{{Short description|American activist}} '''Jon Haber''' is an American writer and political activist. ''The Jewish Week'' calls Haber "a key resource for anti-BDS activists."<ref name=Chandler>{{cite news|last1=Chandler|first1=Doug|title=An Anti-BDS Warrior Finds His Cause Once a 'garden-variety activist,' Jon Haber felt compelled to lead when he believed Israel was threatened.|url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/anti_bds_warrior_finds_his_cause|accessdate=28 May 2015|publisher=The Jewish Week|date=20 March 2012|archive-date=24 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324012259/http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/anti_bds_warrior_finds_his_cause|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Activism==

Haber's Zionist activism dates to November 3, 1994, when during an MIT forum on the subject of Jewish fundamentalism hosting Noam Chomsky and Israel Shahak,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://tech.mit.edu/V114/N55/chomsky.55n.html | title=Chomsky, Shahak Discuss Jewish Fundamentalism - the Tech }}</ref> he circulated an unsigned pamphlet denouncing the two speakers, later rising during the presentation to announce his authorship of the text when challenged.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr3V2JJ3aOA&t=2191s|title=Noam Chomsky and Israel Shahak on Jewish Fundamentalism Part 2 of 2|website=YouTube|date=27 January 2018 }}</ref> Haber later took to USENET to reprint the writing and to defend his actions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/g/alt.fan.noam-chomsky/c/gBgVOmhv3kY/m/3dG5CRxtj8QJ|title = Chomsky/Shahak talk}}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=December 2021}}

In 2004, he renewed his commitments when anti-Israel activists proposed that the Board of Aldermen in his hometown of Somerville, Massachusetts should boycott Israel.<ref name=Chandler/>

Haber has written internationally on the subject of divest-from-Israel campaigns and their impact on civil institutions such as municipalities, religious institutions and schools.<ref name="vampire">{{cite news |url = https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525979283&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title = The vampire's kiss |publisher = The Jerusalem Post |date = 2006-08-31 |author = Jon Haber }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> <ref name="Divestment">{{cite news |url = http://www.engageonline.org.uk/journal/index.php?journal_id=5&article_id=21 |title = Divestment Meets its Waterloo in Somerville, Massachusetts |publisher = Engage |issue = 1 |author = Jon Haber |date = January 2006 |access-date = 2008-07-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071027204219/http://www.engageonline.org.uk/journal/index.php?journal_id=5&article_id=21 |archive-date = 2007-10-27 |url-status = dead }}</ref> <ref name="Andover">{{cite news |url=http://www.valleypatriot.com/VP010407haber.html |title=Now It's Andover's Turn |publisher=The Valley Patriot |author=John Haber |date=January 2007 }}</ref> Haber is the creator of the Web site '''Somerville Middle East Justice''', which chronicled the three-year battle against municipal divestment in Somerville, Massachusetts<ref>{{cite web |url = http://somervillemejustice.com |title = Somerville Middle East Justice |author = Jon Haber |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://archive.today/20050128145619/http://somervillemejustice.com/ |archivedate = 2005-01-28 }}</ref> He also worked with Presbyterian anti-divestment activist Will Spotts on the Web site '''Bearing Witness''' (now defunct) which contributed to the successful 2006 campaign to see the Presbyterian Church PCUSA overturn its 2004 decision to begin a "phased, selective" program in corporations that do business in Israel. He is also the creator of the Web site '''DivestThis!''', which chronicles the ongoing failures of the BDS movement, and an online guide of the same name.<ref>Pine, Dan.[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/61551/pro-israel-blogger-shoots-holes-in-bds-puffery/ "Pro-Israel Blogger Shoots Holes in BDS Puffery"], J. The Jewish News of Northern California, April 21, 2011, accessed August 28, 2011.</ref>

A recurring theme in the author's work is what he refers to as the "corrupting impact" of divestment programs on the organizations that embrace them. He dubs this phenomenon "The Vampire's Kiss",<ref name="vampire" /> an allusion to the legend that vampires (which he likens to the destructive force of divestment programs on civic institutions) can only enter one's house if invited.{{Non-primary source needed|date=December 2021}}

In addition to providing commentary on divestment campaigns to various publications, <ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/editorial/?content_id=4814 |title = Damaging Divestment |date = 2008-06-30 |publisher = The Jewish Advocate }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> <ref>Haber, Jon.[https://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=178466 "BDS: Nuisance or Genuine Threat"], The Jerusalem Post, June 15, 2010, accessed August 28, 2011.</ref> Haber has been a movie reviewer for The Boston Globe and Boston NPR station WBUR, as well as writing on the intersection of politics, economics and popular culture for the online publication TCS Daily.<ref name="TCS Daily">{{cite news |url = http://www.tcsdaily.com/Authors.aspx?id=796 |title = Articles by Jon Haber in TCS Daily |publisher = TCS Daily |author = Jon Haber |date = 2004–2005 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=December 2021}}

==References== {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Haber, Jon}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American activists Category:American non-fiction writers Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:Anti-BDS activists Category:American Zionists