American Jewish Leaders Concerned About Violence in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank

Cry aloud; do not be silent. Lift up your voice like a shofar. — Isaiah 58:1

• We join all those members of our extended family, Israelis and Palestinian of all faiths, who are calling for an immediate end of the murderous and pointless violence of the last week. While there is a disgraceful and immoral failure of the leadership of both peoples, the necessary focus in the short term must be on saving innocent lives. We associate ourselves with our sisters and brothers within Rabbis for Human Rights who issued this statement:

“All of us, Jews and Palestinians, live in this holy land and will continue to do so, side by side, even after this senseless cycle of violence passes. We call on religious leaders in Israel – Jewish, Muslim and Christian – to refrain from fanning the flames of violence and, through your messaging, not to incite towards more hostility and bloodshed but rather to call for reconciliation and peace.
We call on the Israeli Government to prevent this situation from deteriorating into war. We call on our military leaders to prevent harm to civilians and their property.”

• We also call for an end to the ongoing violation of human rights and structural violence of Israel’s occupation in Gaza and the West Bank as well as the inequalities which persist within its borders. The occupation must end for the benefit of Israelis and Palestinians alike. We condemn the use of violence to achieve political ends by any of the parties involved and advocate for all to work for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
• We condemn Hamas leadership for its unwavering commitment to de-legitimize the state of Israel, its indiscriminate launching of missiles into Israeli civilian areas that constitutes a war crime by any standard, and its practice of using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israel has the right and the obligation to defend the lives of its citizens.
• We urge the Biden administration to make clear publicly that Israeli efforts to evict and displace Palestinian families in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are completely unacceptable to the United States. This conflict demands bold, proactive, and continuous diplomatic engagement from the Biden administration and the international community. The US government must use its full leverage to deescalate the conflict and promote a just solution.
• Our hearts are heavy as we begin our observance of the Festival of Shavuot, which commemorates our people’s acceptance of the Divine gift of the Torah and the values it contains. For us to be worthy of this gift the leaders of our Jewish communities need to join us in repentance.  The Israeli government must urgently address the inequalities between its Jewish and Palestinian citizens and those Palestinians who remain under occupation.   We refuse to stand with those leaders in Israel and within the American Jewish community who have been complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights.   We refuse to be enemies with our Palestinian sisters and brothers.

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SIGNERS LISTED THROUGH NOON, MAY 16 (R=Rabbi C=Cantor)

R. David Shneyer
R. David Teutsch
R. Michael Lerner
R. Bob Gluck
R. Chava Bahle
R. Zev-Hayyim Feyer
R. Jill Zimmerman
R. Jeff Marker
R. Malka Drucker
R. Charles Feinberg
R. Gilah Langner
R. Geoffrey Claussen
R. Suzanne Singer
C. Linda Hirschhorn
R. Marc Gopin
R. Mimi Micner
R. Paula Marcus
R. Laurence Edwards
R. Ruth Sohn
R. Rim Meirowitz
R. Reba Carmel
R. Ruth Gais
R. Sunny Schnitzer
R. Douglas Krantz
R. Tirzah Firestone
R. Ellen Lippmann
R. Steven Jacobs
R. Robin Podolsky
R. Jeff Schulman
R. Amichai Lau-Lavie
R. Shawn Zevit
R. David Greenstein
R. Michael Latz
R. Meredith Cahn
R. Mark H. Levin
R. Susan Falk
R. Jonathan Seidel
R. Michael Zoosman
R. Amy Eilberg
R. Jay Weinstein
R. Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi
R. Ofer Sabath Beit-Halachmi
R. Michael Feinberg
R. Devorah Jacobson
C. Abbe Lyons
R. Michael Kramer
R. Renni Altman
R. Dan Isaak
R. Jessy Gross
R. Everett Gendler
R. Victor Reinstein
R. Nancy Kasten
R. Simkha Weintraub
R. Fred Scherlinder Dobb
R. Sheila Peltz Weinberg
R. Elyse Wechterman
R. Arthur Waskow
R. Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus
R. David Cooper
R. Amy Eilberg
R. Dennis Eisner
R. Susan Polsky Falk
R. Brian Fink
R. Riqi Kosovske
R. Andrea London
R. Eva Sax-Bolder
R. Erica Steelman
R. Ora Weiss
R. Shani Rosenbaum