Im Tirtzu is an extra-parliamentary movement that works to strengthen and promote the values of Zionism in Israel. Im Tirtzu was established in 2006 after the Second Lebanon War by intellectuals, students and reservists. The main goals of Im Tirtzu are to work for the renewal of Zionist discourse, thought and ideology, to secure the future of the Jewish people and the State of Israel and to advance Israeli society in the face of the challenges it faces. A central part of the activity of Im Tirtzu is the fight against the delegitimization of the State of Israel and providing a response to post and anti-Zionist phenomena.

Besides the management team, the members of the movement are mostly volunteers from all over the country. There are secular, religious, and members of other sectors. Everyone to whom Zionism speaks and is important to him will find a home with us. Im Tirtzu operates about 20 student branches throughout the country, from Tel Hai College in the north to Beer Sheva University in the south, and in addition about 33 civilian branches all over the country. In addition to this, the movement has several forums where dozens of volunteers and members of the movement are active, who deal with a wide variety of Zionist issues.

The activity of Im Tirtzu is based on the method of “Turn away from evil and do good” (Psalms 12:10). That is, a constant struggle against the delegitimization organizations that strive to erase the state’s Jewish and democratic identity from Israeli society, persecute IDF soldiers and work to invite international pressure on the State of Israel.

On the ‘doing good’ side, we hold seminars, lectures and fairs, publish articles, conduct tours and seminars and make available masterpieces from the Zionist bookcase by uploading them to the Internet in audio recordings for free download. Along with these, we make sure to note the important dates in the Zionist calendar (such as Jerusalem Day, November 29, Herzl Day, etc.); we celebrate Israel’s holidays together through various activities, we initiate volunteering in the community to strengthen the mutual bond in society, such as guarding agricultural farms, collecting and distributing food to the needy and Holocaust survivors, preparing packages and distributing treats to the security forces and supporting minorities integrating into Israeli society.

As part of our activities in the Knesset, we established a lobby that engages the members of the Knesset in the fight against delegitimization. Alongside it is also the “Zionist Watch” – an initiative that presents to the public the activities of Knesset members, with the aim of reflecting the parliamentary activity and exposing it to the eyes of the citizens of Israel. The Im Tirtzu movement has produced pamphlets that refute the anti-Zionist narrative (for example: “Nakba-Nonsense” that shatters the false Nakba myth, “The Palestinian Refugee Lie” that shatters the “claim of return” myth, and more). On the side of ‘Turning from Evil,’ we are working to expose anti-Zionist activity in society and academia. Im Tirtzu writes research reports, holds public campaigns, drafts position papers, organizes seminars and more. Over the years, the movement exposed the involvement of anti-Zionist Israeli organizations in the formulation of the Goldstone report, which claimed that the IDF had committed war crimes in Gaza; we presented to all the extreme exclusion of Zionism from various faculties in academia, such as the Department of Politics and Government at Ben Gurion University and the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa; the movement published reports that revealed how Arab and Palestinian elements operated the B’Tselem organization and the Breaking the Silence organization; as well as the activity to change the Jewish and democratic identity of organizations supported by the “New Israel Fund”.