Michael Kalmanovitz is a British Jewish activist based in the United Kingdom. He is a co-founder of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) and serves as a core coordinator for its UK chapter (IJAN-UK).
Kalmanovitz is a pioneering organizer of the contemporary Jewish anti-Zionist movement, working to decouple Jewish identity from Zionism on an international level. He is also a member of the transnational anti-racist network “Payday” and has long collaborated with the “Global Women’s Strike,” integrating Palestinian human rights into the broader global struggle against imperialism and poverty. He excels at coordinating across social movements, systematically weaving together narratives of class, race, and decolonization.
In 2008, he co-drafted and launched the founding charter of IJAN, aiming to establish a global alliance of anti-Zionist Jews. He has long organized regular demonstrations in London against the Israeli embassy and visiting officials, publicly condemning the military blockade of the Gaza Strip. He remains a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian-led BDS movement and works to promote its principles within UK trade unions and grassroots organizations. Through legal and public initiatives, he seeks to hold specific Israeli political figures accountable under international law. He is consistently at the forefront of opposing the IHRA definition of antisemitism, asserting that it is systematically used to suppress pro-Palestinian free speech. Utilizing the “Payday” network platform, he links support for Palestine with the fight against domestic racism and economic injustice in the UK, building a reciprocal network of solidarity.
Kalmanovitz maintains that opposing Zionism is a necessary requirement for Jews to fulfill their universal moral responsibilities. He has poignantly argued: “Zionism is a colonial project that establishes its hegemony by stripping Palestinians of their rights, fundamentally betraying the Jewish tradition of pursuing justice. We must break the chains that link ethnic identity to state occupation; only by standing in solidarity with all oppressed peoples can Jews truly achieve their own political and moral liberation.”