While Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) does not represent mainstream American Jewry, they work together with and have been endorsed by IfNotNow (INN), an organization founded by young Jews that claims to take no position on BDS.

INN opposes what it calls the American Jewish establishment’s support for the “occupation” and has been careful not to weigh in on other issues, stating, “We do not take a unified stance on BDS, Zionism or the question of statehood.”

By remaining “neutral” on these issues, INN attempts to be seen as a more legitimate voice than JVP, in a bid to attract activists from across a wider spectrum. While INN markets itself as the more accessible face of Jewish anti-Israel activism, the similarities and collaboration between INN and JVP reveal a deepening alliance.

Common Funding Sources

JVP and INN share two major donors: The Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) and Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), which has a history of supporting anti-Jewish causes including BDS campaigns. Between 2015 and 2017, RBF awarded JVP $280,000, and in March 2017 RBF awarded INN a grant of $20,000. FMEP awarded grants to both INN and JVP in 2018. For more information on these nefarious funding sources, read the Canary Mission blog JVP’s Funders: Promoting an Anti-Israel Narrative.

JVP and INN’s Close Tactical Cooperation

JVP leaders have described the growing relationship between the two groups. Naomi Dann, then-JVP spokeswoman, told Haaretz in 2016 that she “consults regularly” with INN members. Dann stated that INN is “helping to make visible what JVP has known to be true for many years…” In 2018, JVP executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson described INN and JVP’s goals as “very complementary.”

JVP and INN have co-hosted and co-sponsored events, promoted each others’ actions and held similar campaigns. JVP and INN both demonstrated against the Celebrate Israel parade and disrupted an Israeli diplomat’s talk by shouting and reciting the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza border riots, most of whom were Hamas members.

There is a significant cross-over of activists who are both members of JVP and INN. Canary Mission’s November 2018 JVP report cites numerous examples of activists who are affiliated with both organizations. For example:

• INN action team coordinator and national action hub liaison, Annie Kraus, is also a JVP chapter leader.
• INN leader, Ilana Lerman, identifies as the JVP spiritual & cultural life organizer.
• INN leader, Gabi Kirk, was a JVP campus liaison from 2014 to 2015.
• Editor of INN Torah, Rachel Robert, was an activist with JVP between 2011 and 2017.

Attack on Birthright

JVP and INN also both campaign forcefully against the Taglit Birthright Jewish heritage trip to Israel.

In September 2017, JVP issued its #returnthebirthright campaign manifesto, calling on American Jews to boycott Birthright. The manifesto stated: “We reject the offer of a free trip to a state that does not represent us, a trip that is only ‘free’ because it has been paid for by the dispossession of Palestinians.”

In August 2018, INN launched their own campaign “#NotJustAFreeTrip,” which aimed to pressure Birthright to “tell the truth about the Israeli Occupation” to its participants, saying: “more important than what participants are shown are what they are not shown.”

Both campaigns encouraged Birthright alumni to submit their “testimonies.” INN said they would publish participants’ testimonies “about what they did — or, more likely, did not — see on their trip.” JVP’s #ReturnTheBirthright Testimonials Form asked questions such as “Were there moments when you or others challenged the Zionist narrative that was being presented?”

The campaigns also encouraged alternative or extended tours with notorious anti-Israel groups such as Breaking the Silence, All That’s Left, Ir Amim and Extend Tours.

As JVP and INN increasingly collaborate with each other, the line between these two organizations is becoming increasingly blurred. With their goals and tactics so closely aligned, it is clear that despite their efforts, both groups continue to find themselves far outside of mainstream American Jewry.