Aug. 5, 2014 — 9 Av 5774

Bombs and guns and rockets have left too many scared, too many dead, too many grieving in the latest Gaza-Israel war. And modern Zionism, as defined by its founder, Theodor Herzl, means the pursuit of a utopian society, where all people, regardless of their religion or background, should be accorded honorable protection and equality before the law. We call upon Israeli and Palestinian leadership to cease fighting and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict. And as we always have done, we encourage Israeli and Palestinian leadership to embrace a two-state solution, resulting in Israeli and Palestinian states living beside one another in peaceful coexistence.

Today, on Tisha B’Av, as Jews around the world commemorate the historic destruction of both Temples, Jerusalem, and our loss of sovereignty over the Promised Land, let us remind ourselves that after nearly 2,000 years of exile we have returned to Israel and Jerusalem, and let the teachings of Isaiah (2:3-4) remind us that to follow in the path of God means to embrace peace, to beat our swords into plowshares. We have known the price of war too well. Let nation not lift up sword against nation, and let us learn war no more.

Related:

• Environmental Diplomacy and the Middle East, by Rabbi Michael Cohen
• GZA Statement on the Prawer Plan
• The Israeli Summer: Tent Cities, Bombs, Boycotts and Herzl’s Dream, by David Krantz
• NGOs and the Peace Process: The Arava Institute as a Case Study, by Rabbi Michael Cohen
• The Past Didn't Go Anywhere: Making Resistance to Antisemitism Part of All of our Movements, by April Rosenblum, via Research for Progress
• Sharing God’s Green Earth: Planting a Green World by Engaging the Greater Community, by David Krantz
• Trees without Bulldozers: Environmental Justice for the Bedouin, by David Krantz
• What Would Herzl Do? Zionism and Muslim-Jewish Dialogue, by David Krantz