Ending the Occupation
"Cry with a full throat without restraint; Raise your voice like a shofar!"
-Isaiah 58:1
Our approach to ending the occupation is grounded in human rights and a belief that all Israelis and Palestinians are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of the Divine, and should be treated with dignity and compassion.
As rabbis and cantors, we care deeply about Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state, and as a safe haven for the Jewish people, who have suffered generations of persecution with no country of our own.
At the same time, we recognize the impact and consequences of Israel’s creation for the Palestinian people, and the many decades of suffering incurred by leaders prioritizing power over people. Since 1967, Israel has maintained a violent military occupation of Palestinian land, violating the human rights of millions each day. To ensure the long-term security, dignity, and prosperity of both Israelis and Palestinians, the occupation must end.
With T’ruah’s support, courageous Jewish clergy draw attention to the injustices done in our name.
Our work includes:
- Training and educating current and future American rabbis and cantors to be the moral leaders we need. Over 80% of rabbinical and cantorial students spending their required year in Israel participate in our Year-in-Israel Program, which takes students to see human rights issues with their own eyes and meet the activists working to address them
- Running trips to the West Bank for ordained Jewish clergy
- Providing educational programming on specific issues and bringing the voices of Israeli and Palestinian activists and human rights experts to our community
- Organizing rabbis, cantors, and their communities to take action to protect democracy in Israel and to support the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians
Partners:
President Biden: Rabbis Say End the War [CLERGY ONLY]
We are American rabbis, cantors, and student clergy writing to you in anguish after nearly five months of war that have brought unfathomable suffering to Israelis and Palestinians.
Resources for Responding to Violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Prayers, text studies, divrei Torah, and general advice to the Jewish community, particularly American Jews, about how to help end the occupation.
Israel Fellowship
The T’ruah Israel Fellowship offers six students spending the year in Israel the opportunity for intensive study, experiential learning, development of a rabbinic voice, and cohort building.
