Reporter Ami Horowitz dove into the “radical leftist” motivations behind the progressive Jewish group If Not Now in his latest video investigation.
“If Not Now is a Jewish progressive anti-Israel activist group whose purported goals are justice for the Palestinians. In reality, they are a radical leftist organization who have weaponized their Judaism in order to spread falsehoods about Israel,” Horowitz says to open his video.
Horowitz’s investigation features commentary from human rights investigative reporter Edwin Black as well as interviews with a representative of If Not Now and another from the organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which works often with If Not Now.
“The fact that [If Not Now members] identify as Jews, the fact that they are attacking the Jewish communal structure from within, from within makes them one of the most insidious Jewish organizations and one which we need to pay attention to,” Black said.
If Not Now is comprised almost entirely of young people who work largely on college and university campuses to agitate against Israeli policy. Members of the group also work to influence Jewish educational groups to spread its agenda among the younger Jewish community.
“They regularly infiltrate Birthright, one of the most successful Jewish educational programs. Birthright offers every eligible young Jewish adult around the world, especially the less connected, the opportunity to visit Israel on an educational journey,” Horowitz says. “If Not Now embeds operatives within this trip to attempt to alter or sever the connection the participants may be building to Israel by lying to them about Israel and bringing in anti-Israel activists to indoctrinate the participants.”
If Not Now often partners with AMP to conduct protests as well as train new activists in “indoctrination sessions,” Black said, adding that the two groups are “sharing tactics” and “sharing methods.”
Horowitz interviewed AMP’s director of outreach and community, Taher Herzallah, on AMP’s work with If Not Now, as well as AMP’s own ideas and agenda for the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In one part of the interview, Horowitz asked Herzallah if Israel’s conduct toward Palestinians today is the moral equivalent to Hitler and the Nazis’ treatment of Jews.
“Putting people in concentration camps, besieging people, wholesale execution of people — these are all, you know, very common trends between what Nazi Germany did and what Isreal is doing today,” Herzallah responded. “I think it needs to be noted that the vast majority of Israelis on the ground support the state of Israel’s moves. You look at all the polling numbers especially when you go back to the devastating war on Gaza in 2014.”
Later in the interview, Herzallah said that violent tactics used against the Israeli people are justified and necessary to change the views of the Israeli people.
“When there is a violent occupation, violent resistance is justified,” Herzallah said, later adding: “When the reality of Israel’s brutality hits home, then people are more inclined to think about alternative solutions. The vast majority of Israelis today on the ground do not feel the pain of occupation.”
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