CCAR Statements

Jewish Cross-Denominational Statement Against Violent Immigration Enforcement

Posted on by The CCAR

January 21, 2026

ואהבתם את-הגר כי-גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Adding our voices to millions of others across the United States, leaders of the Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Movements of Judaism condemn, in the strongest terms, the violence with which the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing American immigration law—above all, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as in cities and towns across the nation.

Many Americans are deeply disturbed as they see their neighbors targeted for detention and deportation in their homes, at work, at their schools, and at their houses of worship. They are deeply concerned about numerous accounts of the use of intimidating and violent detention tactics, dangerous and unhealthy holding facilities, lack of appropriate warrants or due process, and wrongful apprehension of US citizens or individuals with proper visas based on appearance or language. 

In response, some are taking nonviolent steps to warn and protect their neighbors from this immigration enforcement overreach. The right to protest and speak freely are fundamental American rights, protected by the United States Constitution. Too often, though, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience is being met with violence.

The United States is a nation of laws, and as Americans we expect that our laws will be enforced with clarity and consistency. We are pained by reports and videos indicating that in carrying out their assignment, members of law enforcement are engaging in behavior that escalates confrontation, risking the safety of those suspected of having violated the law, of bystanders and protesters, and their own safety. Candidates for law enforcement must be properly vetted, fully and carefully trained, and held accountable when they do not meet appropriate standards. Such accountability includes investigating complaints fairly, transparently, and impartially, particularly but not only, in cases of officer-involved shootings. To that end, we call on the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting death by an ICE officer of Renee Good, z”l.

Our sages taught that the Book of Deuteronomy’s directive צדק צדק תרדף (Tzedek, tzedek tirdof), “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (16:20), implies that the law must be enforced through a fair process, and that one should pursue justice whether it would be to one’s advantage or to one’s loss.[i]

Immigrants are members of our congregations, our families, and people with whom we interact in our broader communities. American Jews cherish our own families’ immigration stories. We recall that, like many being expelled from America today, we or our ancestors came to this country to escape oppression and find opportunity. That is why so many Jewish congregations, rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders have engaged in a variety of legal actions to protect immigrants in our midst. We grieve an American promise that seems to be no more.

We who lead the North American Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Jewish Movements stand with the members and leaders of Jewish communities in Minneapolis—and before that, in the Chicago area and other cities in the United States—who have confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement nonviolently but resolutely. We fear that additional communities will need to be prepared to do the same in the months ahead.

We call on President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to pursue immigration enforcement and their response to protest through just and non-violent means, upholding our nation’s highest values and commitment to due process and the rule of law. 

Rabbi David Lyon, President, Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism
Shelley Niceley Groff, Chair of the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism

Cantor Josh Breitzer, President, American Conference of Cantors
Rachel Roth, Chief Operating Officer, American Conference of Cantors

Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, Chief Executive Officer, Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Jay Kornsgold, President, Rabbinical Assembly

Edwin M. Baum, Board Chair, Reconstructing Judaism
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, President and CEO, Reconstructing Judaism

Rabbi Renee Bauer, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Megan Doherty, Chief Executive, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

[i] Ramban on Deuteronomy 16:20.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Iranian Uprising

Posted on by The CCAR

January 15, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis lifts the collective Reform Jewish voice in support of the brave people who are risking their lives to protest the terrorist regime that governs Iran. We grieve the deaths of all whom the regime has brutally murdered, in response to the current uprising and before it, in Iran and around the world, and stand in awe of those who continue to oppose the regime.

Reform rabbis have been deeply concerned about the Iranian regime’s sponsorship of terror and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons, with the explicit attempt of destroying our beloved State of Israel and murdering our people there.[i] For decades, the Iranian regime has threatened the stability of its region and the world, even as Iranian people have been deprived of personal freedoms and are increasingly impoverished by the regime’s corruption and diversion of public funds to terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons.

Centuries before democracy was common, our rabbinic sages decreed that a ruler may only lead a people with their consent.[ii] The Iranian regime has forfeited its moral authority to rule the nation and has now lost the popular support required to remain in power. Their reach goes well beyond its own boundaries to impose its terror in the Middle East and the western hemisphere. For the sake of a greater peace that begins in Iran, it is time for the people of Iran to be sovereign.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis calls upon the governments of the United States and Canada, together with their allies, to continue and to strengthen sanctions that cripple the Iranian regime and to take all appropriate steps to support the myriads protesting their cruel government.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

[i] “The Threat from Iran,” Resolution adopted by the 117th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, June, 2006, Threat from Iran, The – Central Conference of American Rabbis.

[ii] Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 55a.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on Threat to Transgender Youth

Posted on by The CCAR

January 6, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is appalled by the Trump Administration’s proposal to withhold all federal funds from hospitals that provide lifesaving gender affirming care to transgender youth. The withheld funds would include Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for all patient care, effectively closing hospitals that would continue to provide evidence-based medicine to transgender youth.

The claim that gender affirming medical care is not grounded in science is false. Multiple studies have demonstrated that gender affirming care is safe[i]—and more importantly, it saves the lives of youth experiencing gender dysphoria, who are at a heightened risk of suicide if untreated.[ii] If the proposed regulation were to go into effect, medical care across the United States would be withheld from minors experiencing gender dysphoria on the basis of ideology rather than evidence.

Jewish health care providers and Jewish-supported hospitals are bound by a religious obligation, grounded in our sacred texts, to provide gender affirming care to minors as an act of פיקוח נפש (pikuach nefesh), “saving life.” The obligation to provide health care is clear in the sacred texts of our tradition.[iii] Moreover, “To ignore the cries of trans children who beg their doctors to help them materialize their identity would be a crime akin to murder, no different from denying care to a patient with the flu or Crohn’s Disease.”[iv] The same may be true of health-care providers of other faiths. The proposal would therefore impinge upon Americans’ First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

Some CCAR rabbis have transgender children who are accessing or may need to access gender affirming care. Virtually every community served by CCAR rabbis includes children whose lives have been saved by gender affirming care and others whose lives would be threatened if the proposed rule were to go into effect. Reform rabbis pledge our support to one another, to each other’s children, and to the young people in our communities.

In the strongest terms, the Central Conference of American Rabbis urges the Trump Administration to withdraw this proposal, even as we call upon Congress and the courts to invalidate it should it go into effect.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

[i] Stephanie L. Budge, et al, “Gender Affirming Care Is Evidence Based for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 75, Issue 6, December 2024, https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(24)00439-7/fulltext.

[ii]Diana M. Tordoff, et al, “Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care,” National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, July 1, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35212746/.

[iii] See, for example, Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kama 85a.

[iv] Beit Yosef, Yoreh Dei-ah 336:2, cited in Daniel Block, “The Halachic Mandate for Gender Affirming Care: Examining the Potential Efficacy of Religious Liberty Claims Made by Jewish Health Care Providers,” Brandeis University Law Journal, Fall 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, 125.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Antisemitic Mass Murder in Australia

Posted on by The CCAR

December 15, 2025

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns in the strongest terms what Australian authorities have determined to be a targeted antisemitic terror attack on Jewish Australians celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach in Sydney. We grieve with the families and communities of those who were murdered. We pray for the healing of the injured. We send support and strength to our Australian colleagues. And we give thanks for the heroic bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the terrorists, risking his life to save Jewish lives. He may be counted among חסידי אומות העולם (chasidei umot ha-olam), the world’s righteous.

This deadliest terrorism directed at the Jewish people since October 7, like too many violent attacks before it, reminds us that antisemitic hate speech—whether ostensibly about Israel, from a White Christian Nationalist perspective, or any other form of bigotry—is deadly dangerous to Jewish bodies. The proliferation of antisemitic hate speech has again led to mass murder of Jews, a phenomenon well known to our rabbinic forebears. In their Talmudic discussion of Psalms 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” our sages observed: “Actually, a person’s tongue is more powerful than their sword. A sword can kill somebody who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is far away.”[i]

We are commanded to publicize the Chanukah miracle by placing the chanukiyah in the window.[ii] At times of danger, though, Maimonides permitted us to place the Chanukah lights inside the home.[iii] Some Jews will be and feel unsafe to place their Chanukah menorahs in the window this year. All Jewish communities will take security precautions. Still, CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve—in Australia, in North America, in Israel, and around the world—will follow Hillel’s example by increasing the light of holiness throughout the festival,[iv] proclaiming the prophetic faith of Zachariah that might and power, terrorists and their weapons, will ultimately be defeated by the Divine spark in humanity.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

[i]Babylonian Talmud, Arachin 15b.

[ii] Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b.

[iii] Rabbi Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, M’gilat Esther v’Chanukah 4:8.

[iv] Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Laments Shooting of National Guard Personnel

Posted on by The CCAR

December 1, 2025

The Central Conference of American Rabbis grieves the heinous shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard, taking the life of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and severely wounding Staff Sargeant Andrew Wolfe. Among all Americans, we join the people of West Virginia in mourning Specialist Beckstrom and praying for Sargeant Wolfe’s healing. Americans in uniformed service of our country selflessly put their lives on the line to vouchsafe our freedom. Targeting them with deadly violence is an attack on us all.

We commend law enforcement for the prompt arrest of the alleged perpetrator, and we call for his prosecution to the full extent of the law. We support continued investigation to assure that the shooter was acting alone.

Even as we lament this horrific act of violence, Reform rabbis are concerned by actions proposed by President Trump in response, suspending action on immigration status applications of all Afghan refugees in this country and threatening to halt all immigration from developing countries and all applications for asylum. Jewish history is replete with incidents when all of a country’s Jews were held responsible and punished because of the actions of a single individual. Collective punishment must not be tolerated. 

CCAR members and our communities mobilized rapidly in 2021 to welcome Afghan refugees, men who served alongside the US armed forces in Afghanistan, and their families. Rescued by US service personnel whose lives they had protected, these Afghanis and their families faced certain death at the hands of the Taliban had they stayed in their homeland, a threat that has not abated. CCAR members know and cherish many of these refugees and now fear for their safety here in America.

Many CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve work diligently to support refugee resettlement, as Reform rabbis have done throughout CCAR history, whether the refugees were Jews escaping antisemitism or others who have more recently sought America’s promise of freedom from persecution. Reform rabbis pledge to continue this sacred work of הכנסת אורחים, (hachnasat orchim), welcoming those who are new to America and to our communities.

The CCAR calls on President Trump to rescind all forms of collective punishment on the basis of national origin, religion, ethnicity, and/or immigration status.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Reform Movement Joint Statement on Increased West Bank Settler Violence

Posted on by The CCAR

November 13, 2025

Amidst a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank, it is past time for decisive, public, and consistent action from the Israeli government and from allies committed to ending attacks that violate Palestinians’ human rights and endanger the prospects for peaceful coexistence.

We join our Israeli Reform Movement (IMPJ) and the Council of Reform Rabbis in Israel (MARAM) in expressing deep shock and concern over the violent attack on the Rabbis for Human Rights delegation. The group included activists, and religious and spiritual leaders from Israel and the United States who came to assist Palestinians with the olive harvest in the West Bank.

A drone operated by extremist settlers struck and injured Reform Rabbi Dana Sharon, who required medical treatment. Following the initial attack, more armed settlers—some wearing uniforms—arrived on the scene, firing rifles into the air and further endangering those present.

Such actions must be stopped. Palestinian families and communities must be protected, and the perpetrators of settler violence must be held accountable through prompt investigations, timely prosecutions, and appropriate punishment.

“We will not be silent in the face of this outrage and will continue to speak out for the Jewish and democratic values upon which the relationship between Israel and the Jewish world is based.” —MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv Adv, Chair Knesset Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora

We also call on the U.S. and other friends of Israel—both in the region and globally—to urge Israel to act decisively at this critical moment. The path chosen now will help determine whether the possibility of a two-state solution can be preserved. The West Bank Violence Prevention Act, introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler with the support of 100 House co-sponsors, would impose sanctions on those responsible for such attacks. The legislation represents one important step the U.S. can and should take to address these injustices.

In recent weeks, ever-larger groups of settlers in the West Bank have attacked Palestinian olive groves, businesses, and homes with horrific violence and seeming impunity. These assaults devastate individuals, destroy livelihoods, and desecrate the land itself.

Rabbis, journalists, and others present to bear witness and assist with the olive harvest have also been assaulted. In some cases, even IDF soldiers have been the victims of settler violence. Yet too often, Israeli authorities charged with upholding the law respond ineffectually—or not at all. Justice for victims is rare, and accountability for perpetrators is equally rare. Given the influence of ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, outspoken advocates for expanding West Bank settlements, this failure of justice is especially tragic.

When government officials claim these attacks are carried out by a small group of extremists whose actions tarnish the reputation of the broader settler community, we ask: if the group is truly small, why has the violence grown in both frequency and severity in recent months?

We reaffirm our July statement condemning settler violence against Palestinians—violence that is immoral and a desecration of God’s name. We again call upon the IDF and Israeli police to take immediate and effective measures to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice, in the spirit of last week’s Torah portion:

“And they shall keep the way of the Eternal, by doing what is just and right.” 
וְשָֽׁמְרוּ֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֔ה לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת צְדָקָ֖ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט 
(Genesis 18:19)

Union for Reform Judaism
Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her), North American Board Chair
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him), President
Rabbi Hara Person (she/her), Chief Executive Officer

American Conference of Cantors
Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him), President
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Operating Officer

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Federal Government Shutdown and Impending American Humanitarian Crisis

Posted on by The CCAR

November 10, 2025

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is alarmed by the enhanced poverty, hunger, suffering, and disruption facing all Americans—above all, federal public servants and contractors, alongside poor, marginalized, and vulnerable Americans—as the federal government shutdown enters its second month. Federal public servants and contractors at every income level, even those required to continue to serve the public full time, are without paychecks. Despite a federal court order requiring the government to continue funding the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), President Trump has announced that benefits will be reduced and delayed. Across the country, hard-working, low-income Americans are without Head Start and other government-funded childcare that enables them to go to work, support their families, and continue their education.

CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve have already begun to assess and meet emergency needs in our communities and beyond, as have our interfaith partners, and we are grateful that the nonprofit safety net system has mobilized to do the same on a larger scale. We commend governors who have redirected state funds to meet some of the most pressing needs. Still, we know that the suffering will only end when the federal government resumes normal operations.

While vulnerable and marginalized people and communities, among whom federal public servants must be counted in 2025, are our chief concern, all Americans are victims of the shutdown. Air travel has been grievously disrupted. Access to national parks, forests, historic sites, and presidential libraries is unavailable. The American economy is at risk, particularly if the shutdown does not end soon.

The shutdown represents a dramatic failure of leadership and disdain for working across partisan lines. Our rabbinic sages distinguished between מחלקת שהיא לשם שמים (machaloket sh’hi l’sheim shamayim, “a dispute for the sake of Heaven”) and מחלקת שאינה לשם שמים  (machaloket she-eina l’shem shamayim, “a dispute not for the sake of Heaven”). The former, concerning substantive matters, is praiseworthy. The latter, about power, is contemptible.[i] The CCAR pleads with President Trump and members of Congress of both parties to stop blaming one another, and focus instead on solutions that end the shutdown and bring relief to suffering Americans.

Until such time that this gets resolved, Reform rabbis demand that federal public servants and contractors be paid, that the hungry be fed, and that childcare and other critical public services be resumed or continued. We are mindful of the Proverb, “If your enemy is hungry, give them bread to eat; If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.”[ii] How much more, then, are we obligated to assure that our fellow Americans receive their paychecks and benefits, enabling them to pay the rent or mortgage, feed themselves and their families, secure healthcare, and go to work knowing that their children are safe and cared for.

The time to end the shutdown and its resulting suffering is now.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Execuitve
Central Conference of American Rabbis

[i] Pirkei Avot 5:17.
[ii] Proverbs 25:21.

Reform Movement Joint Statement on the Release of the Remaining Israeli Hostages

Posted on by The CCAR

October 13, 2025

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם מַתִּיר אֲסוּרִים:  

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who frees the captives.

After reciting this prayer daily for more than 738 days, our brothers and sisters who were held in unimaginable conditions by Hamas are now free and have reunited with the loved ones who prayed and fought without ceasing for this day. We share the tears, joy, and profound relief felt by Jews in North America, in Israel, and around the world. With gratitude to all who labored and negotiated their freedom, for all who took to the streets day after day in Israel and around the world, we give thanks for this long-awaited redemption of captives, a supreme mitzvah in our tradition.  

While there must be accountability for those in leadership if we are to prevent this nightmare from reoccurring, for today, we will put aside the gnawing question of why this day did not come sooner.

We are grateful to President Trump and his administration for bringing together this complex plan to end the war, the first part of which we experienced today. We express our appreciation as well to Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who exerted pressure on Hamas to accept this agreement, which also outlines a viable plan for the “day after” in Gaza.  

We are in awe of the hostage families who, morning, noon and night, fought for the release of their loved ones and of the Israeli patriots who took to the streets demanding courageous action from their leaders.  

We love our Israeli Reform Movement that has never stopped advocating and fighting for the hostages, including leading an inspiring Havdalah in Hostage Square every single Saturday night.

We pray that the innocent Palestinian civilians who have suffered mightily from Hamas’ brutality and the crossfire of this deadly war will finally experience safety, consistent flow of vitally needed humanitarian aid, civilian leadership committed to finding a path to peace. 

The path to peace is still long and still to be traveled.  We pray that courageous leaders will press forward on the path to a Palestinian State as outlined in the American plan. However remote it may feel, a two-state solution in some configuration must remain the worthy, long-term goal for Israelis and Palestinians as they contemplate a future with safety, dignity, and hope for all. 

Healing the bodies and spirits of the former hostages, their families, the people of Israel, and the innocent Gazans caught in the conflict will take time, resources, and love. We hold in our hearts the memory of those who did not return, and we embrace the bereaved in their grief. Let this day strengthen our resolve to secure Israel’s safety while advancing a future rooted in dignity, pluralism, and peace for all who live in the land. Today, we exhale the prayer we have carried for so long—shehecheyanu—we thank the “Redeemer of Israel” for allowing us to reach this holy moment and we commit to turning relief into renewal.

As we move into Simchat Torah, on the eve of the Hebrew two-year anniversary of that terrible tragedy, we will be able to rejoice with those who have returned and keep praying and hoping until the last hostage is home.  

Union for Reform Judaism    
Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her), North American Board Chair  
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President  

Central Conference of American Rabbis     
Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him), President
Rabbi Hara Person (she/her), Chief Executive Officer    

American Conference of Cantors     
Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him), President
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Operating Officer

Reform Movement Joint Statement on Hostage and Ceasefire Plan

Posted on by The CCAR

October 9, 2025

After two years of seemingly endless war, we welcome the news that an end is finally in sight. While not a full peace agreement, it is the first and necessary step toward stopping the death and suffering as the hostages come home, the IDF pulls back, long-serving reservists return to their families, and innocent Gazan civilians caught in the crossfire can finally experience a modicum of safety and receive a consistent flow of vitally needed humanitarian aid. The pain and grief of this war will not soon heal, but seeing our hostages finally embraced by their families will fill our aching hearts, as will the sight of bereaved families who will finally have some measure of closure and comfort upon receiving the remains of their loved ones who did not live to see this day.

We are grateful to President Trump and his administration for bringing together this complex plan to end the war. We express our appreciation as well to Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who exerted pressure on Hamas to accept this agreement, which also outlines a viable plan for the “day after” in Gaza. We support the Israeli government in its [reported] agreement to release 250 of some of the most notorious prisoners—many of whom are serving multiple life sentences—and 1,700 Palestinians detained during the course of the war as compensation for the hostages’ freedom, a steep price that is necessary to save lives and end the suffering of our brave and nearly broken hostages.

That this plan will be enacted in stages leaves open the possibility that something could derail it at any time, and we implore the Trump administration and its international allies to continue exerting pressure on all sides to abide by the terms of the plan, which are set to follow the release of the hostages. Even getting to this point seemed unimaginable a few weeks ago, so we pray that the forward momentum will continue.

While a Palestinian State—as outlined in the Trump plan—feels remote at this point, a two-state solution in some configuration must remain the worthy, long-term goal for Israelis and Palestinians as they contemplate a future with safety, dignity, and hope for all.

The Jewish people are in the midst of our observance of Sukkot, our biblical harvest festival. As our people in Israel and around the world sit in our fragile booths, we keenly feel the vulnerability and uncertainty of Jewish life. Our simple harvest booths teach us that we cannot find ultimate security in military might alone, and we believe that the expansion and engagement of the Abraham Accords in building a viable and secure Gaza holds enormous potential to create economic, political, and strategic alliances that could change the region for good.

The prophet Micah dreamt of a time when all will one day “sit under their vines and fig trees, and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4) While we imagine he doubted that his prophecy would be realized in his lifespan, he also recognized that people could not live without hope. Despite the remaining details that need to be worked out, we are buoyed by the thought that this blood-soaked patch of land might know a better tomorrow, in which none will fear the other. We will never stop working for that secure future.

Union for Reform Judaism   
Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her), North American Board Chair 
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President  

Central Conference of American Rabbis    
Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him), President
Rabbi Hara Person (she/her), Chief Executive Officer   

American Conference of Cantors    
Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him), President
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Operating Officer

Association of Reform Jewish Educators  
Stacy Rosenthal, RJE (she/her), President 
Rabbi Stacy Rigler, RJE (she/her), Executive Director 

Association of Reform Zionists of America   
Daryl Messinger (she/her), Chair  
Rabbi Josh Weinberg (he/him), Director  

Women of Reform Judaism   
Karen Sim (she/her), President 
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch (she/her), CEO

Women’s Rabbinic Network  
Rabbi Lisa Delson (she/her), Co-President  
Rabbi Simone Schicker (she/her), Co-President
Rabbi Mary Zamore (she/her), Executive Director 

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Heidi Segal, Chair, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner (he/him, Director, RAC and Sr. Vice President URJ 

Reform Movement Statement on Israel’s Expansion of the War Against Hamas

Posted on by The CCAR

August 8, 2025

Before his death, Moses implored our people:
וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּֽחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃
“Choose life, that you and your offspring may live.”
—Deuteronomy 30:19 

Today, as the State of Israel is faced with difficult choices in its long and deadly war against Hamas, we implore Israel to choose life for our hostages, our soldiers, and innocent civilians in Gaza by ending—not extending—this war.

We are deeply distressed that Israel’s security cabinet approved Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to extend Israeli control over the Gaza Strip. As Jews who believe in an Israel that aspires to be both safe and ethical, we are galvanized by the position of a growing array of Israeli military, intelligence, and political leaders and experts, as well as the clear majority of Israeli public, who warn that the Israeli government’s plan to further occupy Gaza would be a military, political, and humanitarian calamity. In the past nearly two years, many thousands of people in Israel and Gaza have already been killed, maimed, and displaced. In Israel and the U.S., leading voices such as the Jerusalem Post’s editorial board and New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who referred to a potential re-occupation as a “colossal mistake,” agree that an expanded occupation of Gaza is not in Israel’s long-term interests. Former Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer and Middle East analyst Aaron David Miller have referred to re-occupation as “a trap” for Israel. Just days ago, more than 500 prominent Israelis—former leaders of the Mossad, Shin Bet, police, IDF, and others—sent a letter calling for an end to the war, not its expansion. Reports indicate the head of the IDF, Eyal Zamir, threatened to resign over plans to re-occupy Gaza at one point. We do not take comfort in the fact that the plan approved last night is limited to action related to Gaza City with its significant population size and where hostages are believed to be held. We fear plans to occupy Gaza City are but the first step in the expansion so many have warned against. 

Instead of striving to bring the war to an end and return our hostages home safely or for proper burial, the war’s expansion will likely be a death sentence for our hostages. It will likely cause more deaths and injury to our IDF soldiers, who are already struggling physically and mentally, and to civilians trapped in Gaza. It will likely mean more economic challenges and disunion within Israel, more division among world Jewry, and more isolation of Israel on the international stage. PM Netanyahu’s assurance that this is only a temporary measure is hard to believe, given the war’s continuation over the past 22 months and the quagmires of previous military occupations by Israel in south Lebanon, and by other nations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam—all of which began with similar assurances—which only resulted in increasingly deadly and deteriorating conditions years later. The Israeli government has yet to offer an exit strategy or plans for “the day after.”

Israel has become, and remains, a powerful nation thanks, in part, to the support of allies around the world. But the length and horrors of this war thus far means that military and other forms of support from longtime allies may be less forthcoming in the future. The current occupation of part of Gaza already risks Israel’s security and international reputation, and longtime allies of Israel are this morning reacting negatively to the cabinet’s approved plan.

There is no question that Hamas bears the responsibility for this war, for the conditions in Gaza right now, for failing to put down its arms, for its refusal to release the hostages, and for resisting improved conditions for its people. However, Israel has the ability and responsibility to prioritize its own people and values by recognizing that now is the time to end this war, bring the hostages home, and create a coalition of Arab nations with the U.S. and other allies to rebuild Gaza and shape a better tomorrow for all.

Union for Reform Judaism   
Shelley Niceley Groff, North American Board Chair (she/her) 
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President (he/him)   

Central Conference of American Rabbis   
Rabbi David A. Lyon, President (he/him)   
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive Officer (she/her)   

American Conference of Cantors   
Cantor Josh Breitzer, President (he/him)
Rachel Roth, Chief Operating Officer (she/ her)

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