You are correct in your reporting that Jewish Voice for Peace takes care not to portray itself as anti-Israel (“ADL List Fuels Debate Over What’s Anti-Israel,” Oct. 22), and a quick reading of its website suggests that it is merely a strong critic of Israel’s policies regarding the West Bank and Gaza, advocates shifting more political power to Israel’s Arab citizens, and that it promotes boycotts of Israel-based businesses in furtherance of those goals.
But if you read its positions more closely, one of its goals also appears to be the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. Its website champions the Palestinian “right of return,” which is a non-starter in negotiations because it means the end of the Jewish state. I also found some cached material removed from JVP’s current website which tries to dance around the group’s position on Zionism, but it generally delegitimizes Israel as a Jewish state, is generally hostile to Zionism and seemingly laments that there are no longer Zionists “opposed to the idea of a Jewish state.”
So, in response to your article, there is little to debate — JVP is anti-Israel. But what makes its operation so disturbing is that it uses stealth and subtle, misleading information (suggesting that it is opposed to Israel’s policies — not its existence) to rally college students and others to its anti-Israel cause.
Manhattan
