US Rabbis Protest Israel’s Policy Over Gaza

A group of 13 American Rabbis and some of their congregants in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia are fasting on the third Thursday of every month in an effort to shake the conscience of the American Jewish community about what they see as the inhuman blockade by Israel of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The group is called Jewish Fast For Gaza, and it has been gathering steam since its creation in mid-July.

“The blockade is an act of collective punishment, denying the entire population of Gaza with necessary food, medicine, fuel and other basic necessities. How can we as Rabbis, Jews, human beings be silent? As Jews and people of conscience we can no longer stand idly by Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Since Hamas’ electoral victory in 2006, Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to an increasingly intolerable blockade that restricts Gaza’s ability to import food, fuel and other essential materials, and to export finished products. As a result the Gazan economy has completely collapsed,” states the Rabbis group Jewish Fast For Gaza.

The Jewish Fast For Gaza group is committed to the following four goals:

1-To call for a lifting of the blockade that prevents the entry of civilian goods and services into Gaza.

2- to provide humanitarian and developmental aid to the people of Gaza.

3- To call upon Israel, the United States, and the international community to engage in negotiations without pre-condition with all relevant Palestinian parties, including Hamas, in order to end the blockade.

4- To encourage the US government to vigorously engage both Israelis and Palestinians toward a just and peaceful settllement of the conflict.

Among the 13 American Rabbis behind Jewish Fast For Gaza are Rabbi Brian Walt (see photo), former executive director for Rabbis for Human Rights North America and Rabbi Brant Rosen.

To find out more about the group Jewish Fast For Gaza click here.