NEW YORK – Following yesterday’s election in Israel, the possible return of Benjamin Netanyahu to the prime ministership, and the rise of extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir in government, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization that represents over 2,300 rabbis and cantors and their communities in North America, condemned the mainstream acceptance of the terrorist organizations that Ben-Gvir and others represent and cautioned what this rise in government could mean for the lives and safety of Palestinians and Israelis alike.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, issued the following statement:
“With his record of hate speech and violence, coupled with his strong anti-Arab racist beliefs, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir has no place in the political mainstream. Allowing any messages for the justification of violence to be elevated to a government platform endangers the safety and security of people living in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. We also hold former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for his role in legitimizing Ben-Gvir and his party as a means of reclaiming his own power.
“Although T’ruah has been sounding the alarm about Ben-Gvir and others in his party for years, there has been a remarkable lack of public concern among American Jewish organizations about Ben-Gvir’s Religious Zionist slate, which traffics in racism and homophobia, advocates for the deportation of Palestinian citizens of Israel, and incites violence against Palestinians and Israeli leftists.
“Jewish organizations have a moral obligation to stand together against Ben-Gvir and his party and loudly declare that they do not represent Jewish interests. Any form of hatred is not a Jewish value and those who incite political or social violence in the name of our faith should be called out and criticized. Every Jewish organization that regularly invites Israeli political leaders to speak at their conferences and events, or that meets with Israeli elected officials during delegations, must commit today to never inviting Ben-Gvir, Betzalel Smotrich, or other members of their party to address a U.S. Jewish audience. In the 1980s, mainstream American Jewish organizations broadly condemned Meir Kahane and his party. All Jewish organizations must do the same to his ideological successors.
“Although we do not yet know the final tallies and what coalitions will be built to create Israel’s next government, we must call out the dangers of a Kahanist majority so that all know they represent the incitement of violence on Palestinians and Israeli leftists.”
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,300 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.