Correction appendedThree students recently founded Jewish Voice for Peace, an activist group advocating for peaceful, nonviolent resolutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The founders, Liza Behrendt '11, Jonathan Sussman '11 and Lev Hirschhorn '11, started the group several weeks ago. Hirschhorn said that the group is not planning on applying for a charter, but it plans on working with other chartered clubs on campus such Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine.

According to the group's website, Jewish Voice for Peace "opposes anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab bigotry and oppression," and seeks "an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem; security and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians; a just solution for Palestinian refugees based on principles established in international law; an end to violence against civilians; and peace and justice for all peoples of the Middle East," according to the group's website.

"Our opinion is that there are a lot of avenues to peace," said Behrendt. "As American Jews, it is our responsibility to advocate for Israel to change its policies toward the Palestinians and Arab-Israelis." Behrendt cited both an end to Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and the ceasing of human rights abuses in Gaza and around the region as critical first steps in achieving peace.

Hirschhorn added that he feels it is "quite impractical" for two groups such as the Israelis and Palestinians who live in such close proximity to "have sentiments of nationalism." Both Hirschhorn and Sussman said that American-European military aid to Israel must be re-evaluated.

"I don't feel that America and Europe should completely disengage from the Middle East," Sussman said. "I feel that the overwhelming amount of aid in terms of military equipment, weaponry and money has created a huge power imbalance in the region.

Sussman said that his interest in starting such a group was triggered by several things, including Brandeis' selection of Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren as the 2010 commencement speaker, as well as because of the Justice Richard Goldstone debates held last year.

"There isn't really a voice [on campus or in America] advocating for peace," Sussman said. "We have a number of organizations that represent far-right political foreign policy views who advocate generally for support for Israel," Sussman said. "[Jewish Voice for Peace] is not only a legitimate voice calling for peace . but represents a new voice that needs to be heard."

Hirschhorn said that Jewish Voice for Peace is currently the only explicitly Jewish and "non-Zionist" organization on campus. The group plans on working with Students for Justice in Palestine "because we have similar goals and a similar outlook on the conflict. What makes our group different is that we want to do this with a Jewish voice and a Jewish character," he said.

Jewish Voice for Peace "is advocating for a very specific way to end this conflict, which is to re-evaluate America's perspective on Israel and to ask American Jews to reconsider how they approach the state of Israel," Sussman explained.

The group hopes to hold events in the near future, such as a lecture by Shir Hever, an economist who will speak about the political economy of Israel, and a discussion led by a panel of rabbis who speak out against human rights abuses going on in the region, according to Hirschhorn.

The group also hopes to work with the Muslim Student Association to plan an event to discuss "Islamophobia" in response to the Brandeis Tea Party chapter's upcoming screening of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West.

"It needs to be shown on campus that there are very strong contingent voices against this action of bigotry," Sussman said. Other topics the group would like to discuss include a one-state solution, as well as the boycott of divestment sanctions in Israel, an item that the group does not necessarily endorse but would like to discuss in open conversation because it is a topic often subject to misinformation. Sussman said he is particularly interested in addressing the components of boycott divestment sanctions that target "corporations that are involved in building settlements in the West Bank and profiting from them."

"Because of Brandeis' place [in the jewish community] it has an opportunity to show that even within the mainstream institutions of the Jewish community there is a diversity of opinions,"said Hirschhorn.

-Jillian Wagner contributed reporting.

Correction: The article originally misstated the name of the student group. It is Jewish Voice for Peace, not Jewish Voices for Peace.