Members of the Progressive Israel Network penned the following letter to Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi opposing annexation.
Recontructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association are signatories to the following appeal from J-Link, an international network of progressive Jewish organizations fromIsrael, the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association are alarmed by the Netanyahu government’s recent announcement that seeks to expand settlements in a way that would cut through Palestinian population centers and deny contiguity to a future Palestinian state. Previous Republican and Democratic US administrations have rejected similar plans with good reason. We call on the Netanyahu government to cancel these plans, and we call on all American Jewish organizations that support a two-state solution to join in this urgent message. We continue to oppose unilateral territorial annexation on the part of the Israeli government, and we remain committed to a just, democratic, and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians within a framework of two states for two peoples.
Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum has never been one to shy away from a challenge. She has operated a dairy farm in the Missouri Ozarks, eked out a living as a classical cellist, enrolled in the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in her 50s and started a new life in Israel in her 60s. Now a member of Israel’s largest grassroots movement, she is pursuing a goal that’s eluded the world for a century: a negotiated political settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.
For decades Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association have advocated for a negotiated, two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on security, dignity, human rights, and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
As leading progressive pro-Israel organizations in the American Jewish community, we commend the House of Representatives for passing House Resolution 326. This landmark resolution, which reaffirms support for a two-state solution, marks the first time the House has formally opposed unilateral Israeli annexation of the West Bank and asserted longstanding US opposition to settlements.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association are disappointed by and strongly oppose the recent policy statement by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring that the U.S. no longer views Israeli West Bank settlements as inconsistent with international law.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association condemn the 300 rockets indiscriminately launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip over the past few days.
As heads of American Jewish organizations who care deeply about the State of Israel and are committed to safeguarding its future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people, we implore you to consider the costs of any unilateral annexations in the West Bank, and ask that you refuse to support annexation as a policy guideline for any government that your party may join.
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