JEWISH groups from around the globe will meet in London on Saturday for the first-ever International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine (IJCJP) congress.

After four years of meeting online, 20 social justice organisers, educators and writers from 16 countries will finally converge in person to explore ways to amplify their efforts.

Marilyn Garson from Alternative Jewish Voices travelled from New Zealand for the congress.

She said: “I made this trip to represent AJV because we see genocide being done in our names. 

“We will not let our friends — our world — be harmed without making our voices heard. 

“Jewish people are not endangered by protest, all people are endangered by silence in the face of genocide.” 

Sheryl Nestel, from Independent Jewish Voices, flew in from Canada.

She said: “IJCJP represents the flourishing Jewish opposition to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. 

“We are challenging the moral certainty of those legacy Jewish organisations whose policies and utterances represent unmistakable complicity with Israel’s actions.

“We call on our fellow Jews around the world to courageously break ranks, embrace Jewish traditions of social justice, and stand up for Palestinian human rights.”

Author Antony Lerman underlined that the congress “constitutes a major challenge to Jewish establishment bodies giving carte blanche to Israel to continue flouting international law.” 

Participants will meet this evening for a Shabbat protest outside the German embassy in London. 

on Saturday, they will join hundreds of thousands for the National Demonstration for Gaza in the capital.