The 1800 rabbis and cantors who count ourselves as chaverim of T’ruah commit ourselves to our religious obligation to bringing a Jewish moral voice to protecting the tzelem elohim–image of God–in every single human being.
We therefore read with disgust Rabbi Steven Pruzansky’s recent article, “Dealing with Savages.” Our sacred tradition insists on human dignity. This article perverts human dignity, incites violence, and gives fodder to those who seek to malign Jews and Judaism.
Statements such as those of Rabbi Pruzansky are unacceptable within our Jewish community and must not be tolerated.
Tradition holds that the second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed because of senseless hatred – sinat hinam. As T’ruah rabbis and cantors, we commit to using our religious voices to build the world with more love, not to destroy it with more hate. We invite all rabbis and cantors to sign here and join us in making this commitment.