Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

U.S. Rabbis Call for Independent Investigation into Alleged IDF Abuses

U.S. rabbis have called on Israel’s attorney general to open an independent investigation into alleged abuses by the IDF in Gaza.

Rabbis for Human Rights-North America joined 10 Israeli human rights organizations Friday in calling for the investigation of Israeli soldiers’ actions during Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead.

“While Rabbis for Human Rights appreciates the army’s internal investigation into these allegations, we support our colleagues’ belief that an independent investigation is the only way to clear Israel’s name and to determine the veracity of the allegations,” a news release stated.

The organization called for allegations of human rights violation, the use of white phosphorus gas and the number of civilians killed all to be independently investigated.

The release continued: “Israel and the IDF have heretofore been proud of holding its soldiers to the highest ethical standards when engaged in armed conflict. Any suggestion of behavior contrary to those standards ought to be investigated by the civil government for the sake of the nation’s moral stature. Failure to do so could well be interpreted as an admission of guilt and would undermine the values of civil society within a democracy.”

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.