Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2007
Contact: Jessica Rosenblum, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, (202)265-3000
RABBIS URGED TO DISCUSS IMPACT OF OCCUPATION
IN ‘67 ANNIVERSARY OBSERVANCES
Largest Jewish Peace Group Delivers Discussion Guide to Rabbis Nationwide
CHICAGO-–Hundreds of rabbis across the country today received a guide that encourages them to use the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War to lead their congregations in reflecting on the implications of Israel’s subsequent occupation of territory captured in 1967.
As many American Jews across the country prepare to mark the June 5th anniversary with celebrations of Israel’s formidable military victory, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the country’s largest grassroots Jewish peace organization, has released the “Rabbinic Guide to 40 Years of Occupation” as a way of engaging congregations in also considering the unintended political consequences of Israel’s occupation, the persistence of which threatens Israel’s democratic underpinnings, its economy, and its prospects for long term peace and security and has caused decades of Palestinian suffering.
The 58-page resource guide, edited and predominantly written by rabbis for rabbis, is comprised of a dozen personal reflections by rabbis about the anniversary, which are intended to frame the discussions rabbis will be leading across the country in the coming weeks. It also includes submissions from the group’s leadership and from Palestinian peace activists.
“The parties to the conflict can change the narrative of the next 40 years. Strong U.S. leadership and genuine, ongoing diplomatic engagement leading to the creation of a viable Palestinian state holds the key to a future marked by peace and promise,” said Rabbi John Friedman of Judea Reform Congregation of Durham, North Carolina, who chairs Brit Tzedek’s Rabbinic Cabinet and who spearheaded the compilation of the guide.
“Our involvement, and that of our congregations, will play a crucial role in creating the political atmosphere necessary for these changes,” said Rabbi Friedman.
The rabbinic guide also includes a detailed chronology of the occupation, a series of fact sheets on related issues (Jerusalem, the Green Line, the Occupation and the Settlements),a multimedia resource guide, frequently asked questions, a discussion guide, and a list of ideas for congregational tours of the region. It is available to download on the Brit Tzedek v’Shalom website [www.btvshalom.org], which is used by many rabbis, educational leaders and community activists within the American Jewish peace movement.
“In times as trying as these, it is urgent that we listen carefully to what we read in Psalms, where we are told to “seek peace and pursue it” – not to hope for peace, says the Psalmist, or to pray for it, but to pursue it, to set out unflinchingly to find it,” added Friedman. “As we are reminded by Isaiah, ‘for the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness shall be calm and confidence forever.’"
The rabbinic guide is part of Brit Tzedek’s national “Let’s Talk” campaign, a multifaceted community-driven effort to change the way American Jews talk and think about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Another guide was also distributed to the group’s 36,000 activists this week as a means to stimulate grassroots dialogue and engagement in response to the 40th anniversary. In cities across the country, many of Brit Tzedek’s 40 chapters will host parlor meetings and discussions in community forums, sponsor vigils and table at community events to mark the anniversary.Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, is a national grassroots organization more than 35,000 strong, that educates and mobilizes American Jews in support of a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict