No Ceasefire Yet

A Statement from RabbisUNITED

We, American rabbis and cantors across denominations, declare our continued support for the State of Israel – and its people – as it enters this important phase of its five-month campaign to rescue the hostages and eradicate Hamas. We recognize that Israel continues to fight a just war, a war that it did not want, and did not initiate.

We believe that calls for a “bilateral ceasefire” are tantamount to an Israeli surrender. Hamas is a terrorist group with ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar, so one must ask: with whom would Israel sign a “bilateral” ceasefire? And who will enforce it? We recall that Israel did have a ceasefire with Hamas on October 6, the day before they invaded Israel.

RabbisUNITED affirms that:

1. Conditioning U.S. military aid to Israel is mistaken and immoral.
2. The suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is tragic and fully the fault of Hamas.
3. Israel does everything within its power to protect innocent civilians, including allowing in aid, despite knowing that much of it is stolen from Gazans by Hamas.
4. Israel must end Hamas's reign over Gaza in order to protect human life.
5. Every single one of the remaining Israeli hostages, including six American citizens, must be returned.
6. The death of even one innocent civilian in Gaza is tragic, but the Gaza Health Ministry is not a reliable source for civilian death counts. Notably, Israel estimates that 13,000 Hamas operatives have been killed since its incursion began at the end of October.
7. Klal Yisrael and ahavat Yisrael are our paramount values. The use of Torah within the rabbinic community should only be used to defend and protect – never to endanger – Jewish and Israeli lives.

With the approach of Purim, we recall the heroic efforts of Esther and Mordecai, who risked their lives to prevent our people’s annihilation at the hand of Haman in ancient Persia more than 2300 years ago. In this respect, ancient Persia is one and the same as modern day Iran. Today, Israel will similarly protect its citizens from future attacks – including the threat of another October 7th attack, which Hamas promises to perpetrate if given the chance. By eliminating Hamas' control of Gaza, Israel will also protect its citizens against the danger of constant rocket attacks, like the thousands that have been launched into Israeli communities since 2007.

As in the Purim story in which the Jews prevailed against the evil Haman, Israel and the Jewish people today will prevail over the evil of Hamas.

AM YISRAEL CHAI.
Bring Them Home NOW!

About RabbisUnited: RabbisUNITED is a non-denominational Rabbinic division of StandWithUs, with hundreds of members dedicated to fighting antisemitism and supporting a safe and secure State of Israel, the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.

Quest for Jewish Unity Since October 7th

The Jewish community speaking with one voice is a rarity – not because we don’t agree on the basics, but because for two thousand years we were in exile and adopted a decentralized mode of leadership. Without a pope of any kind, a variety of opinions was always the mode de rigeur. The tolerance for dissent within Judaism is very high, unlike in other religions.

Nevertheless, sometimes the mainstream media will elevate the voice of a sliver of the Jewish community, as if it were a voice of dissent. The true “voice for peace” is the one who speaks out against Hamas, not Israel. RabbisUnited represents a cross-denominational group of Zionist rabbis who recognize the imprimatur of our title and would never seek to subvert the unity of amcha (the Jewish people) during this critical time for Israel and world Jewry.

Since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, the American Jewish community has spoken in one voice on hundreds of occasions in cities and communities across the country. The chant “Bring Them Home” echoes in all corners of the United States. Federations, synagogues, and organizations came together in extraordinary ways as we rallied around Israel and its stated objective of eradicating Hamas in Gaza. No event demonstrated that unanimity more than the November 14 rally in Washington DC. In the days leading up to it, estimates ran as high as 150,000. On the day of, 300,000 came together to say that we stand with Israel in her time of peril. Indeed, amcha spoke in one voice. The number of people gathered exceeded the gatherings of 2002 during the Second Intifada and the Soviet Jewry Rally of 1987.

We are united because we choose life over the genocidal hatred and violence of Hamas – a terrorist group fueled by many of the same antisemitic ideas that led to the Holocaust. We choose life and a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians – a future that will never come as long as Hamas remains in control of Gaza. All those who want the horrific October 7th War to end must focus on pressuring Hamas to surrender and return the hostages.

The Jewish people will not be divided. We will not be divided by fringe groups that seek to subvert the hard-fought consensus we have achieved.

RabbisUnited Advisory Board

Rabbi Matthew Abelson
Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham
Rabbi Aaron Braun
Rabbi Pini Dunner
Rabbi Geri Newburge
Rabbi Steven Rosenberg
Rabbi-Cantor Alison Wissot
Rabbi Adam Wright