Signatories Meeting, 15th May 2007
An IJV signatories meeting was held on 15 May 2007 at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London, attended by about 120 people. The meeting was chaired by Ellen Dahrendorf and addressed by Jacqueline Rose, Lynne Segal and Donald Sassoon, from the IJV Steering Group. The way in which signatories' donations had been used to fund advertisements and meetings was outlined. An update was provided on IJV's activities, the media response to them and their international impact. Attention was drawn to a recent letter from steering group members in the New York Review of Books (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20182) and involvement in student debates. Future activities would include publication of a book based on the IJV launch articles, a debate on international law and the occupation on the 28 June (the first in a series of meetings to be held to explore the principles and themes of the IJV Declaration) and a further debate on antisemitism later in the year. The importance of, and potential for, increasing the support for IJV among both observant and secular Jews were emphasised.
In a wide-ranging discussion, thirty participants made contributions from the floor (several others were unfortunately unable to do so because of time constraints), including one school and three university students. A first hand account was given of the launch of Independent Australian Jewish Voices (http://www.iajv.org), which now has 473 signatories after two months The significance of work within educational institutions to provide support and encouragement for students was underlined. Other speakers stressed the need for IJV to develop a comprehensive media strategy and the potential for IJV to maximise political pressure in a way which is not open to individuals. Key elements of Israel's Declaration of Independence (e.g. "it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex") could be used as a powerful means of persuading Jews supportive of Israel to oppose injustice. Further suggestions were the promotion of a Diaspora identity and addressing other Diaspora issues, such as antisemitism, including the way it may be used as an inappropriate charge. Various views were expressed about the way a network should operate in terms of structure and formulation of policy, as well as relationships with other groupings, both in the UK and overseas. One speaker described IJV as "a work in progress".
In closing, the platform speakers thanked participants for all their helpful suggestions and queries, apologised to those who had been unable to speak, encouraged email contributions and acknowledged the need to consider the points raised in finding the best way to keep the momentum going.