Ilana Lerman
Overview
Ilana Lerman [Ilana Mannya Lerman] was arrested at anti-Israel protests in 2016 and 2018. Lerman has also demonized a Philadelphia philanthropist, engaged in anti-Israel activism, endorsed anti-Israel agitators and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of 2018, Lerman was a leader with IfNotNow (INN) since 2016.
In 2017, Lerman was reportedly “a core member of the two-year strategy team responsible for launching the IfNotNow movement to end Jewish American support for the occupation.”
In 2015, Lerman was affiliated with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).
As of May 2022, Lerman’s LinkedIn page said she was the “Spiritual & Cultural Life Organizer” of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) since August 2015. On September 24, 2020, Lerman posted to Instagram: “left my staff position at Jewish Voice for Peace after a 5 yr [year] run.”
As of the same date, Lerman was listed as JVP’s “Rabinnical [sic] Council Organizer” in 2017 and 2016 and as JVP’s “Rabinnical [sic] Council Coordinator” in 2015.
As of the same date, Lerman was listed as a member of the core organizing team ofLet My People Sing.
Lerman’s Facebook page said she graduated from the Boston School of Herbal Studies (BSHS) in 2011.
As of May 2022, Lerman’s Facebook said she was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Arrests
On April 26, 2018, Lerman was arrested with other activists who protested outside U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer’s office in New York and staged a “sit-in” to mourn Palestinians killed during the “March of Return” protests.Most of the Gazans who died between March 30 and April 6, 2018, were identified as terror operatives who were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks, rioting against IDF forces or attempting to breach the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
On the same day, JVP posted a photo to Facebook of Lerman with other JVP activists with the text that read: “Released! Pictured here are 10 of the 14 New Yorkers who were arrested today at Senator Chuck Schumer's office.”
On April 20, 2016, Lerman was arrested during an INN protest held at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Boston, Massachusetts. Lerman was one of six INN activists who were reportedly arrested for trespassing after they “chained themselves to a Seder table in protest of the organization’s support of Israel.”
INN posted a photo to Facebook of Lerman being arrested that included a quote by Lerman that read: “...We must end the indefensible American Jewish support of the occupation.”
The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
Demonizing a Philadelphia Philanthropist
In June 2021, Lerman participated in a JVP Philly protest held outside the private residence ofPhiladelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass. The protest was part of a JVP Philly campaign of harassment against Yass.On September 23, 2021, during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, JVP Philly activists erected a tent on the private lawn of Jeffrey Yass to protest his funding of various causes in the United States and Israel.
JVP Philly protesters gathered there with signs that said: “YASS FUNDS FASCISTS” and “YASS FUNDS ISRAELI APARTHEID,” as well as “YASS CASH HARMS OUR PLANET” and “YASS CASH HARMS OUR SCHOOLS.”JVP Swarthmore also participated in the protest.
A JVP Philly Facebook post about the protest claimed: “...his money is making the world a more dangerous, violent, and unequal place…But we are watching…His neighbors are hearing about it. His employees are hearing about it. The word is out. #AllEyesOnYass 🧿.”
JVP Philly passed out a flyer to Yass’s neighbors that claimed Yass was financing “Israeli apartheid policies which cause great harm to Palestinians and any possibility of peace in the region.”
The flyer also said: “TIRED OF SEEING US HERE? TELL JEFF HIS CHOICES ARE NOT JUST HARMING THE WORLD, THEY’RE BUGGING HIS NEIGHBORS TOO. MAYBE THAT WILL MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS WAYS!”
The protest reportedly marked the launch of JVP Philly’s “All Eyes on Yass” campaign, following two other protests they had held earlier that year against Yass.
On June 4, 2021, JVP Philly held a protest with around 100 participants outside Yass’s home. JVP Philly accused Yass of funding “the displacement and murder of Palestinians” and demanded that he stop his support of pro-Israel initiatives.
Speaking into a megaphone, Lerman accused Yass [00:05:17] of “on purpose funding the continued ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
Protesters stood in Yass’s front yard holding [00:00:24] a large sign that said: “ISRAELI APARTHEID FUNDED HERE” and shouted [00:01:30] “shame” while banging on tables.
In a Facebook live stream of the protest, Elana Baurer, a JVP organizer, said [00:00:35] the protesters were calling on Yass to “stop participating in the ongoing Nakba.”
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
At the protest, Alissa Wise, a JVP leader, said [00:11:30] into a megaphone: “last week we were at his office…this week we’re at his house because his employees, his staff, his colleagues, his neighbors, they know what he’s doing,” and continued [00:12:20]: “we must build outrage in everyone in his community until we get what we want.”
On May 21, 2021, JVP Philly held a sit-in at the lobby of Yass’s office in Philadelphia. Protesters held anti-Israel banners and accused [00:00:40] Yass and his business partner, Arthur Dantchik, of “funding genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing” in Israel, as they chanted [00:00:52]: “Israeli apartheid is funded here, Jews say Free Palestine.”
JVP Philly activists also placed flyers on employees’ cars that accused Israel of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians…and violent murder and destruction.”
The protest ended with JVP Philly leader Alissa Wise leaving a voicemail on Yass’s personal number, saying [00:21:08]: “what you’re doing to the Palestinian people is a shande [disgrace]...we’re really disgusted by what you’re funding and we want to urge you to cease funding it now...and we’ll keep coming back as long as it takes.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On May 19, 2020, JVP posted a photo on Facebook featuring Lerman holding up a sign that said: “We at Jewish Voice For Peace Support the Palestinian Right of Return.”On October 16, 2019, Lerman participated in a rally hosted by JVP NYC, calling on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to “end their role in organizing police exchanges between Israeli forces and US law enforcement.”
In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.
On November 8, 2017, Lerman with other JVP activists delivered a petition to ADL’s headquarters, demanding to end police exchanges between Israel and the U.S. Seven protesters were arrested by the police.
On May 17, 2018, during the March of Return protests in Gaza, Lerman led a rally hosted by JVP NYC called: “Palestinians should be free.”
The Facebook album of the event stated that participants “demonstrated at the NYC district offices of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, mourning the 111 Palestinian protesters killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since March 30, and calling upon the senators to break their shameful silence in the face of Israel’s use of deadly force against the Palestinian people, and to support Palestinians’ rights to live in dignity and return home. #GreatReturnMarch #Nakba70.”
On July 27, 2015, Lerman participated in a JVP Boston event called: “Gaza 2014: In Solemn Rememberance [sic].” The purpose of the event was to “ritually commemorate the one-year anniversary of Israel’s most recent and most lethal assault on the captive population of Gaza.”
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
Endorsing Anti-Israel Agitators
On April 16, 2020, Lerman shared a graphic from JVP NY on Instagram, which advertised an event called: “Zoom Rally to Free Prisoners from Rikers to Palestine.” The virtual rally featured a number of anti-Israel agitators as speakers, including Arab [Aarab] Barghouti, Marc Lamont Hill, and Ahed Tamimi.”Aarab Barghouti, the son of convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti, was credited with starting the “Saltwater Challenge.” The “Saltwater Challenge” was held in solidarity with Palestinian inmates hunger-striking in Israeli prisons.
In November 2018, Hill was fired from his contributor position at CNN (Cable News Network) after he gave an anti-Israel speech at the United Nations. He called [00:20:47] for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase associated with demands to dismantle the State of Israel. Hill also accused [00:16:19] Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” as well as [00:17:49] “white supremacy” and [00:17:56] “settler colonialism.”
On February 14, 2019, Lerman featured in a photo posted to Twitter by JVP with Rebecca Vilkomerson and Reuben Telushkin holding a sign that read #IStandWithIlhan.”
Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.
Also, on February 14, 2019, Lerman shared a graphic to Instagram that showed a drawing of Ilhan Omar with the text: “We Stand with Ilhan Palestine will be FREE.”
Supporting BDS
On December 8, 2017, Lerman posted to Facebook: “...Support #bds at local levels…”On January 28, 2016, Lerman posted to Facebook: “gentrification in the US and apartheid in Palestine.” Lerman’s post included an image of a woman holding a sign that read: “Tell Airbnb No More #StolenHomes” and linked to a JVP campaign.
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.”
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
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).
JVP Philly Chapter Overview
JVP Philly whitewashes terrorism, shows support for terrorists, demonizes Jewish organizations and actively promotes the BDS movement. In 2021, JVP Philly led a campaign of harassment against a Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass and organized a series of anti-Israel protests.JVP Philly - Promoting BDS 2021
JVP Philly signed a May 19, 2021 statement by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO) that called on the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to “divest from companies that profit from and/or are complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”The statement accused Israel of the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” a “massacre of Gaza” and of having “genocidal intentions.” It also urged Penn students, faculty, staff and alumni to “call on the US government to place sanctions on Israel.”
JVP Philly - Whitewashing Terrorism 2019
On May 6, 2019, JVP Philly shared a Facebook post by anti-Israel agitator Linda Sarsour that said: “...Friday, Israel gunned down 4 Palestinians peacefully protesting. No condemnations. No one saying how immoral it is to kill Palestinians…”On May 3, 2019, two Israeli soldiers, patrolling near the Gaza border, were shot and injured from sniper fire in Gaza. In response, the Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas base nearby, killing two members of Hamas’s armed wing. Two other Palestinians were killed while participating in riots along the Gaza border.
On March 30, 2019, JVP Philly held a “GreatReturnMarch Memorial and Teach-In.” The Facebook event description claimed: “Since March 30th, 2018 tens of thousands of Palestinians have marched peacefully every Friday along the Gaza/Israel border…” A JVP Philly email promoting the event described it as “A Martyrology Inspired Memorial Teach-In.”
Approximately 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border on March 30, 2018 as part of the “March of Return,” which was organized and funded by Hamas. This was used as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
JVP Philly retweeted a January 30, 2019 tweet by JVP that said: “Another day, another Palestinian child murdered Samah Mubarak was killed by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] at a checkpoint for an alleged ‘knife attack’...”
On January 30, 2019, 16-year-old Samah Mubarak attempted to stab an Israeli security officer and was shot by Israeli Security forces.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilana.m.lermanTwitter: https://twitter.com/ilana_manya
https://twitter.com/lanzomanya [Deleted]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilana-lerman-5a1ba39a/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluot_sky/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ilana0297/
