Engage

Engage handout distributed at the Compass conference, June 2006

Engage is "a resource for the monitoring and the critique of left and liberal antisemitism"

From Engage handout (17 June 2006, Compass Conference, London):

Engage was set up to oppose the campaign to boycott Israeli artists, musicians, writers, and teachers because of the actions of their government. We oppose the worldview that sees Israel and Jews as being central to some kind of global imperialist conspiracy.
Nearly all contemporary Jew-hating uses the language of anti-Zionism. This is certainly true of left and liberal antisemitism. Often well-meaning anti-racists are unable to spot the antisemitism of their own politics because they understand in other contexts, organisations and ideas can be racist whether or not the individuals concerned are aware of this fact. Antisemitism is below the radar of contemporary anti-racists.

• Engage has had enough of people who label Jews as racists or Nazis becaus they say that Israel has the right to exist.
• Engage has had enough of people who think that it's quite understandable to bomb a bus in Tel Aviv but a terrible crime in London.

Engage does not take sides in the conflict between Israel and Palestine: we want to see a just peace agreement. We support both Israelis and Palestinians who stand against the racist demonization of the other.

• Engage is fed up with people who demonize Israel -- which is not the same thing as clearly criticising Israeli policies.
• Engage is fed up with people like George Galloway who think that Israeli Jews are foreigners in Jerusalem.

Comment on Engage

The literature and websites of Engage/Euston Manifesto/Democratiya seem to be produced by the same people. The style is identical: all repeatedly state "we are fed up with...". Another defining characteristic: The Euston Manifesto group/Democratiya/Engage had some of their principals present at the Compass Conference on 17 June 2006, and they pushed: (1) excluding Israel from policy discussion; (2) advocating interventions (Darfur, Iran).

WW4 Report quotes British anti-Zionist commentator Mark Elf of the blog Jews Sans Frontieres as saying

"Engage has recently turned its ire on Jews for Justice for Palestinians because of their campaigning against the occupation. Before that their targets were Jews Against Zionism and organisers of the academic boycott like Stephen and Hilary Rose. All the while the main organiser of Engage - David Hirsh - claims to be a non-zionist and yet his own position on zionist rule is indistinguishable from that of another Engage 'contributor' - John Strawson - who ran for a seat on the World Zionist Congress under the banner of Meretz."[1]

People

Circa 2008

Principals

• Alexandra Simonon, Managing Editor
• David Hirsh, Goldsmiths College, University of London, Editor
• Jane Ashworth, Project Director
• Jon Pike, Open University, Chair; Principal organizer against the AUT boycott motion.
• Simon Pottinger, Campaigns
• Paul Gamble, Campaigns
• Richard Gold, North West organiser, Manchester
• David Seymour, Lancaster University, Book Reviews Editor
• Josh Cohen, Goldsmiths College, University of London
• Linda Grant, Writer, Journalist
• Norman Geras, Normblog, Manchester University
• Robert Fine, Warwick University
• Shalom Lappin, Kings College London
• Denis MacShane MP

Advisory Editors of Engage

• Adrian Cohen, Liaison
• Alan Johnson, Edge Hill College of Higher Education
• Alison Diduck, UCL
• Arieh Lebowitz, Meretz USA, Jewish Labor Committee
• Ben Gidley, Goldsmiths College University of London
• Bernard Maro, Universite Paris 6
• Brian Brivati, Kingston University, London
• Charles Asher Small, Yale University
• Christine Achinger, University of Nottingham
• David Cesarani, Southampton University
• David Herman, Film Maker
• David T., Harry's Place
• Dawn Cohen, journalist and psychologist, Australia
• Eric Heinze, Queen Mary College, University of London
• George Szirtes, Poet
• Guy Haarscher, Universite Libre de Bruxelles
• Isabelle Siniawer-Maro
• Istvan Pogany, Warwick University
• Jean-Yves Camus, IRIS (Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques), Paris
• Jeff Weintraub, University of Pennsylvania
• Jeffrey Ketland, University of Edinburgh
• John Solomos, City University, London
• John Strawson, University of East London
• Kirsten Campbell, Goldsmiths College, University of London
• Larry Ray, University of Kent
• Malgorzata Melchior, Polish Center for Holocaust Research, Warsaw
• Marcus Sheff, Communications professional, Israel
• Michel Ehrlich, Brussels
• Paul Frosh, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
• Philip J. Spencer, Kingston University, London
• Philip Mendes, Monash University, Australia
• Pierre-Andre Taguieff, Universite de Paris, CEVIPOF/Sciences Po
• Ralph Seliger, Meretz USA
• Robert Fine, Warwick University
• Robin Stamler
• Roger Behrens, Bauhaus-University, Weimar (Germany)
• Tudor Parfitt, SOAS, University of London
• Ronnie Fraser, Academic Friends of Israel
• Vic Seidler, Goldsmiths College, University of London
• Wlodzimierz Tych, Lancaster University

Affiliated Organizations

• Euston Manifesto
• Democratiya

NB: On 17 June 2006, at the Compass Conference in London, Democratiya had a stand with literature pertaining to: Euston Manifesto, Democratiya, and Engage. When the stall attendant was asked about the relationship between the three, he acknowledged that they were affiliated with programs run by the same people.

Contacts

Website www.engageonline.org.uk

Related Articles

Members of Engage and Euston Manifesto make an appearance in this documentary made by David Aaronovitch. A transcript of the program can be found [2] (click on the "click here" button)

See

• Sourcewatch Engage