Overview

  • Website: http://www.ajjp.org
  • Based in Arlington, MA. Currently has chapters in Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and Albuquerque, with plans to open more.
  • Claims to work “to ensure equal rights, safety, and dignity for all the people of historic Palestine.”
  • Aims to “educate” U.S. public opinion about the conflict “with the goal of influencing U.S. policy and decision-making.”
  • No list of key officials or funding information available on its website.

Statements and Activities

  •  Accuses Israel of “apartheid,” “collective punishment,” “military strikes on civilian areas,” “torture,” and “denial of [Palestinian] access to education and medical care.”
  • Campaigns to end tax-exempt status of Jewish National Fund (JNF).
  • Co-sponsor of the Jewish Boat to Gaza and lobbied President Barack Obama to “guarantee safe passage.”
  • Promotes the International Israel Apartheid Short Film Contest.
  • Uses Jewish cultural and religious observances to promote its political agenda:
    • The Tashlich prayer is rewritten to ask for forgiveness for “conspiring to erase a people from history and eject it from the land, for the knowing and intentional dispossession of three quarters of a million native Palestinians,” for “apartheid,” for “imprisoning Palestinians into ghettos,” and for “purposefully making Palestinian life unlivable.”
    • Tu B’Shvat resource guide condemns the “sins of Zionist leadership” and the JNF for planting trees in Israel.
    • On its homepage, includes a count of Israelis who refuse to serve in the IDF under “refusnik watch.”
    • Website’s “Historical Reflections” section juxtaposes and compares anecdotes from Holocaust refugees with those from Palestinian refugee.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)

  • AJJP “recognize[s] the importance of boycott, divestment and sanctions work and support[s] the right of our members to engage in that work.”
  • Advocates economic sanctions by “cessation of U.S. aid to Israel until Israel ends its occupation and land expropriation… and achieves a just peace.”
  • Works for “de-shelving” of Israeli products in stores.
  • Boycotts the law of return, which allows for Jewish immigration to Israel.

Affiliations