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Founded in 2014 during Israel's last war in the Gaza Strip, IfNotNow now works in 16 cities in the United States and reports that 10,000 people have participated in its 350 protests in the last two and a half years. Among his targets are the powerful pro-Israel pressure group AIPAC and the network of Jewish camps, Camp Ramah. They also protested when former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon spoke to the Zionist organization in America and staged a protest in Washington after the United States announced their embassy in Jerusalem. angered the Palestinians.
According to Rabbi Sharon Brous of Los Angeles, who heads a progressive non-denominational congregation in Los Angeles, IfNotNow is part of a generational shift among American Jews who are alienated by signs of growing illiteracy in Israel.
"There is a huge number of young American Jews who feel that the only option they could have was to buy the scenario of Israel's far-right nationalist support or to Completely abandon the conversation with Israel, "she said.
Group members are more likely to criticize the Israeli government than their parents and grandparents. A 2013 major survey of US Jews on Pew found that only a quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds thought the Israeli government was "making a sincere effort to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians."
US resistance to Israeli politics has been around for years, but it accelerated after Trump's election, according to Brous and other NBC News interlocutors. The close relationship between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu – a warmongering politician who is part of a coalition with Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox parties – galvanized many people, the majority of young Americans and Jews not supporting the president . Netanyahu's ties with the American evangelical Christian community also worried many liberal Jews.
"Some people ask – how did all that happen?", Said Brous.
"How is it that my adorable Israeli Jewish democrat now holds journalists on the border and does not let people into the country and question people based on their political views?" as they arrived or left the country.
Among them, Peter Beinart, a leading liberal American journalist who claims to have been detained and questioned about his contacts and his activities at Ben Gurion Airport in early August. Netanyahu later said the detention was a mistake.
The change in attitude among American Jews has not traditionally broken out because criticizing the state of Israel has long been anathema to community leaders, Brous said.
"There is a tremendous fear of speaking frankly and openly about these Israelis, the struggle of the Palestinians, these complexities, because you could lose your job," she said. "In the name of Israel's love, we have created a firewall to protect Israeli politicians and Israeli politicians who, in my opinion, undermine Israel's Jewish and democratic nature."
The list of 20 organizations that Israel has banned from entering the country is another example of what many see as a non-liberal trend, as they support the BDS movement, which supports boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. . Although he has been fiercely resisted by Israeli officials, he continues to progress. Last week, pop singer Lana Del Rey became one of the many performers to cancel appearances in the country, in her case at a major music festival.
