Thiscrucial step toward building a progressive and unified Palestiniansociety occursdespite all efforts to prevent it. Weunderstand that US investment in Israel'sdominance places Palestineat the center of liberation struggles in the region, and placesliberationstruggles within the region at the center of global struggles againstWestern imperialism.Israel's regional designshave historically been possible, and remain so today, only through amutuallybeneficial economic and military subservience to a larger imperialinterest - initiallythe United Kingdom andcurrently the United States.US military aggression in Afghanistan, the military occupation of Iraq,the escalating confrontation with Iran and the destabilization ofSomalia areelements of the continuing global quest for corporate capitalaccumulation. We alsocall out the farce of democracy in the USand in Israel,where differential rights are afforded to people based on race andeconomicaccess, and we condemn their role in undermining democracies in theregion andin other parts of the world.
Ourstruggle is against Zionism and its manifestation in the State of Israel'shistoric and ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and theconfiscation of their land. We challenge and refuse to be complicit with thiscolonial project. It hijacks Jewishhistories of resistance. It dishonors the persecution, displacement andgenocide of European Jews by using their memory to justify and perpetuate European racism and colonialism. It is responsible forthe extensive displacement and alienation of Jews of Arab, Persian and Africandescent from indigenous identities, languages, histories, cultures andhomelands. As such, Zionism and Israeli state building implicate us in theoppression of the Palestinian people and in the debasement of our ownheritages, struggles for justice and alliances with our fellow humanbeings.
Weare committed to the liberation of Palestine.We reject the Israeli apartheid state as well as the Zionist ideologyuponwhich it is built. We support the Right of Return and the call fromPalestine for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Wecondemn the atrocities Israel and its Western allies are committing inGaza. We hold ourgovernments accountable for their roles in the crimes against thePalestinianpeople, the people in the broader region, and the cost of imperialism,colonization and racism on the people living in our own countries.
IJAN is part of a growing movement of anti-ZionistJews who are part of a growing Palestinesolidarity movement that is part of an increasingly transnationalanti-imperialist struggle for a new global order rising from the global south -from Palestine to Chiapas,and from Venezuelato the US/Mexico border.
IJAN is committed to participating in the on-goingstruggle to dismantle Zionism, Israeli apartheid and imperialism and tocontributing to the building of anti-imperialist, anti-racist, internationalist,progressive movements through the following:
- Creating an independent international Jewish voice, political perspective and organizing of concerted action against Zionism in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation
- Setting an ideological pole anchored in a liberatory politic from which to counter Zionist hegemony
- Developing and increasing the participation of anti-Zionist Jews in campaign work, direct action and programs that contribute to boycott, divestment and sanctions and the dismantling of Israeli apartheid and colonization through holding our own governments responsible for their collusion with this agenda
- Extricating Jewish histories, cultures, political participation and future investments from Zionism and Israel which counters the movement of Jewish people towards conservatism in our own countries and the enlistment of Jews across the globe in imperialist projects
Thoughwe are not there with you this weekend, we stand in solidarity with you and thevibrant popular resistance movements of our time on which you will bereflecting together-the movements of those most impacted by imperialism, globalizationand environmental destruction, the struggles for indigenous land rights,immigrant and refugee rights, economic and racial justice, the rights of womenand children, and labor rights. It is the enduring will of the Palestinianpeople for liberation and self-determination that continues to inspire thesemovements across the globe.
Maythis landmark event achieve its goal of providing a foundation for a unifyingprogressive vision and program for the liberation of Palestine. By doing so, you will bringincreased clarity and strength to progressive movements around the world intheir own quests for unification and in their solidarity with Palestine.
