April 22, 2006
By Rabbi John S. Friedman

In Wednesday's Herald-Sun, Sven Sonneburg, Marlene Appley and Sol Gordon take issue with a letter to President Bush urging him "to maintain determination in the face of those who deny Israel's right to exist and, at the same time, to leave open the door for those Palestinians who are committed to working for a negotiated, two-state resolution of this conflict."

The letter was signed by rabbis from across the American Jewish religious spectrum and from coast to coast. Seven local rabbis signed together with some of the most widely known Jewish religious leaders in America. Almost all of these men and women have lived in Israel, speak Hebrew, have a deep knowledge of her history and of the past events that led to Israel's nationhood. I can think of no American group more well-informed or morally qualified to speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Their voices are urgently needed after the Islamic Jihad murdered nine innocent Israeli citizens outside a sandwich shop in Tel Aviv.

I have great respect for the writers of last Wednesday's op-ed. They have a deep love for Israel and are upset to hear her criticized in the press. This letter, spearheaded by Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace (btvshalom.org), an American Jewish Pro-Israel grassroots peace organization, was in no way a criticism of Israel, however. It was addressed to the president on March 3, just after the frightening success of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative election. It urges the president to keep four points in mind when formulating U.S. policy. Because Herald-Sun readers are unlikely to be familiar with the text of this letter, I have included it here:

Troubled by Hamas

"Dear Mr. President:

"As leaders of the American Jewish community, we are deeply troubled by the recent victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections. Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and Hamas has repeatedly perpetrated horrific acts of terror and violence that target innocent civilians. Yet in this challenging hour, we urge you to maintain a cautious approach to the new Palestinian government, so as to preserve the future possibility of bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, which is the only path to achieve true peace and security for both peoples.

"As you formulate U.S. policy towards these ends, we urge you to keep the following points in mind.

"1) According to international observers, the Palestinians conducted a free, fair, and democratic election, something that is still too rare in this region.

"2) Nevertheless, for the new Hamas-led Palestinian government to achieve international recognition and standing, it must 'recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace,' just as you specified in your State of the Union address.

"3) Despite Hamas's victory, recent polls indicate that the majority of Palestinians remains committed to a peace agreement with Israel. With this in mind, we urge constructive engagement with the new Palestinian government, in ways that bolster moderates such as President Mahmoud Abbas and sustain the ceasefire that has allowed for relative calm over the past year. Poverty and extremism

"4) The immediate and short-term needs of the Palestinian people are pressing. We know that the deterioration in their plight only increases support for extremism, which, in turn, endangers Israel. Continued funding for indirect assistance to the Palestinian people via NGO's, with the appropriate conditions to ensure that it does not reach the hands of terrorists, is essential.

"During this period of deep concern for the future of Israel, we call on you to maintain determination in the face of those who deny Israel's right to exist and, at the same time, to leave open the door for those Palestinians who are committed to working for a negotiated, two-state resolution of this conflict."

The letter was signed by 400 American rabbis.

The authors contend that the rabbis who signed do not possess "a rudimentary knowledge of history." They feel that we rabbis should not be concerned with the "moral grounds." They accuse 400 rabbis of being concerned only for the Palestinians and not with Israelis. They say that we rabbis have forgotten the events that led to the Holocaust.

So I now reassure the readers of The Herald-Sun, that the American rabbinate is not suddenly afflicted with historical amnesia; that we understand the purposes of Hamas; that we are deeply concerned for the well being of Israel, most of us having family and friends living there. And we know the history of the previous century all too well. That is why we wrote this letter.

The real difference the authors have with us, I submit, is that we rabbis do not believe that we can, or should, starve the Palestinian people into submission. As U.S. Envoy James Wolfensohn recently declared to Congress, you cannot have both a million starving Palestinians and peace. We must be able to provide humanitarian aid and, at the same time, engage with leaders among the Palestinians who will recognize and accept Israel if we really want a peace process to gain traction.

Circumstances for change

No, the Hamas party cannot be our partners now, especially after blessing the Tel Aviv bombing by Islamic Jihad. Neither I, nor anyone I know, can read the future, however, and know whether Hamas's ideology rejecting Israel will change or not; whether they will negotiate with Israel or not; whether they will eschew violence or not. Recognizing this, our own government should do all it can to create the circumstances for change in the right direction. An isolated, impoverished, marginalized Palestinian population will empower the culture of violence and drive the Palestinians further under its influence.

Rabbi John Friedman of Judea Reform Congregation is a member of the national board of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace and Chair of its Rabbinic Cabinet.