Quotes from Monday July 28 Rally In Midtown Manhattan at Which 8 Rabbis Were Arrested During Peaceful Protest
Nearly a dozen rabbis from throughout the tristate area were arrested outside of the Israeli Consulate the evening of Monday, July 28 to implore the Israeli government to allow food aid into Gaza. Flanked by hundreds of protestors as well as Congressman Jerry Nadler and New York State Senator Liz Krueger who attended the rally (and departed before the civil disobedience action), the rabbis chanted “Let Gaza live” in unison before ultimately being taken away in handcuffs to a nearby precinct house.
The protest was organized by New York Jewish Agenda and T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Israelis for Peace NYC, Smol Emuni, New Jewish Narrative, J Street, Partners for Progressive Israel, and the New Israel Fund all provided support as well. The assembled rabbis were united in their efforts to convey just how dire the situation has become in Gaza and how essential it is for Jewish leaders to help in calling for an immediate surge of aid into the area.
QUOTES FROM RABBIS WHO ATTENDED THE EVENT
Rabbi Justin David of the Beacon (NY) Hebrew Alliance said he was “standing with rabbis and the people they represent to speak from a Jewish communal voice to open Gaza to full humanitarian relief, bring the hostages home and establish a new era of peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis.”
“The book of Ezekiel speaks of herpat ra’av–the shame of hunger,” said David Rabbi Rosenn. “And while the prophet uses the phrase to describe the shame of people who cannot afford food for their children, Elie Wiesel once pointed out that the real shame of hunger is reserved for those who cannot provide food prevent it but don’t. I can’t prevent anything from Second Avenue. But perhaps if enough of us insist that this intolerable situation must end, the leaders and decision makers who actually can do something about it, will.”
“It is vital for Jewish leaders to speak out against Israel’s starvation of innocent Gazans,” said Rabbi Dr. William Plevan, who serves as a professor at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. “We want Israel’s government to live up to Jewish moral values, and it is failing in that regard.”
“I’m praying with my feet that Israel will do everything within its power to ensure that the hungry in Gaza are fed and nourished, and I’m praying that the hostages will be freed, the war will end, and peace-building can begin,” added Rabbi Dr. Laura Gold.
“I just returned from three weeks in Israel [and] Palestine, on Thursday,” said Rabbi Jason Klein of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan. “I see the faces of my friends and their children in an ongoing human-made tragedy in Gaza that must end. As a rabbi, I want to implore all of my fellow Jews and Jewish leaders to act right away and do everything we can to save every life.”
“I did not want to be here today, but I had no choice. I simply cannot stand idly by as innocent Gazans starve to death and innocent hostages continue to languish in a seemingly endless captivity. Judaism is a profoundly moral tradition, and it calls upon us to feed the hungry, to free the captive, and to stand for the inherent dignity, equality, and freedom of every single human being. Of course Hamas is also to blame, but the Israeli government is claiming to represent Judaism while violating its foundations and tarnishing its soul,” said Rabbi Rachel Timoner, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn and a Co-Founder of New York Jewish Agenda.
“It’s crucial to show that rabbis and the Jewish community will not stand by as children in Gaza starve, as nearly the whole population is displaced, and as the hostages languish in tunnels,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, who also serves as the CEO of T’Ruah: The Rabbic Call for Human Rights. “It’s clear that this war long ago stopped being a war to protect Israelis and has become a war of revenge and settlement.”
Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses said she came to the protest action to “demand that the government prioritize the hostages, who are likely starving in Gaza. I cannot stand by as I witness from afar Palestinian, children and their families starve.” She said she “stands with the growing number of Israelis desperate for this war to end. My people have been exiled, expelled and decimated.I hear the cries of history’s innocent children, sacrificed again and again, echoing, calling to us: open the gates and feed them.”
To speak with event organizers or learn more about Monday’s protest action, contact Sam Biederman at sam@biedermanllc.com
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About T’ruah:
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Canada, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
ABOUT NYJA:
New York Jewish Agenda advocates, organizes, and convenes to promote the values of liberal Jewish New Yorkers to influence state and local policies, politics, and the communal discourse. It seeks to create a future where the Jewish communal and political discourse in New York are deeply rooted in and guided by liberal Jewish values.