Pro-Peace Jewish Groups from 16 Countries, Including Luxembourg Hold 1st International Congress in London

 After almost four years of monthly meetings online, leaders and long-time organisers representing 20 Jewish groups from sixteen countries across the globe supporting justice for the Palestinian people have announced they are meeting in person in London for the first-ever congress of the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine (IJCJP) on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June 2024. 

Participants will also join the Jewish Bloc on the National Demonstration for Gaza in London on Saturday aiming to express their conviction that justice for the Palestinian people is a “precondition for justice for us all”. 

The groups noted that, while Israel claims to speak for all Jewish people, growing numbers of Jews around the world deny this and have joined the global movement for Palestinian justice. They declared: “We stand in strong opposition to Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and are active participants in global organising demanding a cease-fire now and full justice and dignity for the Palestinian people”. 

The groups are made up of social justice organisers, educators, writers and others representing Jewish groups from New Zealand, Belgium, France, Israel, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Catalonia and the Netherlands. 

"Around the world, progressive Jewish groups have taken strong stands against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, staging eye-catching public protests. The gathering of representatives of many of those groups in London from 8-9 June aimed at maximising impact through closer international cooperation is a natural and significant initiative spearheaded by the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine (IJCJP). It constitutes a major challenge to Jewish establishment bodies giving carte blanche to Israel to continue flouting international law," said Antony Lerman, former Director of the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research and author of Whatever Happened to Antisemitism: Redefinition and Myth of the 'Collective Jew'.