Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JJP) is a group based in Britain that describes itself as advocating for

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

, and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and political freedom, for the

Palestinian people Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

. It opposes the current policy of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

towards the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...

, particularly the

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

of the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, and seeks a change in their political status. Its membership is primarily British Jews.

Background

The organisation was founded around 17 February 2002 by UK academic Irene Bruegel, the daughter of German-Jewish refugees, and her partner Richard Kuper, together with many, mainly female, Jewish friends, just after Bruegel had toured the

. Within six years it achieved as membership of 1,300 out of a UK Jewish population of over a quarter of a million and over that period proved instrumental, according to an obituary, in 'shattering the illusion that all Jews unconditionally support the Israeli government.' It grew out of a reaction to the

Al-Aqsa Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel ...

, which had rapidly led to the formation of a movement of British Jews opposed to Zionism who formed ''JPUK'' (Just Peace, United Kingdom) in October 2000. The deployment of the word 'Palestinian' in their name led to some controversy, but was retained. Bruegel's political skills quickly made it the largest organization of this type in its field. It played a significant role in the establishment of a broader organization, the

European Jews for a Just Peace European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) is a federation of Jewish groups in ten European 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 Is ...

. It describes itself as welcoming to all Jews, practising or secular,

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

or not, who share opposition to

i policies that could be seen as threatening Palestinian rights. It works through cultural events to increase public awareness critical of such policies. It supports a wide range of Israeli peace and human-rights groups working towards these same ends. One of its leaders, Richard Kuper, was active in forming a coalition of Jews who sailed in late 2010 from Cyprus in an effort to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, some months after the

Gaza flotilla raid The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...

. Its stated reasons for supporting Palestinian rights are promoting human rights and that this is the best means of securing peace for Israelis. It supports the right of Israelis to live in freedom and security within Israel's 1967 borders. It organises to give voice to the many strands of Israeli peace activism and to ensure that Jewish opinions critical of Israeli policy are heard in Britain. It believes that such opposition is important in countering

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and the claim that opposition to Israel's policies is itself anti-semitic.

David Hirsh David Hirsh (born 29 September 1967) is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and co-founder of Engage, a campaign against the academic boycott of Israel. Early life and education Hirsh was raised in a Jewish fami ...

quit the organisation in 2016 because some of its signatories questioned the good faith of those supporting allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party. It cooperates with other organisations on specific issues without necessarily endorsing them. Together with others, it calls on the British and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

governments to suspend trade agreements with Israel, recognise the Palestinian Authority and support it financially, to cease to trade arms with Israel, push for the enforcement of

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

in the region and strive for fair and free negotiations between the parties. It supports the British Shalom-Salaam Trust which funds a variety of humanitarian and educational projects in Israel and Palestine. It is a founder member of the Enough! Coalition in the UK in 2007.

Open letters

JJP has organised a number of petitions and open letters on political and human rights questions signed by distinguished British Jews from academia, the arts and other fields of activity. A letter to the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband of September 2007, urging

Her Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

to speak at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

against

i sanctions in Gaza, printed in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', was signed among many others by: *

Zygmunt Bauman Zygmunt Bauman (; 19 November 1925 – 9 January 2017) was a Polish sociologist and philosopher. He was driven out of the Polish People's Republic during the 1968 Polish political crisis and forced to give up his Polish citizenship. He emigrat ...

* Stanley Cohen *

Miriam David Miriam E. David FRSA FAcSS (born 9 August 1945) is a British educator. She is Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London and Associate Director of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme. Education and care ...

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

* Eric Hobsbawm *

Michael Horovitz Michael Yechiel Ha-Levi Horovitz (4 April 1935 – 7 July 2021) was a German-born British poet, editor, visual artist and translator who was a leading part of the Beat Poetry scene in the UK. In 1959, while still a student, he founded the "tr ...

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Brian Klug Brian Klug (* born in London) is British senior research fellow and tutor in philosophy at St. Benet's Hall, Oxford and a member of the philosophy faculty at Oxford University. He is also an honorary fellow of the Parkes Institute for the Study ...

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Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

* Paul Oestreicher * Susie Orbach * Harold Pinter *

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ro ...

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gre ...

Lynne Segal Lynne Segal (born 29 March 1944) is an Australian-born, British-based Socialist feminism, socialist feminist academic and activist, author of many books and articles, and participant in many campaigns, from local community to international. She ha ...

Gillian Slovo Gillian Slovo (born 15 March 1952) is a South African-born writer who lives in the UK. She was a recipient of the Golden PEN Award. Early life and education Gillian Slovo was born on 15 March 1952 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her family move ...

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman, (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles, among others, on TV. In her first film, ''Nichol ...

Michelene Wandor Michelene Dinah Wandor (née Samuels; born 20 April 1940), known from 1963 to at least 1979 as Michelene Victor, is an English playwright, critic, broadcaster, poet, lecturer, and musician. Birth and education She was born Michelene Samuels i ...

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