Jewish Anti-Zionist League
Jewish Anti-Zionist League الرابطة الإسرائيلية لمكافحة الصهيونية | |
---|---|
Secretary | Ezra Harari |
Founded | 1946 |
Dissolved | 1948 Anti-Colonialism[1] |
Political position | Left-wing |
Jewish Anti-Zionist League (
The League was formed in the summer of 1946 by
Communist-Zionist clashes in Dahir
In April 1947 a violent clash erupted as between the League and
On May 24, 1947, conflict again erupted at the Dahir Maccabi club, as Zionists refused the communists access to the building to celebrate May Day. Two days later another clash erupted at the club between Zionists and Jewish communists. Following these events, the League issued an editorial stating that Jewish schools were used for Zionist propaganda and that sports clubs used for Zionist organizing rather than sports activities.[5]
Positions
The ambitions of the Jewish Anti-Zionist League were twofold. On one hand, it sought to counter the Zionist influence within the Jewish community in Egypt. On the other hand, it sought to clarify to the Egyptian public that not all Jews were Zionists.[4]
In May 1947, the League had published a declaration, distributed in French and Arabic, condemning Zionism as a tool for British imperialism and called for Jewish-Arab unity. The latter part of the declaration read
Jewish Men! Jewish Women!
Zionism wants to throw us into a dangerous and hopeless adventure. Zionism contributes to making Palestine uninhabitable. Zionism wants to isolate us from the Egyptian people. Zionism is the enemy of the Jewish people.
Down with Zionism! Long live the brotherhood of Jews and Arabs!
Long live the Egyptian people![4]
The League argued that displaced European Jews should be given the possibility to return to their home countries or third country of their choice, rather than sending them to Palestine.It also claimed that only an independent democratic Palestine would be able to break the bonds of colonialism and safeguard the Jewish people. The organization condemned
Banning
In June 1947, the League was banned by the Egyptian Ministry for Social Affairs for "reasons of public security". Following the illegalization of the Jewish Anti-Zionist League, Harari founded the 'Forum Group'. The Forum Group was a Jewish anti-Zionist group within the Democratic Movement for National Liberation. According to contemporary British security reports, the Forum Group had a considerable following amongst the Jewish community in Cairo (Krämer does however question the accuracy of this estimate, stating that the group had a rather limited impact).[3][4][5]
See also
- Anti-Zionist League in Iraq
- Jewish anti-Zionism
References
- ^ a b c Hashem Talhami, Ghada. Palestine in the Egyptian Press: From al-Ahram to al-Ahali. Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2007. pp. 70
- ^ ""anti-zionist League" Urging Egyptian Jews Not to Emigrate to Palestine". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 May 1947. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d Beinin, Joel. Was the Red Flag Flying There?: Marxist Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Egypt and Israel, 1948-1965. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. pp. 57-58
- ^ a b c d e f Krämer, Gudrun. The Jews in Modern Egypt, 1914-1952. London: I.B. Tauris, 1989. pp. 180-181
- ^ a b c d "الرابطة الإسرائيلية لمكافحة الصهيونية". Palestine Only (in Arabic). 2016-05-16. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16.