NEW YORK – T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization representing over 2,300 rabbis and cantors in North America, called for international intervention to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as Israel ordered 1.1 million residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate in the next 24 hours. T’ruah also called for the international community to do everything possible to secure the safe, immediate release of 150 hostages currently held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
In a statement, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“T’ruah unequivocally condemns the war crimes committed by Hamas this week, including the brutal murder of over 1,300 Israelis — babies and children, teenagers at a music festival, families and the elderly — and the kidnapping of approximately 150 civilians, who are being held hostage at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip. Even now, Hamas continues to shoot rockets at terrified Israeli civilians, while Hezbollah attacks from the North. There can be no justification for such war crimes.
“From the depths of our mourning, fear, and outrage, we are watching with horror as the Israeli military besieges and bombards Gaza, killing over 1,400 people, including at least 400 children. On Friday, Israel called for 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate south in the next 24 hours. This large-scale evacuation is impossible; there is simply nowhere safe to go. Humanitarian groups are warning of imminent catastrophe.
“The situation in Gaza is increasingly desperate after Israel began a siege Monday, exacerbating the problems in place after Israel and Egypt’s 16-year blockade. Israel must take the steps necessary to avoid further damage to civilian infrastructure and to restore the flow of water, food, emergency supplies, and medications on which Gazans depend.
“We reject attempts to exploit the pain and fear of Israelis to justify breaking international law in Gaza. We condemn any and all calls for retaliation or to ‘flatten Gaza,’ including those from some in the Israeli government. Half of the population of Gaza are children under the age of 18, who bear no responsibility whatsoever for Hamas’s crimes, and the vast majority of Gazans are ordinary people who simply want to live their lives. They cannot be treated as collateral damage.
“We continue to call on the Israeli government to prioritize securing the release of over 150 hostages, both Israeli citizens and others, who will only be more endangered by continued bombings.
“We stand up in this moment for the lives of innocent Palestinians — not in spite of being Jewish but with deep commitment to our most central Jewish value. Our tradition demands that we recognize the Divine in every human being, whether it is our family member, our friend, or someone we do not know. We seek to emulate God’s boundless compassion, even in our darkest hour.
“North American rabbis and cantors will never stop working toward the goal of a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. This escalation will only worsen the long-term prospects for a true and lasting peace, which will not be achieved until there is an end to the blockade of Gaza, an end to the occupation, and a just, negotiated political solution that protects the human rights of everyone.”
About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
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.