Dani Moscovitch
Overview
Dani Moscovitch is a National Coordinator and a co-founder of IfNotNow (INN), who was arrested while protesting with INN in April 2016.Moscovitch helped lead [01:06:51] an INN demonstration held in support of violent protesters, demonstrated [00:08:57] against the Birthright Jewish Heritage Tour, participated [00:08:36] in events that repurposed Jewish rituals to demonize Israel and protested against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), at their annual policy conference in Washington, D.C.
Moscovitch is one of INN’s three National Coordinators since 2015 and runs INN’s mass training programs.
As a national leader of INN, Moscovitch either made the decision or was complicit in INN’s decision to partner with the anti-Semitic American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Moscovitch was affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in Boston in 2015 and has been a member of Tufts University (Tufts) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Facebook group, since 2012.
As of July 2019, Moscovitch was a trainer with Momentum and reportedly used Momentum’s tools to form INN’s strategy and structure.
Moscovitch attended two INN events protesting Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in 2014. Moscovitch and INN core team members then took a hiatus, spending a year applying Momentum theory to craft INN’s story, strategy and decentralized structure, before the team re-launched INN with a mass training program in December 2015.
Momentum describes itself as a “training institute and movement incubator” that provides “progressive organizers the tools and frameworks to build massive, decentralized social movements.”
As of July 2019, Moscovitch’s LinkedIn page said she graduated in 2013 from Tufts in Medford, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s in International Relations and Religion. Moscovitch’s LinkedIn also said she attended Tel Aviv University (TAU) in 2012.
Arrest
On April 20, 2016, Moscovitch was one of 17 INN activists who were arrestedfor holding a “liberation seder”in the lobby [00:05:44] of the Manhattan building housing the offices of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt and their travels to the Promised Land.
The activists occupied the lobby, demanding that the ADL and American Jewish leaders publicly oppose Israeli “occupation.”
INN uploaded resources for public use to their website and claimed that approximately 500 people participated in their liberation seders across the country.
Supporting Violent Protesters
During the demonstration, INN protestors chanted [01:32:00] “We are horrified by Israel’s violent response to Palestinian non-violent protests.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
The May 14, 2018, event also protested the U.S. government’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Moscovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an INN-hosted protest titled: “#HowManyMore? Mourner’s Kaddish for Protesters Killed in Gaza,” outside of the building housing Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), on April 13, 2018.
The Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish is a prayer customarily reserved for close relatives or Jews murdered for being Jews.
The description on Facebook of the INN event demonized Israel, declaring “shooting at peaceful protesters is inhumane” and calling for Jewish organizations to “condemn the violence.”
On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The violent demonstrations were instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border. Participants declared their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Rioters also made numerous attempts to breach Israel’s border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
INN’s event Facebook description invited protestors to “Join us tonight downtown as we say the Mourner's Kaddish for the protesters who've been killed in Gaza.”
Opposing Jewish Heritage Tour
Moscovitch wore [00:02:28] a mask of United States President Donald Trump andharassed [00:03:34] passing pedestrians, calling out [00:08:37] "I sponsored it [the Birthright trip]!" alongside two other INN activists wearing masks of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Birthright benefactor, Sheldon Adelson.
Repurposing Jewish Rituals
Moskovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an INN vigil outside the office building that houses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in New York, on July 28, 2014.At the demonstration, INN marked the beginning of Tisha B’Av that year by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer for all Gazans and Israelis killed up to that point during OPE. Nine vigil participants who reportedly entered the office building were arrested.
Tisha B’Av, regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, is a day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
On October 13, 2014, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Moscovitch and other INN members used the symbolism of a Sukkah to condemn CJP and Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)’s support for Israel during Operation Protective Edge (OPE).
On October 13, 2014, INN tweeted a photograph of Moscovitch at the INN protest, with the comment: “Dani of @IfNotNowBoston: Judaism cant mean racism, hatred, violence, & killing in my name. #OpenJewishTent #IfNotNow.”
Protesting AIPAC
On March 26, 2017, Moscovitch attended [00:21:32] an INN protest outside the Washington, D.C. venue of the AIPAC policy conference, where activists chained themselves to the entrance of the conference center and blocked entrance to the conference.In an INN-produced video filmed during the protest and posted to Facebook, Thomas Corcoran, then-INN Digital Coordinator, said [00:35:37] that AIPAC had “perpetuated Islamophobia” for years.
Four INN activists purchased tickets to the conference, posing as AIPAC delegates, in order to gain access to the building. Once inside, the INN activists dropped banners from the center’s third floor, stating that they “reject AIPAC and the occupation,” before being removed by security.
On March 28, 2017, following the anti-AIPAC rally, INN’s activities were endorsed by Robert Warren Ray, a “Feature Writer” from the Neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer.
Ray wrote on the Daily Stormer: “I am officially endorsing the Jew vs Jew AIPAC protests...You’re doing our work for us. Keep it up.”
The INN organizers wrote they were “excited to be joined by” Ramah Kudaimi, the Director of Programs and Operations for U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), a coalition of American-based anti-Israel organizations, which lobbies the U.S. Congress to adopt anti-Israel policies and to end support for Israel.
INN reported that the event was attended by “55 IfNotNow members from Washington D.C, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City.”
They also reported that the training session looked at “messages of Islamophobia” and “focused on the ways the Jewish institutions in which many of us grew-up teach and propagate these messages.”
INN then listened to Herzallah go into “greater detail about various Jewish institutions that perpetuate Islamophobia support the occupation.”
The training event was followed by a protest outside of AIPAC's Conference at the Mt. Vernon Convention Center that evening to focus “on the ways AIPAC supports Islamophobia.”
At the protest, INN organizer Jill Raney said that the training earlier that day taught [00:22:10] her how Islamophobia is closely tied to the “American support for the Occupation.”
During the protest, one leader claimed [00:30:18] that AIPAC is “Islamophobic” and “peddles Islamophobia.” Another INN speaker took the bullhorn to explain [00:09:04] that he came out to “make sure that we continue to resist the awful influence that AIPAC has on the Jewish community and our country as a whole.”
JVP Activism
Moscovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an event hosted by JVP-Boston, titled: “Training: Social Media for Palestine Activists,” on June 24, 2015.Moscovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to “JVP-Boston May Meeting” on May 21, 2018. The event’s Facebook description said that “Breakout groups” would “focus on education, congressional advocacy, boycott/divestment/sanctions (BDS), church divestment.”
Moscovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to a JVP-Boston meeting on April 16, 2015. The meeting’s Facebook description said they would focus on BDS and “The Boston Water Alliance for Justice,” which was campaigning “to challenge the Massachusetts -Israel water collaboration.”
Moscovitch indicated on Facebook that she “went” to a JVP-Boston event titled: “Facing the Ongoing Nakba.”
The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.
The event’s Facebook description said that audiences would discuss “the ongoing Nakba (‘Catastrophe’ in Arabic) and “will be encouraged to consider their role in supporting the call for the Right of Return.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
IfNotNow (INN)
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
SJP
SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.
The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.
SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) campus chapters.
SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.
SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.
Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish values.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
