Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, said:
“We appreciate the decision by the UK, France, and Canada to impose a ban on trade with Israeli settlements and to reiterate their commitment to bringing about a two state solution.
“For those of us invested in ending the occupation, protecting the rights of Palestinians, and advancing the long-term goal of a state of Palestine alongside Israel, this extremist Israeli government’s actions have been catastrophic. Israel’s government is acting rapidly in the West Bank to advance a policy of ethnic cleansing by forcing Palestinians out of their homes, building settlements, cementing annexation, and attempting to prevent any future Palestinian state with the E-1 settlement project.
“This ban rightly distinguishes between Israel proper and the occupied territories. It is not antisemitic to hold Israel to the same human rights standard as any other country. We need international actors to create meaningful consequences for the Israeli government’s actions–for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians.”
###
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.