NEW YORK – Following a wave of deadly violence in Israel and the West Bank, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization representing over 2,300 rabbis and cantors in the US and Canada, condemned attacks on civilians and called for an end to occupation.
In a statement, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“T’ruah mourns alongside those who have lost loved ones in the latest wave of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Late last month, we entered Shabbat in sadness and horror following the news of a terrorist attack in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of East Jerusalem that killed seven Jews on Shabbat evening, which was also International Holocaust Remembrance Day. No political aim justifies the murder of civilians.
“Just a day earlier, an IDF incursion into a Jenin refugee camp left 10 Palestinians dead, including an elderly woman. That same week, IDF soldiers killed a Palestinian resident of Hebron, and a 16-year-old Palestinian injured in clashes in East Jerusalem died of his wounds. Settlers in the West Bank carried out more than 35 violent raids on multiple Palestinian villages, including setting fire to a home, vandalizing cars and houses, and wounding Palestinian landowners while building an illegal outpost. At the same time, militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel, targeting civilian centers.
“Israel’s new extremist government has responded not by trying to de-escalate the situation, but rather by inflaming it with calls for revenge and collective punishment for Palestinians, including the sealing and demolition of the homes of terrorists’ families. But there is no military solution to the ongoing violence. Breaking this cycle of tragedy requires addressing the root cause: the ongoing military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, resulting in millions of Palestinians who do not have access to basic human rights such as citizenship, freedom of movement, and the right to choose the political leaders who govern most aspects of their lives.
“We have no fantasies that this Israeli government will take any of the steps necessary to move toward an end to occupation, or a more just future for Israelis and Palestinians, such as ending the expansion of settlements, imposing consequences on settlers who engage in violence or land theft, or entering into good faith negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. However, the Biden administration and the American Jewish community must be steadfast in working toward a long-term solution that protects the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, including by affirming the U.S.’s longstanding commitment to the establishment of a sovereign state of Palestine next to Israel, and by investing in human rights and civil society and not in the expansion of settlements.
“The Talmud teaches, ‘Anyone who was able to protest the actions of the members of one’s household and did not is punished for the actions of the household; one who was able to protest the actions of one’s city and did not is punished for the actions of the city; one who was able to protest the actions of the whole world and did not is punished for the actions of the world.’ (Tractate Shabbat, 54b-55a) We proudly stand with the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the street every Saturday night, including this past weekend, to declare that the undemocratic government does not speak for them.”
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.