Targeted boycott of settlements must not be grounds for exclusion by Hillel

On March 9, 2011, Meretz USA President, Dr. Moises Salinas-Fleitman, and Executive Director Ron Skolnik issued the following statement on behalf of the organization.

Meretz USA for Israeli Civil Rights and Peace was disturbed to learn that the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Student Life at Brandeis University has reportedly denied recognition to the Jewish Voice for Peace student group due to JVP’s support for a targeted boycott of settlement products. While Meretz USA disagrees with JVP on many issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the need to explicitly advocate for a two-state solution, we reject the idea that a boycott of the settlements in the Occupied Territories is the same as delegitimization of the State of Israel.

Meretz USA is a longstanding affiliate of the American Zionist Movement. We recently issued a statement, “Buy Israel – Don’t Buy Settlements”, which advocates for a targeted boycott of the settlements, and which can be read in full at our website. As Jews who care deeply about Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, we have an obligation to raise our voices and oppose policies that harm Israel and those under occupation, and that are counter to our democratic and Jewish values.

We believe that a targeted boycott of the settlements (as opposed to a global boycott of sovereign Israel) is a legitimate tool to be used by Zionist organizations and individuals, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, to help bring the Occupation to an end and achieve a two-state solution. Israel is a legitimate state, but this legitimacy does not extend to the settlements created in the Occupied Territories.

Despite our differences with JVP, we nonetheless believe that JVP should be included in the Jewish communal conversation. Meretz USA believes that Hillel’s rejection of the JVP student group and narrow definition of who belongs in the Jewish community is contrary to its mission to create a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students.