This is a leaflet from an ad-hoc group that came together for the large April, 2002, pro-Israel rally in D.C.
We are students from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Hebrew Union College, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the University of Judaism. We have spent significant time studying and working in Israel. We worry about the safety and well being of our friends and family in Israel. We care deeply about the sustained viability of the Jewish State.There is no justification for suicide bombings or other violent attacks against innocent Israeli civilians. There is also no excuse for the anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence that have recently erupted in Europe and in the United States.
At the same time, we cannot condone the current level of violence against the Palestinian people.
As rabbis and cantors, we will teach our communities that every human being is a unique and valuable creation b'tzelem elohim-in the image of God. What are we to do when loyalty to the Jewish State entails an abnegation of this fundamental principle?
The occupation is crippling us morally and spiritually.
The thirty-five year Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip both compromises the humanity of Palestinians and Israelis, and contributes to the ever-worsening cycle of violence.
Will excessive violence and destruction produce a 'moderate' negotiating partner?
Or another generation of suicide bombers?
Both sides bear responsibility for violence. Either side has the ability to take the lead in ending it. As Jews, and future rabbis and cantors, we call on our leadership to take this initiative.
The American Jewish community has adopted a policy of unconditional support for Israel. Criticism of Israel is understood as anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic or self-hating. Our criticism is one born in deep love. Ours is a criticism that wishes to ally itself with the magnificence of what Israel might become, rather than unconditionally accept its shortcomings. Ours is a criticism that seeks the realization of the Zionist dream of peaceful co-existence with our neighbors.
We call on the American Jewish community to express love of Israel through constructive criticism aimed at the establishment of a more just and moral Jewish state.
We call for American-brokered, fair peace negotiations aimed at the establishment of a viable Palestinian state alongside the Jewish State.
For more information, contact rabstudentsforajustpeace@hotmail.com
Page last updated April 21, 2002