European Jews for a Just Peace
Encyclopedia
European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) is a federation of Jewish groups in ten Europe
an countries aimed at bringing about peace
in the Middle East
and ensuring respect for the human rights of the Palestinian people
. One of the claims of EJJP is Israel's immediate withdrawal from the occupied territories
.
in September 2002. Its principles are contained in its "Amsterdam Declaration" of 2002, amended in 2004. These are:
At its 2007 Convention held in Berlin
to coincide with the G8
meeting it adopted a statement entitled "Before it is too late! EJJP calls for a bold European initiative for a just peace in the Middle East".
-bound aid boat, the "Jewish Boat to Gaza
", carrying nine Jewish activists. It was intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces
and led to the haven of Ashdod.
The EJJP chairperson, Dror Feiler
, an Israel-born Swedish national, was again aboard the French Dignité-Al Karama ship in the 2011 flotilla for Gaza.
in February 2009, Antony Lerman
, the former (2006-2009) director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research
considers that Jewish peace groups like European Jews for a Just Peace and Independent Jewish Voices in Canada and Australia
"may have a moderating influence on Israel" as "Israel is heavily dependent on what Jews think".
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries aimed at bringing about peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and ensuring respect for the human rights of the Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
. One of the claims of EJJP is Israel's immediate withdrawal from the occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
.
"Amsterdam Declaration"
The organisation was founded in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in September 2002. Its principles are contained in its "Amsterdam Declaration" of 2002, amended in 2004. These are:
- the condemnation of all violence against civilians in the conflict, no matter by whom it is carried out
- the recognition of Israel's 1967 'green line
Green Line (Israel)Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
' borders- commitment to the Palestinians' right to a state in the territories currently occupied by Israel in the West Bank
West BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, East JerusalemEast JerusalemEast Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
and GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...- the recognition of the right of both states to have Jerusalem as their capital
- calling on Israel to acknowledge its part in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem and its obligation to negotiate a just, fair and practical resolution of the issue.
At its 2007 Convention held in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to coincide with the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
meeting it adopted a statement entitled "Before it is too late! EJJP calls for a bold European initiative for a just peace in the Middle East".
Member organizations
- AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
: Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Near East) - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
: Union des progressistes juifs de BelgiqueUnion des progressistes juifs de BelgiqueThe Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique is a Belgian Jewish organization set up in 1939 as Solidarité juive by antifascist Jews in Belgium, becoming in 1946 Solidarité juive, aide aux victimes de l'oppresseur nazi... - DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
: European Jews for a Just Peace - Denmark - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
: Union juive française pour la paix (Jewish French Union for Peace) - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
: Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Near East) - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
: Union des progressistes juifs de BelgiqueUnion des progressistes juifs de BelgiqueThe Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique is a Belgian Jewish organization set up in 1939 as Solidarité juive by antifascist Jews in Belgium, becoming in 1946 Solidarité juive, aide aux victimes de l'oppresseur nazi... - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
: Rete Ebrei contro l'occupazione ("Rete ECO", Network of Jews Against Occupation) - the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
: Een Ander Joods GeluidEen Ander Joods GeluidEen Ander Joods Geluid is a Dutch-Jewish organisation founded in May 2001 to promote the public debate concerning Israel...
(A Different Jewish Voice) - SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
: Judar för israelisk-palestinsk fred (Jews for Israeli–Palestinian Peace) - SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
: Jüdische Stimme fur einen gerechten Frieden zwischen Israel und Palastina (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace between Israel and Palestine) - the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
: Jewish Socialists' GroupJewish Socialists' GroupThe Jewish Socialists' Group is a Jewish socialist collective in Britain, formed in the 1970s.-History:The Jewish Socialists' Group is a Jewish socialist collective in Britain, that was founded in Manchester/Liverpool in 1974-1977 as lobby group campaigning against the fascist National Front and...
and Jews for Justice for PalestiniansJews for Justice for PalestiniansJews for Justice for Palestinians is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom that advocates human and civil rights, and economic and political freedom, for the Palestinian people...
Boats for Gaza
In September 2010, EJJP organized a GazaGaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
-bound aid boat, the "Jewish Boat to Gaza
Jewish Boat to Gaza
The Jewish Boat to Gaza was an initiative in an attempt to break the siege of Gaza in late 2010. The boat, a catamaran named the MV Irene, had eight activists on board, all of them either Israelis or Jews from the United States, United Kingdom, or Germany, plus one English photojournalist, a total...
", carrying nine Jewish activists. It was intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and led to the haven of Ashdod.
The EJJP chairperson, Dror Feiler
Dror Feiler
Dror Elimelech Feiler is a Swedish-Israeli musician, artist and leftist activist. He has been living in Stockholm, Sweden since 1973. He is married to the artist Gunilla Sköld-Feiler...
, an Israel-born Swedish national, was again aboard the French Dignité-Al Karama ship in the 2011 flotilla for Gaza.
Reactions
In an opinion article published in The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in February 2009, Antony Lerman
Antony Lerman
Antony Lerman is a British writer who specializes in the study of antisemitism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, multiculturalism, and the place of religion in society. From 2006 to early 2009, he was Director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a think tank on issues affecting Jewish...
, the former (2006-2009) director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research
Institute for Jewish Policy Research
The Institute for Jewish Policy Research , founded as the Institute of Jewish Affairs, is a London-based research institute and think tank. It specializes in contemporary Jewish affairs, with a particular focus on Jews in Britain and across Europe...
considers that Jewish peace groups like European Jews for a Just Peace and Independent Jewish Voices in Canada and Australia
Independent Australian Jewish Voices
Independent Australian Jewish Voices is an Australian Jewish advocacy organisation that opposes some of the current Israeli government's policies...
"may have a moderating influence on Israel" as "Israel is heavily dependent on what Jews think".