Jewish Voice for Peace Group Makes Common Cause with Antisemites

If you have kept tabs on the tsunami of anti-Israel rallies over the past six weeks or are at all plugged into the social-media-activism world, you’ve likely run into Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an organization that calls itself “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” It has been involved in nearly every nominally pro-Palestinian protest that has sprung up across the United States since October 7 and has quite a large audience: 1 million followers on Instagram and 283,500 on X. The group styles itself and its ideological allies as the legitimate representatives of the Jewish people with graphics bearing slogans such as “Jews say stop genocide of Palestinians” and “Jews say ceasefire in Gaza now.” A quick examination of JVP’s actions and online presence, though, demonstrates that the organization is at best composed of fellow travelers of those who hate Jews and at worst a propagator of antisemitism in its own right.

JVP, of course, did not begin its anti-Zionist activism on October 7, though it has taken advantage of the worst tragedy in Israel’s existence to bolster its public profile. The group has existed since 1996, though it has in the past decade or so become significantly more radicalized in its outlook toward the Jewish state. What was once an organization that “would welcome even-handed pressure on both sides that pushes for honest negotiations” over an Israel–Palestinian peace process — however disingenuously — is now entirely opposed to Israel’s existence, pledging to “dismantle the institutions and structures that sustain injustice.”

About the Author

Zach Kessel

Zach Kessel was a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism and a recent graduate of Northwestern University.

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If you have kept tabs on the tsunami of anti-Israel rallies over the past six weeks or are at all plugged into the social-media-activism world, you’ve likely run into Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an organization that calls itself “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” It has been involved in nearly every nominally pro-Palestinian protest that has sprung up across the United States since October 7 and has quite a large audience: 1 million followers on Instagram and 283,500 on X. The group styles itself and its ideological allies as the legitimate representatives of the Jewish people with graphics bearing slogans such as “Jews say stop genocide of Palestinians” and “Jews say ceasefire in Gaza now.” A quick examination of JVP’s actions and online presence, though, demonstrates that the organization is at best composed of fellow travelers of those who hate Jews and at worst a propagator of antisemitism in its own right.

JVP, of course, did not begin its anti-Zionist activism on October 7, though it has taken advantage of the worst tragedy in Israel’s existence to bolster its public profile. The group has existed since 1996, though it has in the past decade or so become significantly more radicalized in its outlook toward the Jewish state. What was once an organization that “would welcome even-handed pressure on both sides that pushes for honest negotiations” over an Israel–Palestinian peace process — however disingenuously — is now entirely opposed to Israel’s existence, pledging to “dismantle the institutions and structures that sustain injustice.”