In a move that is inciting the ire of many within the Jewish community, a local group advocating for divestment from Israel is expanding its reach into two Boston-area neighborhoods.

The Somerville Divestment Project (SDP), a self-described human rights group that refers to Israel as an “apartheid state,” has announced in a posting on its Web site that it is gearing up “for an ambitious project of expansion” into Cambridge and Jamaica Plain.

Ron Francis, a member of the SDP’s board, said his group is spreading into new communities because “more people than ever are aware of Israel’s ethnic cleansing project as an immoral, unconscionable and illegal act.”

In addition, the SDP has launched a fundraising campaign to support its latest efforts. Francis declined to comment on SDP’s donors and budgetary needs for the project, stating he will not discuss the group’s “internal operations.”...

...Upon learning that the SDP is planning on placing another Palestinian question onto the ballot in 2008, Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said he wasn’t shocked about the group’s persistence in making its point.

“They have been pretty aggressive in their tactics,” Curtatone added. “But we have sent out a clear message as a government and community that we don’t agree with their position. These are very complex issues that cannot be solved or advocated clearly by a resolution via a municipal body.”

In addition to tackling the SDP’s latest initiatives, local Jewish groups are also preparing ways to peacefully counter a proposed Palestine Awareness Festival to be held at Edward Sennott Park in Cambridge in October. According to an employee of the City of Cambridge, the festival, organized by Rule 19, a local anti-Israel group, will feature an exhibit by Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al-Ali as well as a model Palestinian home destroyed by Israeli soldiers.

Hillel Stavis, community outreach manager at The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership, said it is unlikely that these “anti-Israel fringe groups” will succeed in promoting their causes.
Added Stavis: “It’s unfortunate that a lot of groups have to waste their time fighting these crazies.”