Dozens of Jewish
Organizations Spanning the Globe Call for Immediate Cease-fire in Gaza
Forty organizations
from 15 countries signed a letter urging the Israeli government to 'to end the
war, withdraw all Israeli forces from Gaza' in return for the hostages. For
some, including the families of hostages, the move is too little too late
Dec 20, 2024 10:33 pm IST
An international network of progressive Jewish organizations published an open letter on Friday calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, a hostage deal and swift diplomatic action to address the escalating humanitarian crisis.
Forty organizations
from 15 countries have signed the letter, which urges the Israeli government
"to agree to end the war, withdraw all Israeli forces from Gaza, and press
for a security arrangement in exchange for a return of all the hostages."
The letter notes
that although Hamas' military capabilities have been diminished, the group
continues to control areas in Gaza and is holding 100 Israeli
hostages. "While we fully support Israel's right
to defend itself, the events of the past year and the tragic toll being paid by
both sides stand as proof that there is no military solution," the letter
says.
It is the first such
letter demanding an immediate cease-fire to garner this much support from
Jewish organizations worldwide. Among the signatories are J
Street (U.S.) , JSpaceCanada, the Ameinu
branches of the United States and Brazil, the Jewish Democratic Initiative
(South Africa), J Call Europe, J Amlat Argentina-Chile-Brasil-Mexico-Uruguay, the
New Israel Fund branches in Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, and the
United States, Partners for Progressive Israel (U.S.), Americans
for Peace Now, and We Are All Hostages – an organization
representing some hostage families in Israel.
The letter was
spearheaded by J-Link, an international forum of progressive Jewish groups.
Established in 2020, its member organizations say they "share a love of
Israel and a commitment to democracy, human rights, religious pluralism, and a
peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Many of the hostage
families have expressed their disappointment with American Jewish organizations
for not exerting greater pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end
the war and reach a hostage deal.
Expressing his
frustration in an essay
published in the Atlanta Jewish Times, Yehuda Cohen, a
leading member of We Are All Hostages, recently wrote: "Every time we
asked a major organization to stand up and call out PM Netanyahu's role in
preventing a hostage deal and seeing our loved ones returned, they all replied
the same, 'we understand, but we can't say this out loud, we are already under
attack, if we speak to internal divisions in Israel, it will only lead to more
antisemitism.'"
Yehuda Cohen is the
father of Nimrod
Cohen, a soldier stationed at the Gaza border who
was taken hostage on October 7.
In a similar vein,
Alaina Zeitchuk, an American who had relatives taken hostage on October 7 – all of but
one of whom have since been released – recently criticized the mainstream
"pro-Israel" Jewish-American community for "being unable to see
that the war had gone too far and was harming our own people."
In a column
published in The
Jewish News of Northern California, she wrote:
"The Jewish American narrative pushing solidarity felt suffocating,
demanding that we be uniform under the banner of being united. I didn't need
solidarity — I needed allies who would speak out against anyone and everyone endangering
the lives of the hostages.
The groups signed on
the public letter are hoping to show the hostage families that there is another
voice in the Jewish community that supports ending the war and sees a
cease-fire as the only means possible for achieving the release of the
hostages. They chose to time its publication with renewed
talks of a hostage deal after a lengthy hiatus.
In their letter, the Jewish organizations also call on the international community "to engage in a comprehensive diplomatic process to create a secure future for all Israelis and Palestinians based on the right of self-determination for both peoples in two sovereign states."
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2024-12-20/ty-article/.premium/dozens-of-jewish-organizations-spanning-the-globe-call-for-immediate-cease-fire-in-gaza/00000193-e58d-da9f-ad9b-e5cdd7430000
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