Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
WHERE WE STAND ON ISRAEL
Adopted by the Board of Trustees
Central
Conference of American Rabbis
December 11, 2002
Background
Ever since the establishment of the State of Israel
and even before, the Jewish People have stretched out their hands in
friendship to their Arab neighbors in the hope of achieving a
relationship of peaceful co-existence. That wish is clearly expressed
in Israel’s Declaration of Independence which remains a source of
inspiration to her to this day:
“We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their
peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to
them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the
sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel
is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of
the entire Middle East.”
Most of
Israel’s leaders across the political spectrum have repeatedly
demonstrated their commitment to this notion and preparedness to
relinquish territory for the sake of peace. The agreements signed with
Egypt in September 1978 by Menachem Begin and with Jordan by Yitzhak
Rabin in October 1994 as well as the proposals presented to the
Palestinians by Ehud Barak at Camp David in July 2000 testify to that.
It is our hope and prayer that that same spirit of compromise will
also in time bring the Palestinians back to the peace table.
Israel’s Right to
Exist
In
addressing the current conflict, we affirm Israel’s right as a Jewish
State to live in peace and security within recognized international
borders. There is no other nation on earth whose right to exist
continues to be laid open to question after over fifty years of
statehood arrived at through international recognition. The lessons of
history have shown only too clearly that the Jewish People has the
right, the need, and the justification to return to its ancient land
after nearly 2,000 years of statelessness and powerlessness and to be
allowed to live in peace.
Mutual Recognition
Peaceful coexistence between Israel,
the Palestinians, and the Arab states based on justice and mutual
recognition is a moral necessity. It is clear that there will be no
final resolution to the Middle East conflict until each side
recognizes the fundamental justice and inalienable moral claims of the
other for independence and freedom. Israel has amply demonstrated that
she accepts the justice of the Palestinian claim. Now it is incumbent
upon the Palestinians to recognize the justice of Zionism as an
expression of the inalienable right of the Jewish People to live in
peace in their own land.
A solution to the Palestinian right to political self-
determination cannot be achieved at the expense of Israel’s right to
exist as a Jewish democratic State with a Jewish majority. While it is
our hope that a Palestinian State will be established through a
process of negotiation – but only a state which would be committed to
peaceful co-existence with the State of Israel – we reject the
Palestinian demand for a right of physical return to the State of
Israel. Such a “return” would, in effect, mean that they not only be
permitted to establish a sovereign state of their own on the West Bank
and in the Gaza Strip but also be allowed to become a demographic
majority within Israel proper, thereby, in effect, creating two
Palestinian states.
It is our hope and prayer that moderation and realism will
ultimately prevail in the Middle East and that a Palestinian
leadership will emerge that has the courage and the foresight to work
honestly and vigorously to suppress hatred in the schools, intolerance
on the streets, religious fanaticism in the mosques and the terror
that results from them. Such steps on their part will encourage the
dialogue required to bring peace to the region. Additionally, we call
upon the North American rabbinate actively to engage in dialogue with
Muslim religious leadership. The Muslim community should not remain
silent in the face of such blatant abuse of religion as noted above.
We call upon Muslims in North America actively to denounce hate speech
in the guise of Islamic religious teaching.
At the same time, we call upon all
segments of Israeli society and of the Jewish people as a whole
likewise to teach the messages of peaceful co-existence, tolerance,
democracy, deliberation, and the acceptance of the rule of law.
The Peace
Process
The
peace process that resulted in the Oslo Accords and led to the
historic meeting between President Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yassir
Arafat on the White House lawn on September 13, 1993, gave the world
reason to believe that it would be possible for Israel and the
Palestinians to come to an accommodation that would bring an end to
the conflict.
However, the Palestinians rejected the proposals put forward by
former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak at Camp David and
demonstrated a lack of willingness to offer any counter-proposals. The
subsequent unwarranted and immoral Palestinian resort to violence and
terror that has plagued Israel ever since has shown that Yassir Arafat
is clearly unable or unprepared to take the necessary steps to reach
an agreement with Israel. Nevertheless, there are signs that there is
a younger generation of Palestinian leaders that is willing and able
to engage the Israelis in constructive discussions once Arafat has
left the scene. This gives cause for hope for the future.
Israel’s Right to
Self-Defense
We
are united in the belief that military force will not resolve the
Middle East conflict. Nevertheless, Israel has the right and moral
obligation first and foremost to protect the safety and security of
her people. No nation can be expected to sit back and allow its
citizens to be slaughtered. We support the Government of Israel in its
war against terrorism and its efforts to stop the people who execute,
support and encourage it. At the same time, we call on the government
and the Israel Defense Forces to be fully guided by the concept of
tohar haneshek (purity of arms), employing reasonable restraint
and, while doing what is necessary to protect human life, refraining
from acts of collective punishment. In the final analysis, we
recognize that the war against terrorism can only be a defensive
measure at best until such time as political negotiations can resolve
the conflict.
We acknowledge and are deeply pained by the immense suffering
caused to Israelis as a result of the Palestinian choice to resort to
terrorism. We condemn without reservation the actions of those who
have brought terror to Israel’s towns and streets in the name of
their political and religious agenda.
We are acutely aware that Israeli society has
suffered emotionally, politically, and economically as a result of the
Palestinian war against the Jewish State. We are also painfully
conscious of the poverty and hunger which exist today within Israel’s
poorer Jewish and Arab populations. We, therefore, pledge ourselves
to do all in our power to assist her in every way at this difficult
time.
In
affirming that the first obligation of any sovereign state is to
defend its citizens, we reject the simplistic moral equation that has
been constructed by certain observers of the Middle East conflict that
would seek to draw a parallel between the murderous actions of
Palestinian homicide bombers and the generally measured responses of
Israel’s defense forces. Whereas the proclaimed intention of the
terrorists is to murder and maim innocent men, women and children,
Israel has not purposefully targeted civilians and has frequently, as
in Jenin, gone out of her way to avoid casualties at great risk and
also cost to her own military personnel.
Affirming Human Rights and Justice for
Palestinians
We affirm Judaism’s deep religious commitment to defend the human
and civil rights of all created in God’s image. Israel’s
Declaration of Independence also emphasizes Israel’s commitment to
the prophetic teaching of liberty, justice and peace. The realization
of these principles is a pre-requisite for harmonic co-existence.
This is of particular importance at this time when Israeli Arabs’ and
Palestinian rights are so adversely affected by the current violent
conflict. We are deeply pained by the growing poverty and hunger
within the Palestinian community. The current dire situation of
Palestinians is largely a bi-product of Palestinian terror but the
long-lasting occupation has contributed to the Palestinians’ plight.
We call on Palestinian as well as Israeli leadership to address this
immediately.
A
Political Solution
We urge the government of Israel to continue to work
towards a political solution to the Middle East conflict and formulate
those policies that will form the basis for dialogue in the future.
Ultimately, the Palestinian issue can only be resolved through
negotiations resulting from a shared yearning for a secure and
peaceful future and the vision of a world in which “nation shall not
lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore”
(Isaiah 2:4).
The Broader Context of the Israel/Palestinian
Conflict
The
Palestinians have repeatedly failed to take advantage of the historic
opportunities granted them to reach independence. However, we
recognize that the Israel/Palestinian conflict takes place in a global
context that also includes the relationship between the Arab world and
democracy, the growth of Islamic fundamentalism and the position of
Israel as an outpost of democratic values in a region of the world in
which dictatorships, monarchies and theocracies are the political
norm.
We are
also conscious of the fact that the plight of the Palestinians has
repeatedly been exploited by various Arab states and potentates for
their own political ends. Frequently, oil rich nations, such as Saudi
Arabia, Iran and Iraq, have been prepared to finance terror against
Israelis while doing little to better the lot of those they term their
brothers.
In this
context and by contrast, we note that both Arab nations and the world
community have chosen to ignore the fact that Israel has always opened
her doors to refugees and has served as a haven for some 600,000 Jews
that were expelled or fled from Arab lands following the establishment
of the Jewish State. Their children and grandchildren, now numbered in
millions, are full citizens of the country.
We call upon the Palestinian diaspora in
North America to take an active part in the amelioration of the dire
economic and social conditions of Palestinians. We urge joint
endeavors between Jewish and Palestinian individuals and foundations
in this critical work.
Territorial Considerations
In addressing the territorial issue,
we believe that a return to the Green Line of pre-1967 days is
unrealistic. Any final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians
will need to take into account current circumstances and may require
territorial adjustments akin to those offered at Camp David.
In the context of a
peace agreement, it should be acknowledged that the 1949 cease-fire
lines were not secure borders. We believe that Israel has the right to
recognized and secure borders and, therefore, some settlements will
continue to exist within the re-drawn map of the State of Israel.
Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip came about as a
result of a war not of her making.
Nevertheless, thirty-five years later, we
acknowledge that Israel’s presence there and the establishment of
certain settlements by governments of all political complexions have
served to deepen the sense of enmity and distrust felt by the
Palestinian population and thus are an impediment to peace. We
reiterate our call to the government of Israel to adopt a policy of
neither building nor expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.
Yet, over 200,000 Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank and in
the Gaza Strip and deserve our support on a humanitarian basis. The
aim of this support should be to guarantee the health and security of
those who live in the settlements and should not be for expansion or
infrastructure.
We recognize that acceding to the Palestinian right to self-
determination will inevitably involve the evacuation from their homes
of many settlers currently living in areas of the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. Jews willing to live peacefully under Palestinian rule
should be able to do so, just as Arab citizens of Israel live
peacefully within Israel.
Seeking Peace
We commend the untiring efforts of successive
administrations of the United States government that have sought to
act as mediators in bringing the Middle East conflict to an end. We
again call upon the Bush Administration vigorously to engage both
Israel and the Palestinians in imaginative, bold and sustained efforts
to help bring to an end the current violence and to work towards a
just and lasting peace. At the same time, we defend the right of
Israel’s citizens, who live within a democracy, to be the ultimate
determiners of what is in the best interests of their security.
We commend all those
who seek to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians and who
work towards the achievement of a just solution to the Middle East
conflict.
We
Once Again Affirm
In addition to the above, we reaffirm the positions
expressed in the “Resolution on Peace in Israel,” adopted by the
Board of Trustees, June, 2001:
We call upon our Christian brothers and sisters
throughout the world to bear witness to that part of their own early
history which affirms the historic connection of the Jewish People to
the Land of Israel, the ancient temple and the city of Jerusalem.
We call for the
immediate release of all Israeli MIA’s, including: Ron Arad, Adi
Avitan, Benyamin Avraham, Omar Sawaid, and Israeli civilian Elhanan
Tenenboim.
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.
“Bakesh shalom v’rodfehu – Seek peace and pursue
it.” (Psalm 34:15)