Natorei Karta, Jewish Voice for Peace among ADL's Top 10 anti-Israel groups
The Anti-Defamation League releases list of top United States groups which are "fixated with delegitimizing Israel."
By JPOST.COM STAFFNatorei Karta(photo credit: MAHMOUD KHEIR/REUTERS)
Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and old standby Neturei Karta are among the top 10 anti-Israel organizations, according to the Anti- Defamation League.The New York-based watchdog released its list this week of the most influential and active anti-Israel groups in the United States.The list is rounded out by: ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), American Muslims for Palestine, CODEPINK, Friends of Sabeel-North America, If Americans Knew/Council for the National Interest, Muslim Public Affairs Council and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.Each of the selected groups, according to ADL’s research, is “fixated with delegitimizing Israel” and has demonstrated the ability to reach new segments of the American public with a hostile and misleading narrative about Israel.“The top 10 anti-Israel groups are the most significant players in the domestic anti-Israel movement today,” said Abraham H.Foxman, ADL national director. “The groups are fixated on delegitimizing Israel and convincing the American public that Israel is an international villain that deserves to be ostracized and isolated.”In compiling the list, ADL considered various criteria, including the groups’ ability to organize, sponsor and endorse Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel; their sponsorship of and participation in anti-Israel rallies, panel discussions or conferences; and their ability to pursue anti-Israel policy initiatives and lobbying efforts against Israel.“The list represents the worst of the worst anti- Israel groups,” said Foxman.“They lob any and every accusation against Israel, including charges of Nazilike crimes, ‘apartheid’ policies, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide. Their accusations are rarely, if ever, balanced with an acknowledgement of Israel’s repeated efforts to make peace with the Palestinians or the legitimate terrorism concerns faced by Israeli citizens.”The ADL issued its first list of top 10 Anti-Israel Groups in 2010 in the wake of the 2008-2009 war in Gaza.
New to the list this year are American Muslims for Palestine, CODEPINK, Neturei Karta and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).Despite MPAC’s positive role in the civil rights, counterterrorism and interfaith communities, the ADL said that the group’s involvement in anti-Israel campaigns and its leadership’s consistent use of anti- Israel rhetoric is extremely troubling.According to the ADL, leaders and members of the Rabbinical Council of Jewish Voice for Peace are regularly invited to major anti- Israel events and conferences, and the group claims that its Jewish nature gives it a “particular legitimacy in voicing an alternative view.”The ADL further noted that JVP “intentionally exploits Jewish culture and rituals” in an effort to convince other Jews that opposition to Israel does not contradict, but is consistent with, Jewish values.
