Joseph Berman
Overview
Joseph Berman is the Government Affairs Manager for the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organization in Washington, D.C. Berman has been an activist with IfNotNow (INN) since its inception in 2014. He is also on the rabbinical council of Open Hillel and is an activist within the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.Berman has minimized anti-Semitism, demonized Israel and participated in an event that repurposed Jewish rituals. He has also supported anti-Israel agitators and took part in an anti-Israel activist trip.
Berman reportedly received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and “was ordained in 2010 by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Boston.”
Berman is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program, which is a leadership development fellowship for Jewish communal professionals in graduate school.
As of July 2019, Berman served as the Rabbi and spiritual leader of the New Synagogue Project in Washington, DC.
Minimizing Anti Semitism
On August 5, 2018 Berman was quoted in an open letter from JVP defending British MP Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour party from charges of anti-Semitism from the three major British Jewish newspapers.In the article, Berman claimed that “anti-semitism is being cynically exploited to target advocates of Palestinian human rights.”
On June 15, 2018, Berman participated in an interview with Palestine Legal on their YouTube channel, discussing the passage of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA).
The AAA directed the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to apply the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism to anti-Israel incidents at schools and college campuses.
In the interview, Berman insisted [00:00:42] “It’s not actually about anti semitism, it’s about trying to silence students...” and suggested that [00:04:21] the legislation should be called the “‘Silencing Students Act.’
In a June 6, 2018 article in the Jewish Week called: “Defining Anti-Semitism Tests Issues Of Speech, Bias,” Berman was quoted as saying: “This isn’t an ‘Anti-Semitism Awareness Act’ — it’s the ‘Silencing Students Act.’”
JVP campaigned against the 2016 AAA. They launched a petition opposing the bill, which stated that “real anti-Semitism” came from the “white supremacist movements in this country” and that support for BDS was “not inherently anti semitic.”
In a November 14, 2018 article in the anti-Israel Mondoweiss, JVP representatives implored U.S. Senator Cory Booker to vote against the AAA. Berman is quoted as stating the AAA “has nothing to do with fighting antisemitism.”
In March of 2014, Berman protested the decision by Northeastern University (Northeastern) to temporarily suspend their chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from the campus for at least a year for its campaign distributing mock eviction notices to student residences at the university.
Previously, in May 2013, the chapter was put on “administrative probation after members staged a silent walkout during an event with Israeli soldiers.”
Berman was featured in a photo posted to Facebook by JVP Boston from the JVP and SJP co-hosted protest titled: “DEFEND STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE AT NORTHEASTERN: Rally/March.”
Demonizing Israel
On July 21, 2014, Berman posted a photo to Facebook that said: “Not in my Name” in English, Hebrew and Arabic.A Facebook user asked what it meant in a comment and Berman responded: “it refers to the violence happening in Palestine/Israel right now and specifically to Israel's occupation and attack on Palestinians in Gaza. They try to speak in the name of all Jews but they do not speak or act in my name!”
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
On September 18, 2015, an email sent by Berman to JVP supporters was published by a blog. The email congratulated supporters for helping pass the “Iran Deal.”
Berman then warned in the email that due to the deal passing, more aid and support could be sent to Israel “including specialized equipment that could be used to attack Iran as well as more weapons that will be used for human rights abuses against Palestinians.” Berman went on to say: “We need to send a strong and loud message: no weapons for Israel.”
On November 9, 2015, Berman spoke at a JVP DC event called: “No US Tax Dollars for Israel's Occupation,” which was described in the event’s Facebook photo album as a “Rally Against Netanyahu Visit & $45 Billions Arms Giveaway to Israel.”
Other speakers included anti-Israel activist Max Blumenthal, as well as anti-Israel activists Mohammad Abou-Ghazala and activist and Director of Programs and Operations for USCPR, Ramah Kudaimi.
Protesters at the event held signs calling Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and accusing Israel of genocide.
On August 11, 2016, Berman participated in an event called: “Jews Stand With the Movement for Black Lives and Against the Occupation - March and Protest,” hosted by INN DC. The protest was to march against the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for their condemnation of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) platform, which accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.
On June 22, 2017, Berman signed a petition that condemned Hillel International for cutting ties with Jewish LGBTQ group B’nei Keshet at Ohio State University (OSU), “for participating in a fundraiser for LGBTQ refugees.”
OSU Hillel cut ties with B’nai Keshet after the group co-sponsored an event with JVP, which supports the BDS movement. Hillel International does not work with groups that “support boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions against the State of Israel.”
On May 10, 2018, Berman interviewed [00:00:15]“Walid Mahmoud...an independent journalist from Gaza” on JVP’s Facebook page, discussing the Great Return March. Berman told Mahmoud [00:05:37]: “it’s a superhero feat to be a protestor.” Mahmoud characterized [00:14:36] the protests as “completely peaceful. People dancing, making food…”
On May 15, 2018, Berman was quoted in an article for MintPressNews.com called: “No more unconditional support for Israel’s racist policies,” written by JVP. Berman called the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “immoral and irresponsible move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem desecrates the city, goes against international consensus, and contributes to the ongoing occupation and displacement of Palestinians.”
Repurposing Jewish Rituals
On October 13, 2014, Berman participated in an INN Boston event that built a Sukkah outside the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston and CJP - Greater Boston's Jewish Federation.The event’s Facebook description said participants would build “our own Jewish tent” and demand that CJP and JCRC state their “opposition to the the [sic] occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as the blockade of Gaza.”
A tweet from the event said: “Rabbi Joseph Berman explains why we have built a moving sukkah & are here at @CJPBoston demanding an #OpenJewishTent.”
Promoting BDS
On November 9, 2015, Berman wrote a piece called: “No more unconditional support for Israel’s racist policies.” Berman called on then-U.S. President Barack Obama to withhold aid from Israel. Berman also asked readers to call the Obama and tell him “he shouldn’t give aid to a country that commits collective punishment and violates international law on a daily basis.”Berman went on to blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for repressing Palestinians and said that Netanyahu: “stands for war, and racism, and dispossession...Racism is the dominant force in Israeli political discourse.”
On July 21, 2017, Berman was featured in an interview on Democracy Now! which was shared on the JVP Facebook page. The interview was titled: “The Right to Boycott Under Attack” and discussed legislation commonly known as “The Israel Anti-Boycott Act.”
Berman said [00:07:45]: “I’m concerned about this legislation, we need to fight it and oppose it” and urged people to call their government representatives to oppose the bill.
On October 18, 2017, Berman participated in a video conversation on the JVP Facebook page with Rahul Saksena of Palestine Legal, about the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
Berman said the bill [00:05: 40] “aims to quell the movement for Palestinian human rights” by penalizing companies and individuals who practice BDS against Israel. Berman also charged [00:17:05] that "there are children who are basically being tortured" by the IDF.
On April 29, 2013, Berman was featured in a photo posted to Facebook by the “Boston Sodastream Boycott Campaign.” The photo depicted a group of people holding a JVP Boston sign and the caption read: “Most of the crew! Don't they look amazing?!”
In February 2016, 500 Palestinians lost their jobs when Sodastream moved its factory from the West Bank to southern Israel. Although the company denied that BDS had an impact on the decision, the BDS movement took credit for the factory’s relocation.
Promoting BDS in American Churches
Berman was featured in a July 23, 2014 video posted to YouTube by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) called: “Jewish Voice for Peace Congressional Briefing.”In the video, Berman called [00:07:33] the decision of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. to divest from Israel “momentous” and claimed [00:07:59] that these campaigns don’t target Israel or Israelis, but instead American companies “who are complicit in injustice.”
He also said [00:06:00] that he’s given strength by the call for BDS, including the “Right of Return.” He called the movement “inspiring,” specifically the divestment campaigns happening on US college campuses.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
In February, 2012, Berman signed “An Open Letter to The United Methodist Church from the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council.” The letter endorsed efforts within the Church’s to “initiate phased selective divestment from corporations which profit from or support Israel's occupation.”
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitators
On January 23, 2017, Berman wrote on Facebook: “#IMarchWithLinda [Linda Sarsour] because she provides the visionary leadership we need to achieve true justice and equality. You come for her you come for us all.”At Farrakhan’s 2015 #JusticeOrElse March, Sarsour asserted [00:00:36]: “The same people who justify the massacres of Palestinian people and call it ‘collateral damage’ are the same people who justify the murder of young black men and women.”
On November 30, 2016, Berman was featured in a photo on Facebook, with other activists including Code Pink staff member, Ariel Gold.
The photo’s caption said: “Today we brought 15,000 petition signatures to a State Department meeting calling on Secretary Kerry to make a public statement in support of Palestinian human rights defender Issa Amro!”
Anti-Israel agitator Issa Amro is known for vandalism and attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. Amro heads the Youth Against Settlements (YAS) movement, an anti-Israel organization based in Hebron that promotes anti-Semitism, rock-throwing and violence against Israelis.
Anti-Israel Activist Trip
On June 24, 2016, Berman wrote a piece for The Hill, where he spoke about an anti-Israel activist trip he took to Israel, with a delegation from Interfaith Peace Builders (IFPB).Eyewitness Palestine, formerly known as IFPB until 2018, is an anti-Israel NGO that organizes activist delegations to Israel and the West Bank.
The trip was co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is an anti-Israel Quaker organization that promotes BDS.
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).
