NEW YORK – As the 30-day limit set by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for Israel to comply with U.S. demands for more aid into northern Gaza expired, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, a rabbinic human rights organization, responded by calling on the U.S. government to uphold its own laws and enforce the consequences laid out by National Security Memo-20.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“U.S. military aid, funded by American taxpayers, must be used in compliance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law, and the laws of armed conflict. For far too long, the U.S. government has refused to enforce its own laws, enabling Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to act with impunity. The war in Gaza has already killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children. Even Yoav Gallant, recently fired by Netanyahu from his post as Defense Minister, has publicly said that there is no security reason to continue the war, and that Israel should accept a deal to end the war and free the hostages.
“We are deeply disappointed that the U.S. has now once again opted to give Israel a free pass by claiming Israel is meeting its obligations under Section 620I of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and allowing sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza. This assessment directly contradicts what has been reported by aid organizations on the ground.
“For over a month, the main towns in northern Gaza — including Jabalya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia — have been under siege. Aid groups report that the ‘famine threshold’ has already been crossed in some places and will soon be crossed in others. Depriving a civilian population of food and other aid amounts to collective punishment, which is a war crime. If the United States continues to provide weapons to Israel, it will be complicit.
“This week, we read the biblical story of the evil city of Sodom, characterized in Jewish tradition as a place whose residents refuse to feed those in need, and even punish anyone who dares to act otherwise, proclaiming that “anyone who gives bread to the poor will be burned in fire” (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 25). God punishes the people of Sodom for their avarice and lack of compassion by destroying the city. Today, Israeli leadership are guilty of this same wanton cruelty, and U.S. leaders are likewise culpable.
“T’ruah has called for years for transparency around how U.S. military aid to Israel is used, a requirement for every other recipient of U.S. aid. This call was not for transparency as an end in itself but to ensure that Israel is subject to the same laws as other recipients of U.S. aid, and that military aid is not being used for purposes at odds with American policy. It is clear that Israel’s campaign in Gaza does not meet that requirement.
“To be clear, the U.S. can and should continue to provide support for Iron Dome and other defensive military aid to its ally. But every day that the U.S. refuses to uphold its legal — and moral — commitments by supplying Israel with offensive weapons is a day the U.S. loses credibility internationally.”
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About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 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, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.