On December 4, 2018, T’ruah’s Rabbi Jill Jacobs — joined by leaders of Americans for Peace Now, J Street, the New Israel Fund and Partners for Progressive Israel — sent the following letter to Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister of Internal Security, Minister of Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:
Dear Minister Erdan:
We are dismayed to read your letter to governors of U.S. states, in which you assert that Airbnb’s decision to delist homes in West Bank Jewish settlements is tantamount to adhering to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement and constitutes anti-Semitism. Neither of these charges against Airbnb withstands scrutiny.
The undersigned organizations represent Jews who care deeply about the State of Israel and its future. All of our groups oppose the BDS movement. We also all oppose the occupation of the West Bank, now in its 52nd year. We strongly believe that the occupation, which the settlements perpetuate, thwarts peace with Palestinians and thus endangers Israel’s security, democracy, and Jewish character.
Contrary to your claim that Airbnb’s new policy should be characterized as BDS, the company has emphasized its continued commitment to doing business within the Green Line, Israel’s internationally recognized boundaries. Its delisting of rental properties will only occur in illegitimate West Bank settlements which are not part of Israel. Engaging with Israel (whether financially, politically, or morally) while refusing support for the occupation, which imperils its future, is quintessentially pro-Israel. In our view, no one who supports Israeli-Palestinian peace should oppose Airbnb’s action.
Your assertion that Airbnb is driven by anti-Semitism is utterly unsupportable. Airbnb objects to the settlements not because they are Jewish but because they usurp Palestinian land, much of it privately owned. The company’s new policy is in line with what much of the world knows: settlements are illegitimate, immoral, and obstacles to peace. To accuse Airbnb of anti-Semitism trivializes and distracts from fighting the rising tide of anti-Semitism, which is driven in the United States by the legitimization of white nationalism.
The laws you are asking American governors to invoke are problematic on two grounds. First, they conflate sovereign Israel with territories occupied by Israel, violating long-standing US policy. Second, they are likely unconstitutional violations of free speech guaranteed by our First Amendment, as recent court victories against the Kansas and Arizona laws indicate. These laws do nothing to protect Israel. Rather, they distract from the real issue: the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and the occupation that it perpetrates.
We urge you to withdraw the requests you sent to US governors and to stop your baseless rhetoric aimed at Airbnb. Further, we call on you and fellow Israeli cabinet members to refrain from enacting measures that would limit Airbnb’s activities in sovereign Israel. Such action would harm the economic interests of Israelis and lend a victory to the BDS movement you purport to oppose.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Ben-Ami, President, J Street
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Jim Klutznick, Board Chair, Americans for Peace Now
Paul Sham, President, Partners for Progressive Israel
Daniel Sokatch, CEO, New Israel Fund
Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 217
[name] => Ending the Occupation
[slug] => ending-the-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 217
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => "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:
[parent] => 212
[count] => 192
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 212
[name] => Israel Campaigns
[slug] => israel-campaigns
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 212
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 353
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 1
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 172
[name] => Yovel / Jubilee: Fifty Years Since 1967
[slug] => yovel-fifty-years-of-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 172
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => ORDER YOUR YOVEL GUIDE HERE
Plus New Rabbinic Teachings on Video [bs_icon name="glyphicon glyphicon-play"]
The year 2017/5777 marked 50 years since the Six-Day War, when Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. This anniversary calls both for celebration of Jewish sovereignty over our holiest site, the Temple Mount, and a more somber commemoration of the 50 years of military occupation that followed this war.
In the biblical cycle, 50 is the yovel (jubilee) year, in which debts are released, slaves go free, the shofar of liberation is sounded, and each person returns to his or her family's holdings. This year of release offers us the opportunity to get unstuck, to move beyond the pain of the past fifty years, and to find a new path toward liberation.
In this spirit, we offer you a guide that delves into seven concepts associated with yovel through biblical text, classical commentary, and Hasidic interpretations, and also looks at the complexities of Jerusalem. Each section includes questions for conversation and background information on texts. Videos of prominent rabbis teaching texts from the guide can be viewed here.
Also, check out the Sh’ma Now April 2017 issue on Yovel, examining the concept of the Jubilee year. We address this 50-year marker metaphorically as a time to reflect on how to reset debts and rethink our relationship to the Land of Israel, as we mark more than 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War and its aftermath.
[parent] => 212
[count] => 89
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
)
)
1
Ending the Occupation
Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 217
[name] => Ending the Occupation
[slug] => ending-the-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 217
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => "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:
[parent] => 212
[count] => 192
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 212
[name] => Israel Campaigns
[slug] => israel-campaigns
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 212
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 353
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 1
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 172
[name] => Yovel / Jubilee: Fifty Years Since 1967
[slug] => yovel-fifty-years-of-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 172
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => ORDER YOUR YOVEL GUIDE HERE
Plus New Rabbinic Teachings on Video [bs_icon name="glyphicon glyphicon-play"]
The year 2017/5777 marked 50 years since the Six-Day War, when Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. This anniversary calls both for celebration of Jewish sovereignty over our holiest site, the Temple Mount, and a more somber commemoration of the 50 years of military occupation that followed this war.
In the biblical cycle, 50 is the yovel (jubilee) year, in which debts are released, slaves go free, the shofar of liberation is sounded, and each person returns to his or her family's holdings. This year of release offers us the opportunity to get unstuck, to move beyond the pain of the past fifty years, and to find a new path toward liberation.
In this spirit, we offer you a guide that delves into seven concepts associated with yovel through biblical text, classical commentary, and Hasidic interpretations, and also looks at the complexities of Jerusalem. Each section includes questions for conversation and background information on texts. Videos of prominent rabbis teaching texts from the guide can be viewed here.
Also, check out the Sh’ma Now April 2017 issue on Yovel, examining the concept of the Jubilee year. We address this 50-year marker metaphorically as a time to reflect on how to reset debts and rethink our relationship to the Land of Israel, as we mark more than 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War and its aftermath.
[parent] => 212
[count] => 89
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
)
)
1
Israel Campaigns
Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 217
[name] => Ending the Occupation
[slug] => ending-the-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 217
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => "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:
[parent] => 212
[count] => 192
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 212
[name] => Israel Campaigns
[slug] => israel-campaigns
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 212
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 353
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 1
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 172
[name] => Yovel / Jubilee: Fifty Years Since 1967
[slug] => yovel-fifty-years-of-occupation
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 172
[taxonomy] => campaign
[description] => ORDER YOUR YOVEL GUIDE HERE
Plus New Rabbinic Teachings on Video [bs_icon name="glyphicon glyphicon-play"]
The year 2017/5777 marked 50 years since the Six-Day War, when Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. This anniversary calls both for celebration of Jewish sovereignty over our holiest site, the Temple Mount, and a more somber commemoration of the 50 years of military occupation that followed this war.
In the biblical cycle, 50 is the yovel (jubilee) year, in which debts are released, slaves go free, the shofar of liberation is sounded, and each person returns to his or her family's holdings. This year of release offers us the opportunity to get unstuck, to move beyond the pain of the past fifty years, and to find a new path toward liberation.
In this spirit, we offer you a guide that delves into seven concepts associated with yovel through biblical text, classical commentary, and Hasidic interpretations, and also looks at the complexities of Jerusalem. Each section includes questions for conversation and background information on texts. Videos of prominent rabbis teaching texts from the guide can be viewed here.
Also, check out the Sh’ma Now April 2017 issue on Yovel, examining the concept of the Jubilee year. We address this 50-year marker metaphorically as a time to reflect on how to reset debts and rethink our relationship to the Land of Israel, as we mark more than 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War and its aftermath.
[parent] => 212
[count] => 89
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
)
)
1
Yovel / Jubilee: Fifty Years Since 1967
