European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) is a federation of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish groups in ten

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries aimed at bringing about

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and ensuring respect for the human rights of 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 ...

. One of the claims of EJJP is Israel's immediate withdrawal from the

occupied territories Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

History

The organisation was founded in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a 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 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 ...
's 1967 ' green line' borders *commitment to the Palestinians' right to a state in the territories currently occupied by Israel in 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 ...
,
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...
and Gaza *the recognition of the right of both states to have
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
as their capital *calling on Israel to acknowledge its part in the creation of the
Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war ( 1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War ( 1967 Palestinian exo ...
problem and its obligation to negotiate a just, fair and practical resolution of the issue.

In an opinion article published in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

in February 2009,

Antony Lerman Antony Lerman (born 11 March 1946) is a British writer who specialises 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 Insti ...

, the former (2006-2009) director of the

Institute for Jewish Policy Research The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), founded as the Institute of Jewish Affairs, is a London-based research institute and think tank. It specializes in contemporary Jewish affairs. JPR also runs a public education programme, and has hos ...

considers that Jewish peace groups like European Jews for a Just Peace and Independent Jewish Voices in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

"may have a moderating influence on Israel" as "Israel is heavily dependent on what Jews think". In September 2010, EJJP organized a Gaza-bound aid boat, the "

Jewish Boat to Gaza The Jewish Boat to Gaza was an initiative in an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza City, 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, ...

", carrying nine Jewish activists. It was intercepted by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and led to the port of

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

. The EJJP chairperson,

Dror Feiler Dror Elimelech Feiler ( he, דרור אלימלך פיילר; born 31 August 1951) is an Israeli-born Swedish musician, artist and left-wing activist. He is married to the artist Gunilla Sköld-Feiler. Early life and career Feiler was born in Te ...

, an Israel-born Swedish national, was again aboard the French Dignité-Al Karama ship in the 2011 flotilla for Gaza.

Member organizations

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

: Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Near East) *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique The ''Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique'' (UPJB, Union of Progressive Jews of Belgium) is a Belgian Jewish organization set up in 1939 as ''Solidarité juive'' (Jewish Solidarity) by antifascist Jews in Belgium, becoming in 1946 ''Solidarit ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

: European Jews for a Just Peace - Denmark *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

: Union juive française pour la paix (Jewish French Union for Peace) *

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

: Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Near East) *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

: Rete Ebrei contro l'occupazione ("Rete ECO", Italian Network of Jews Against the Occupation) *the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Een Ander Joods Geluid Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice) (EAJG) is a Dutch-Jewish organisation founded in May 2001 to promote the public debate concerning Israel. It wants to break the perceived silence in the Dutch-Jewish community concerning the occupat ...

(A Different Jewish Voice) *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

: Judar för israelisk-palestinsk fred (Jews for Israeli–Palestinian Peace) *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

: Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden zwischen Israel und Palästina (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace between Israel and Palestine) *the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Jewish Socialists' Group The Jewish Socialists' Group (JSG) is a Jewish socialist collective in Britain, formed in the 1970s. History JSG was founded in Manchester/Liverpool in 1974-1977 as a lobby group campaigning against the fascist National Front and for the left ...

and

Jews for Justice for Palestinians Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JJP) is a group based in Britain that describes itself as advocating for human and civil rights, and economic and political freedom, for the Palestinian people. It opposes the current policy of Israel towards ...

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.ejjp.net/ Jewish anti-occupation groups International organizations based in Europe Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Jews and Judaism in Europe