Group of rabbis calls on Biden to ignore calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
An Israeli tank along the border with Gaza on March 19. Photo by Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh March 20, 2024
A group representing more than 1,000 American rabbis across denominations released a statement Wednesday opposing a ceasefire in Gaza and rejecting the conditioning of U.S. military aid to Israel. It comes in the wake of calls from leading liberal Zionist groups for a “bilateral ceasefire” to end the Israel-Hamas war.
“We support the consensus of the Israeli public and the decision of their democratically elected government to pursue its military operation in Gaza until all the hostages are released and Hamas is defeated,” reads the statement, signed by the 17 rabbis who serve on the executive committee of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition.
The group formed nearly two years ago to counter what its founders consider an alarming trend: a loosening of American rabbis’ ties to Israel.
The statement stands in contrast to rising pressure from liberal Democrats who have grown frustrated with the war in Gaza, in which more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. President Joe Biden has criticized Israel in recent weeks, following swing state presidential primaries in which more than 200,000 Democratic voters marked “uncommitted” or “no preference” on their ballots.
The president three weeks ago called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza — and has reiterated it since. It would allow for the release of some 40 hostages kidnapped by Hamas and increase deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He continues to oppose an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah bordering Egypt.
His administration is reportedly debating whether to place restrictions on arms sales to Israel if it fails to meet a Sunday deadline to commit to allowing U.S.-supplied humanitarian aid into Gaza. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections after the war in Gaza winds down.
The rabbi’s statement urges the U.S. government “to maintain its support for Israel, and resist the pressure by a loud minority who are supporters of terror.” They also said they “reject calls for America to intervene and use its influence to urge Israel to have a ceasefire.”
Earlier this month, a coalition of leading liberal Zionist groups, including the Reconstructionist movement, T’ruah and J Street, sent a letter to Biden in support of a “bilateral ceasefire that brings a stop to fighting” and calls on the White House to support “a release of all hostages, and a surge in humanitarian assistance” to Palestinians in Gaza.
Some progressive rabbis have also joined a weekly rally in New York, held by anti-occupation activists, in which they call for an end to the war.
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