Resolution Adopted by the
CCAR
WHERE WE STAND ON
ISRAEL
Adopted by the Board of
Trustees
Central Conference of American Rabbi
March 26,
2003
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.
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 which would create in effect 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 second Palestinian “intifada”
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
harmonious 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)