle against anti-Semitism is vital and is undermined whenever opposition to Israeli government policies is automatically branded as anti-Semitic.
Signatories to the Declaration state their shared beliefs that "the interests of an occupying power should not count for more than the human rights of an occupied people" and that "the Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza Strip
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
face appalling living conditions with desperately little hope for the future"; they pledge their "support for a properly negotiated peace between the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i and Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
and oppose any attempt by the Israeli government to impose its own solutions on the Palestinians."
Signatories
The Declaration is accessible online on the organization's website, which invites additional signatures in the manner of a petition drive. The Guardian's Comment is FreeGuardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
blog featured publication of a large number of essays by IJV signatories and their supporters.
Signatories include Lisa Appignanesi
Lisa Appignanesi
Lisa Appignanesi is a British writer, novelist, and campaigner for free expression. She is president of the writers’ organization English PEN. Her latest book is All About Love: Anatomy of an Unruly Emotion...
, Sir Geoffrey Bindman
Geoffrey Bindman
Professor Sir Geoffrey Lionel Bindman QC is a British solicitor specialising in human rights law, and founder of the human rights law firm Bindmans LLP, described by The Times as "never far from the headlines." He has been Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights since 2005...
, Gerald Cohen
Gerald Cohen
Gerald Allan "Jerry" Cohen was a Marxist political philosopher, formerly Visiting Quain Professor of Jurisprudence, University College, London and Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory, All Souls College, Oxford...
, Stanley Cohen, Lady Ellen Dahrendorf
Ellen Dahrendorf
Ellen Dahrendorf, Lady Dahrendorf is a British historian and translator of Russian political works, and the former wife of the late German/British academic and politician Ralf Dahrendorf....
, Jenny Diski
Jenny Diski
-External links:***...
, Nicole Farhi
Nicole Farhi
Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE is a French fashion designer and sculptor born in Nice, France, of Turkish descent.She started her career as a freelance in Paris, before moving to London in the 1970s to work with Stephen Marks on his French Connection label. Their professional relationship resulted...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
, Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
, Ann Jungman
Ann Jungman
Ann Jungman is an author of children's literature. She was born in Highgate, North London and studied Law at Exeter University before training as a primary school teacher.-Professional life:...
, Anne Karpf, Beeban Kidron
Beeban Kidron
Beeban Kidron is an English Film Director known for her much-lauded adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's autobiographical novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and for directing Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason...
, Brian Klug
Brian Klug
Brian Klug is Senior Research Fellow & Tutor in Philosophy at St. Benet's Hall, Oxford and a member of the philosophy faculty at Oxford University...
, David Lan
David Lan
David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker and theatre director.Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1952, he emigrated to London in 1972. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London's South Bank.-Career:...
, Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
, Steven Lukes
Steven Lukes
Steven Michael Lukes is a political and social theorist. Currently he is a professor of politics and sociology at New York University...
, Shula Marks
Shula Marks
Shula Eta Marks, OBE, FBA is emeritus professor of history at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London....
, Mike Marqusee
Mike Marqusee
Mike Marqusee is an American-born writer, journalist and political activist in London. His partner is the barrister Liz Davies.Marqusee, who describes himself as a "deracinated New York Marxist Jew" has lived in Britain since 1971...
, Adam Phillips
Adam Phillips (psychologist)
Adam Phillips is a British child psychotherapist, literary critic and essayist. He is known for his books dealing with topics related to psychoanalysis...
, Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, Nigel Rodley, Jacqueline Rose
Jacqueline Rose
Jacqueline Rose is a British academic who is currently Professor of English at Queen Mary, University of London.-Life and work:...
, Leon Rosselson
Leon Rosselson
Leon Rosselson is an English songwriter and writer of children's books. After his early involvement in the folk music revival in Britain, he came to prominence, singing his own satirical songs, in the BBC's topical TV programme of the early 1960s, That Was The Week That Was...
, Andrew Samuels
Andrew Samuels
Andrew Samuels is known internationally as an influential commentator on political and social themes from the standpoint of 'therapy thinking'. He has worked with politicians, political organizations, activist groups and members of the public in Europe, US, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Russia and South...
, Richard Sennett
Richard Sennett
Richard Sennett is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and University Professor of the Humanities at New York University...
, Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim FBA is a British/Israeli historian. He is a professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy.Shlaim is especially well known as a historian of the Arab-Israeli conflict...
, Gillian Slovo
Gillian Slovo
Gillian Slovo is a South African born novelist, playwright and memoirist.Her novels were at first predominantly of the crime and thriller genres, including a series featuring the detective Kate Baeier but she has since written more literary fiction...
, Shawn Slovo
Shawn Slovo
Shawn Slovo is a screenwriter, best known for the film A World Apart, based on her childhood in South Africa under the apartheid. She is the daughter of the late South African Communist Party leaders Joe Slovo and Ruth First...
, Janet Suzman
Janet Suzman
Dame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
, Zoë Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
and Sami Zubaida
Sami Zubaida
Sami Zubaida is an Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London and, as a Visiting Hauser Global Professor of Law in Spring 2006, taught Law and Politics in the Islamic World at New York University School of Law....
.
Responses
According to Amiram Barkat, in his article "U.K. Board of Deputies Rejects Criticism from New Jewish Group," published in HaaretzHaaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, a spokesperson for the Board of Deputies has responded to the IJV's launching: "If Brian Klug and the other signatories to IJV chose to engage with the institutions of the Jewish community, rather than shouting from the sidelines, they may find that most Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
disagree with much of what they say."
"End the siege of Gaza!"
In early 2008, 250 members of Independent Jewish Voices signed a statement entitled "End the siege of GazaGaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
!", which was printed as a full page advertisement in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. The statement called for Israel to lift its economic blockade of the territory, while condemning both collective punishment
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
against the people of Gaza and Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel, and encouraging both sides to observe a cease-fire.
See also
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Independent Australian Jewish VoicesIndependent Australian Jewish VoicesIndependent Australian Jewish Voices is an Australian Jewish advocacy organisation that opposes some of the current Israeli government's policies...
- Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
- Palestine Peace Not ApartheidPalestine Peace Not ApartheidPalestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a New York Times Best Seller book written by Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. It was published by Simon and Schuster in November 2006....
- Euston ManifestoEuston ManifestoThe Euston Manifesto is a 2006 declaration of principles by a group of academics, journalists, and activists based in the United Kingdom. The statement is a reaction to what are asserted to be widespread violations of leftist principles by others who are commonly associated with the political Left...
- 'Progressive' Jewish Thought and the New Anti-SemitismProgressive Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism"Progressive" Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism is a 2006 essay released by the American Jewish Committee, authored by Alvin H. Rosenfeld , with an introduction by the AJC's executive director, David A. Harris...
Further reading and related resources
- Barkat, Amiram. "U.K. Board of Deputies Rejects Criticism from New Jewish Group." HaaretzHaaretzHaaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
7 February 2007. Accessed 8 February 2007. - Goodman, AmyAmy GoodmanAmy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
. "Independent Jewish Voices: New British Group Speaks Out on Israeli Policies in Occupied Territories." Interview with Sir Geoffrey BindmanGeoffrey BindmanProfessor Sir Geoffrey Lionel Bindman QC is a British solicitor specialising in human rights law, and founder of the human rights law firm Bindmans LLP, described by The Times as "never far from the headlines." He has been Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights since 2005...
and Susie OrbachSusie OrbachSusie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer, and social critic from London, UK.-Background:Orbach was born in London, in 1946, and was brought up in Chalk Farm, north London, the child of Jewish parents, British MP Maurice Orbach and an American mother...
. Rush Transcript. Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
9 February 2007. Accessed 9 February 2007. (Streaming audio and MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
links.) - Klug, BrianBrian KlugBrian Klug is Senior Research Fellow & Tutor in Philosophy at St. Benet's Hall, Oxford and a member of the philosophy faculty at Oxford University...
. "Who Speaks for Jews in Britain?" Guardian OnlineThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Comment is freeGuardian.co.ukguardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
(blog) 5 February 2007. Accessed 8 February 2007. (Incl. link to "a full list of articles in the Independent Jewish Voices debate.") - "Press coverage of IJV Launch."
- Introduction of IJV and partly translation of declaration in German.
External links
- Independent Jewish Voices (Organization website).
- IJV Comment is Free essays