T’ruah prays for a complete healing for the seven Israelis injured in the rocket strike from Gaza early this morning. Shooting rockets at civilians is a war crime.
We are deeply concerned by reports that Israel is preparing for an escalation, including a possible ground incursion. This return to violence does not serve the interests of Israelis or Palestinians. Rather, the beneficiaries of an escalation would be Hamas, which is desperately seeking a distraction from its own human rights abuses, including recent violence against anti-corruption protesters; and Netanyahu, who is desperately seeking to distract from his own legal attempts and from his failure to protect citizens in their line of fire from Gaza during his embattled election campaign. A return to violence is likely to end in more deaths and injuries without making either Israelis or Palestinians safer, and without moving any closer to long-term peace.
Both Netanyahu and Hamas would do well to heed the warning that King Yehoash of Israel sent to King Amatzia of Judah, “Because you have defeated Edom you have become arrogant. Stay home and enjoy your glory rather than provoke disaster and fall dragging Judah down with you.” (II Kings 14:10) It is the height of arrogance to endanger the lives of civilians in pursuit of political power.
T’ruah calls on both Israel and Hamas to take all steps necessary to avoid a new ground war, to commit to ending the dire human rights crisis in Gaza, and to pursue a sustainable peace.
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of 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.
