Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

And, whereas CCAR members hold wide and variant views as to the necessary particulars of any such negotiations,

And, whereas, in the Summer of 2000, the government of Israel offered historic compromises to the Palestinian Authority which could have served the basis of further negotiations for the establishment of a just and lasting peace between the State and people of Israel and a Palestinian state and its citizens,

And, whereas, the Palestinian response was an unjustified return to violence as a means to achieve its ends and to avoid continuing negotiation with the State of Israel, putting children in the front lines as weapons in the struggle for world sympathy,

And, whereas, the building and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza erect serious impediments to peace,

And whereas, voices within the Palestinian Authority have denied the historic connection between the Jewish People, the Land of Israel and specifically the Temple Mount,

And, whereas, in October 2000, three Israeli soldiers Sgt. Adi Avitan, Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham and Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaid, were abducted by the Hizbullah terror organization while patrolling the Israeli side of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Later that month, Hizbullah kidnapped an Israeli citizen, Elhanan Tenenboim. All are being held incommunicado by the Hizbullah in gross violation of international law, and against the most basic humanitarian principles.

And, whereas, the current unrest has brought a heightened awareness of the social, political and educational gaps between Jewish Israelis and Arab Israelis perpetuated by the Israeli government and Israeli society,

And, whereas, the active involvement of the US government has been a critical component in the search for peace,

Be it therefore resolved the following:

The Central Conference of American Rabbis once more expresses our support of the people of Israel and the government of Israel.

We call on the government of Israel to employ reasonable restraint in its handling of the current unrest and, while doing what is necessary to protect human life, refrain from acts of collective punishment.

We call upon the government of Israel to adopt a policy of neither building nor expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

We call upon the Palestinian Authority to denounce the use of force as a means of advancing its cause and immediately to do all that it can to cease violent attacks on Israelis.

We call upon our Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world to affirm their own history by affirming the historic connection between the Jewish People, the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

We call for the immediate release of all Israeli MIA's.

We call upon the government and Jewish citizens of Israel to all in their power to ameliorate the social, economic, and educational situation of Israel 's Arab citizens, so that Israel can live up to its dream of being a nation for all of its citizens.

We urge the U.S. government, President Bush, and Secretary of State Powell to initiate a new diplomatic effort to help Israel and the Palestinians Authority bring to an end the current violence and to work towards a just and lasting peace.