North America’s Reform Rabbis Pass Resolution In Response To Terrorism And The Attacks Of September 11

the subsequent acts of bioterrorism have brought immense pain and

sorrow, shattering our sense of an invulnerable America;

and institutions have been touched personally by these barbaric and

inhumane acts. We as rabbis have been called on to minister to the

bereaved and the suffering, to lead our communities in prayer, to

rekindle the flames of hope and optimism;

other South Asian minorities have become victims of vengeful racial

bias and hatred;

terrorism legislation, if misapplied, could jeopardize the civil

liberties of American citizens;

2001 or those who died that day, including the passengers and crews of

the hijacked airplanes and those thousands in the World Trade Center

Towers and the Pentagon. We honor the more than three hundred

firefighters, police officers, and emergency and rescue personnel who

bravely and heroically perished trying to save others. We will

continue to reach out in whatever ways possible to the families of

those who died and bring them consolation.

use of force or violence against innocent civilians for political

purposes. We abhor war, but we cherish freedom and security. Thus we

support military efforts of the United States to eradicate the causes

and manifestations of terror wherever they grow, especially the Al

Qaeda organization led by Osama bin Laden and its worldwide web of

training camps. We also recognize that military means alone will not

defeat terrorism. A coordination of military, diplomatic, political,

economic, religious and cultural means must also be utilized.

sensitive to the presence of millions of innocent people in

Afghanistan. While our military continues targeted bombing of

terrorist sites, we support supplying relief to the millions who are

suffering.

notion that our government should retreat from its support for Israel

in response to the September 11 attacks. We affirm our support for

the people of Israel and their quest for peace. We stand in awe of

their inspiring national spirit in the face of decades of continuing

violence, bloodshed and terrorism.

who have joined the coalition against terrorism never to appease

coalition partners by undermining Israel’s attempts to defend its

citizens. Our government must not mute its opposition to the policies

of any coalition partners that support terrorism or deny human

rights.

friendship and concern to the North American Muslim community. We

categorically reject all attempts to stereotype our Muslim brothers

and sisters with such racist cliches as “Muslim mentality” and

“Arab character.” We condemn vandalism and desecration of Islamic

mosques and attacks on life and property of those who are, or are

thought to be, of Arab descent, including the Sikh community.

the Muslim community worldwide to speak out forcefully against

terrorism, including terrorism against the citizens of Israel, and

urge our rabbinic colleagues to reach out to Muslims in their own

communities to open dialogues for the sake of peace and

understanding.

the governments of the United States and Canada to be ever vigilant of

our freedoms and to safeguard the respect for privacy and the

entitlement of all to due process of law so that in responding to

terrorism we do not, out of fear, sacrifice our cherished liberties,

handing the terrorists the very victory they seek.

engage in communal prayer and dialogue in order to bind

up the

wounds of our country and our world so that Judaism’s enduring vision

of peace and justice may be fulfilled. As teachers of the prophetic

promises we reconsecrate ourselves to the speedy fulfillment of the

prophetic vision of the day when “justice will roll down as waters

and righteousness as a mighty stream," when all shall “sit under

vine and fig tree with none to make them afraid.”