Please direct media inquiries to office@truah.org.
Statements
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Israel and U.S. Must Stop Supporting Ethnic Cleansing of Burma’s Rohingya
September 29, 2017
As U.S. rabbis and cantors, we join in the recent call issued by 55 Israeli rabbis and community leaders urging the Israeli government to stop weapons sales to Burma (Myanmar) and military training services there in the face of a brutal, potentially genocidal campaign against the Rohingya minority community. We also support the members of...
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Statement on Third Iteration of Same Muslim Ban
September 25, 2017
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights condemns in the strongest terms the new iteration of a discriminatory executive order, which continues to effectively close our borders to Muslims, and flagrantly violates America’s longstanding, values-driven commitment to serving as a safe haven for refugees and immigrants. Masked as an effort to ensure national security, this third executive order is more of the same Islamophobia that targets Muslims by reinstating the discredited vetting procedures, established after September 11, 2001, aimed at men from Muslim-majority countries. The intent of the new ban is the same as the previous bans—to keep out people from Muslim-majority countries, even from Syria and Yemen from which millions of refugees are simply seeking safe haven for their families.
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Statement on Bogus “Bedouin” Fashion Show at NY Fashion Week
September 6, 2017
The OR Movement should donate the proceeds from the auction of dresses made from Bedouin embroidery to the Laqiyia Women’s Association as compensation for misleading the women into making dresses for a cause they do not believe in. We also call on the OR Movement and JNF to end their participation in development projects that come at the expense of Bedouin citizens of Israel, like the “Hiran” project.
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T’ruah Condemns Cancellation of DACA
September 5, 2017
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights is outraged at the Trump Administration's announcement that it plans to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Torah teaches the obligation to love the immigrant, just as God loves and cares for the immigrant: “The ger (immigrant) who sojourns with you shall be like a citizen unto you, and you shall love this person as yourself, for you were gerim in the land of Egypt. I am Adonai, your God.” (Leviticus 19:34) The ancient rabbis taught that the city of Sodom was considered the epitome of evil because the residents made laws prohibiting kindness to strangers. Welcoming immigrants and strangers remains a core Jewish value, as well as an American one.
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Statement on JNF and OR Movement’s “Bedouin” Fashion Show to Raise Money for Towns that Discriminate Against the Bedouin
August 31, 2017
On September 6, the OR Movement, a key Jewish National Fund (JNF) partner organization, will be hosting a fashion show called the Desert Flower Runway Show in New York City to raise money for “the development of the Negev and the Galilee.” While the OR Movement claims to develop the Negev and Galilee for Israeli citizens of all backgrounds, it has been involved in establishing exclusively Jewish communities throughout the Negev, pushing Bedouin off their lands into impoverished and overcrowded Bedouin townships.
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T’ruah Condemns Violence in Charlottesville, Calls on President Trump to Disavow White Supremacists
August 12, 2017
T'ruah is horrified and outraged by the violence instigated by white supremacists marching in Charlottesville this weekend, including the terrorist act that killed one woman and injured many more. We are profoundly proud of the T'ruah rabbis and the clergy of all faiths who joined in peaceful prayer there.
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Human Rights Rabbis Travel to Charlottesville to Resist White Supremacy
August 11, 2017
Charlottesville — As white supremacists gather in Charlottesville to voice their displeasure at the removal of a statue that served to commemorate the values of the Confederacy and Gen. Robert E. Lee—a man who led hundreds of thousands of soldiers to their deaths to preserve an economy and culture built on enslaving people because of the color of their skin—rabbis will be among the clergy who are descending on the town to send the message that white supremacy will not go unchallenged.
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T’ruah Condemns Israeli Government’s Decision to Displace 450 Bedouin Citizens of Israel
August 7, 2017
T’ruah condemns the passage of the Israeli government’s recent decision to transfer 450 Bedouin citizens of Israel from their village of Umm Al Hiran to the nearby Bedouin township of Hura on a “temporary” basis. We are appalled that government officials resorted to brazen falsehoods to try and legitimize their decision, claiming that the village residents agreed to this move when they clearly did no such thing. Raed Abu Al-Qian, the chairman of the village local committee, is quoted by two Israeli newspapers as saying that not a single resident has agreed to or was consulted about this arrangement.
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More Troubling Suppression of Free Speech by Israeli Government
July 26, 2017
T’ruah is deeply troubled by Monday’s decision by the Israeli government to prevent members of an interfaith delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories, including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Deputy Director Rabbi Alissa Wise, from boarding a Lufthansa flight to Israel. This is the first known instance of Jews—including a rabbi—being prevented from entering Israel since the passage of the Knesset anti-Boycott legislation in the spring. While unlike JVP, T’ruah does not advocate BDS or affiliate with the global BDS movement, we believe that engagement in non-violent protest should not be reason to be banned from Israel.
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Statement on “The Israel Anti-Boycott Act”
July 26, 2017
Because of our commitment to free speech, which is central to Judaism, to the U.S. Constitution, and to human rights law, T’ruah expresses deep concerns about “The Israel Anti-Boycott Act,” now moving through the U.S. Congress. T’ruah does not support or affiliate with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. We do, however, believe that free speech—including the right to boycott--is an essential component of democracy, a basic human right, and a fundamental value of Judaism. And we believe that the Anti-Boycott act threatens in the long-run to harm both Israel and the chance for a just and peaceful solution that protects the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.