NEW YORK — Today, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization that represents over 2,000 rabbis and cantors and their communities, issued the following statement voicing the obligation of Israel to vaccinate Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, released the following statement:
“We congratulate Israel on the momentous achievement of distributing the first of two COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 10 percent of its population within two weeks of the start of distribution. T’ruah hopes the leadership of the United States follows in these footsteps so that everyone can easily receive this life-saving vaccine.
“We must note that the root of Israel’s success is the fact that all Israeli citizens and permanent residents are entitled to basic health care as a fundamental right under its National Health Insurance Law, and as a legacy of the labor movement that built the state.
“We also call on Israel to carry out its responsibility to ensure the provision of vaccines, in a timely manner, to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Under Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power has the obligation to mitigate and prevent communicable diseases and epidemics. Israel has the legal and moral responsibility for the health of all occupied Palestinian populations, and access to the vaccine must also include all those living in those territories, not just Jewish Israelis. Any attempts to use access to the vaccine for political leverage would also violate human rights protocols.
“In addition to the directives of international human rights law, we are called to follow the moral example of our ancient sages of blessed memory. Of Rav Huna, the third century rabbi, the Talmud recounts, ‘Whenever he discovered some [new] medicine, he would fill a water jug with it and suspend it above the doorstep and proclaim, ‘Whosoever desires it, let them come and take of it.’’ (Ta’anit 21a)
“T’ruah stands in solidarity with our colleagues at Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations who have urged Israel to follow its duties under international law and moral responsibilities towards the Palestinians.”
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,000 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.