Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of IfNotNow, an American progressive group which advocates for Palestinians and opposes Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza as part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
IfNotNow
The Latest
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Opinion Birthright Is Chasing Away Engaged Jews To Please Pro-Israel Hardliners
Picture the scene: A group of young American Jews, visiting Israel for the first time on Birthright, demand more education about the country and its politics, trying to realize an age-old Jewish ideal of sharp, open debate. They form new organizations and movements around Jewish political activism, and they form links with groups of Israeli…
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News Birthright Bans ‘Hijacking Discussion’ After Anti-Occupation Walkouts
After a series of highly publicized walkouts on Taglit-Birthright trips this summer, the organization has included a ban on “hijakck(ing) a discussion” in the contract participants are required to sign to be accepted on its free 10-day trips to Israel. A new clause included in the contract appears aimed at preventing a recurrence of such…
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News ‘President Hate’ Greeted By Protests And Unity In Heartbroken Jewish Pittsburgh
They came in their thousands, singing Jewish songs and folksy protest anthems like “This Land Is Your Land.” Holding signs denouncing Donald Trump as “President Hate,” they marched in the fall sunshine through the tree-lined streets of Squirrel Hill, the quintessential Pittsburgh Jewish neighborhood that was scarred forever by deadly violence a few days earlier….
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Fast Forward Facebook Removes Video Of Birthright Walkoff
Facebook removed a live-streamed video posted by a Birthright participant who recently walked off her trip with eight others to visit a Palestinian family facing eviction from their eastern Jerusalem home. The social network took down the video over the weekend, according to IfNotNow, an American-Jewish progressive activist group that connected the participants with activists…
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Community What Do IfNotNow Birthright Protestors Really Want? We Asked Them
On July 23, our Deputy Opinion Editor Laura E. Adkins sat down with IfNotNow activists Noah Wagner, Rebecca Oliver and Danielle Raskin to discuss their recent Birthright Israel walk-offs. Watch: What do you think? Let us know.
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Letters No, American Zionism Is Not Apathetic
Last month on the pages of The Forward I claimed the right to be a liberal Zionist in America, one who feels a deep connection with Israel, one who continues to envision a democratic Jewish state that exists alongside a free and independent Palestine — but also one who recognizes that a half-century after the…
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Opinion Why Do People Care More About Adelson’s Money Than The Lives Of Palestinians?
Over the past three weeks, 13 Birthright participants decided to walk off their Birthright trips, causing quite a stir. The walk-offs happened on three different trips, but all for the same reason. After repeatedly asking questions about the material they were being presented and then receiving whitewashed answers about Israel’s military rule over Palestinians, or…
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Opinion Playing Politics With Birthright? That’s Like Stealing A Free Trip To Israel.
Are Jewish 20-somethings entitled to a free trip to Israel? For decades, the donors behind Birthright Israel have gifted thousands of young Jews from around the world with 10-day immersive experiences in the Holy Land. The heritage and culture trips sometimes center around a particular theme, like Israeli food, Russian culture, or Israel’s LGBTQ commuity….
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