Lana Povitz

Overview

Lana Dee Povitz [Lana Povitz] has demonized Israel, spread hatred of America and was a leading Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) activist, having served [00:00:27] on the coordinating committee of JVP’s New York City chapter (JVP NYC) from 2015 to 2017.

Povitz is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of May 2023, Povitz had been an assistant professor of history at Middlebury College (Middlebury) in Vermont since September 2018.

As of the same date, Povitz’s LinkedIn profile listed her as a “Visiting Assistant Professor” at Middlebury. She had also been a fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) since September 2020 and she received a PhD in U.S. history from New York University (NYU) in 2016.

As of May 2023, Povitz’s LinkedIn said she was located in New York, New York.

As of the same date, Povitz used the name “Lan Apovitz” on Facebook.

Demonizing Israel

On October 9, 2017, Povitz was featured in a Facebook photo posted by JVP that said: “A few photos from Wrestling With Zionism: Readers Theater. Telling stories of personal interactions with the racism, colonialism, and history of Zionism.”

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.

On October 18, 2019, Povitz posted on Facebook: “Chills and amazement: my beautiful beloved @jewish voice for peace - New York City chapter does it again, an incredible moving action to END the ADL’s [Anti-Defamation League] deadly exchanges program between Israel and US police departments. Couldn’t be prouder.”

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.

The ADL was founded in 1913 “To stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”

Hatred of America

On August 27, 2015, Povitz was featured [00:00:01] in a YouTube video from an anti-Israel protest, where she was asked: “Do you think of Hamas as a terrorist organization?”

Povitz responded [00:00:03]: “I think of the United States government as a terrorist organization.” Povitz further stated [00:00:11] that “the United States government is much worse” than Hamas.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

In the same interview, Povitz explained [00:00:35] that her fight is with “the U.S. government because they are funding Israel.”

Anti-Israel Activism (JVP, BDS)

In December 2019, Povitz created a fundraising page on Facebook for JVP, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Red Nation. On December 2, 2019, Povitz donated to her fundraiser. Her fundraising page accused Israel of “apartheid.”

On April 2, 2018, Povitz posted on Facebook: “..Pls sign, Jewish or not, to express your opposition to this atrocity perpetrated by the Israeli government.” Povitz’s post linked to an open letter titled: “Support the Great March of Return.”

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 march was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel. The “right of return” has since been discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

On March 1, 2018, Povitz was listed as a signatory to a letter promoting an anti-Israel children’s book, which stated: “...Just look at what happened recently when one of our Upper West Side bookstores, Book Culture, promoted and sold a children’s book, P is for Palestine…Are Upper West Siders proud—or repulsed—that Book Culture felt it necessary to issue a statement that ‘Israel has a right to exist’ and that it is against BDS, both issues that are not mentioned in the book?”

Dr. Golbarg Bashi’s children’s book, “P is for Palestine,” was surrounded by controversy for its reported glorification of “intifada.” The book states: “I is for Intifada. Intifada is Arabic for rising up for what is right, whether you are a kid or a grownup.” Bashi has a history of demonizing Israel on social media as well as on her blogs.

On June 1, 2017, Povitz moderated a “Teach-in on Palestine: Colonialism, Resistance and Justice” at the Left Forum hosted by John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York (CUNY). Povitz stated [00:04:37] that she “organized” the panel.

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

On June 25, 2017, Povitz posted a picture of herself representing JVP at the New York City Pride parade and wrote: “#pride2017 heading up this year’s #nycprideparade with the Resistance contingent!”

In the picture, Povitz carried a banner that read: “New York Chapter Jewish Voice for Peace END U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL. END THE OCCUPATION.”

On September 7, 2016, Povitz posted on Facebook: “[New York] City Council’s looking to condemn BDS so we need everyone out tomorrow am to SUPPORT PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS.Meet us outside the entrance to City Hall Park on Park Row at 8:45 AM.” She included a post by JVP NYC promoting a BDS protest.

On January 8, 2016, Povitz posted in a Facebook group called: “New Jewish Agenda Reunion May 27-30 2016 Ann Arbor, MI [Michigan],” writing: “...I am putting together a discussion panel for the 2017 Berkshire Conference of women’s history on Jewish feminist anti-Zionist organizing since the 1970s….Message me privately if you’re interested! The Berks is an academic conference but you don’t have to be an academic to take part.”

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 value.”

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.