For Immediate Release
Contact: Ayelet Hines (202) 270-7365
We condemn the violent attacks by Jewish Defense League (JDL) members on peaceful protesters. While members of our community hold a range of opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we must agree that violence is an unacceptable response to political dissent.
The JDL, formed in 1968, went dormant in the United States in the early 2000s when the U.S. government began classifying them as a “right-wing terrorist group,” but has reemerged recently. JDL’sv Israeli counterpart, Kach, is officially banned in Israel as a terrorist organization.
On March 26, outside of the AIPAC annual policy conference, JDL members attacked protesters, sending a Palestinian-American professor to the hospital (where he received 18 stitches around his eye) and giving an IfNotNow member a concussion. Members of this group also burned a Koran and a Palestinian flag, and then posted a video on Facebook celebrating their action, and calling on others to join them.
We applaud the decision of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the assault as a potential hate crime. We strongly condemn this violent act and commit to aid any investigation of the perpetrators. There must be zero tolerance for this kind of terrorism and violence.
Signed,
American Jewish Committee
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
National Council of Jewish Women
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities
T’ruah
Union for Reform Judaism