RHR-NA Articles on the Gaza Crisis

Human rights community to Israeli Prime Minister: Time is running out. Establish independent inquiry into Operation Cast Lead

Steven Gerber — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:47:12 -0800

January 25, 2010

To:Mr Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister

Jerusalem

As human rights organizations in Israel, we reissue our call to the Government of Israel to establish, without delay, an independent and impartial investigation mechanism to thoroughly examine the allegations raised regarding violations of international law during Operation Cast Lead. We do so once again, despite
the negative responses we have received to date, because we believe this is an essential issue at the heart of Israeli society. A year has passed since the conclusion of the military operation, and soon deliberations will begin in UN institutions regarding implementation, by both parties, of the recommendations of the Goldstone Commission Report. One of the primary recommendations was for an independent Israeli investigation of the allegations regarding violations of international law.

Recently, the Military Advocate-General stated that to date 27 investigations have been opened by the
Criminal Investigation Division of the Military Police regarding different incidents. The rest of the
allegations are being investigated through "operational debriefings."

However, these debriefings and Military Police investigations do not fulfill Israel's investigative duty nor do they achieve its goals. Firstly, criminal investigations by the Military Police examine deviations from orders issued. As such, they are only suitable for cases where the allegation is that acts were committed that contravened military orders. On the other hand, significant information has come to light thus far, including through research conducted by Israeli and international organizations, alleging that most of the harm to civilians, property and civilian buildings during Operation Cast Lead was a result of policies determined at the senior government and army levels, with the approval of the Military Advocate-General. Therefore, the investigation must include an examination of the orders and instructions given prior to the operation and throughout its duration. In order to investigate the allegations that illegal orders were given, or that the combat strategy violated international humanitarian law, it is necessary to appoint someone or some mechanism that is not subordinate to decision-makers and which was not involved in the formulation of the orders and instructions prior to the launch of the offensive.

Secondly, most of the allegations are being investigated, as noted, through "operational debriefings" only. This refers to debriefings conducted by senior officers, which are forwarded to the Military Advocate-General for review. This system of inquiry is flawed in three major ways:

1. Lack of Independence - It involves inquiries conducted by "interested
parties" who are not impartial but rather are the people whose decisions and actions are supposed to be under investigation. This is particularly the case when the Military Advocate-General, who was involved in making the decisions prior to the launch of the operation and throughout its duration, is the same
official who is now the primary adjudicator on the matter;

2. Lack of Transparency - Operational debriefings are closed matters and
there is no possibility of monitoring them. As a consequence, as an investigative process there is no
real way to supervise them for credibility or seriousness;

3. Lack of Effectiveness - Those conducting the debriefings are not
professional investigators, and the goal of the investigations is not to uncover violations of the law but rather to identify operational failures. Therefore, in addition to the fact this process is not independent and not transparent, it is clear that the investigation process via these debriefings cannot lead to
objective findings regarding accountability for actions in any reasonable manner.

Indeed, the UN Commission headed by Justice Goldstone noted the inadequacy of the operational debriefings and Military Police investigations as a tool for appropriate investigation. It emphasized the State of Israel's obligation to facilitate an independent and effective inquiry, which would not have the flaws of these two investigative mechanisms. Because the investigative proceedings initiated by Israel subsequent to the publication of the Goldstone Commission Report are no different from those that preceded its
publication, we understand that the problems noted by the UN Commission remain unaddressed today.

In light of the above, we call on you to establish, without further delay, an impartial investigative body which will conduct independent and effective investigations of incidents regarding which allegations have been raised that Israel violated the provisions of international law during Operation Cast Lead. We believe that a foreign expert on international humanitarian law, who will add credibility and weight to the
investigation, should be a part of this process. The investigation should examine Israel's conduct during Operation Cast Lead, including an examination of accountability on the political and command level. Likewise, the investigative body should be charged with preparing the legal groundwork for future military conduct to ensure that orders and instructions given will be consistent with Israel's
obligations under international law.

We are approaching the deadline set by the Goldstone Commission Report for both sides to hold independent investigations, before the investigation of the allegations is transferred to international and foreign forums. The State of Israel's refusal to hold an independent investigation will expose military officers and members of the previous government to investigation and legal proceedings likely to take
place outside Israel.

The extent of damage to the civilian population during the operation was unprecedented. This population is still subject to the closure policy and collective punishment, which is preventing reconstruction and normal life even after the fighting ended. The allegations raised regarding the army's conduct are serious and grave. The Israeli public has the right to an explanation of the actions taken in its name in the Gaza Strip.

Signed:

Hagai El-Ad
Executive Director
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel

Jessica Montell
Executive Director
B'Tselem

Adv. Sari Bashi
Executive Director
Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement

Dr. Ishai Menuchin
Executive Director
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel

Roi Maor
Executive Director
Yesh Din

Dalia Kerstein
Executive Director
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual

Adv. Hassan Jabareen
General Director
Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

Hadas Ziv
Executive Director
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman
Executive Director
Rabbis for Human Rights

Moderated Discussion on the Gaza Crisis

Brian Walt — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:46:51 -0800

We invite you to join our moderated public discussion, a forum in which supporters of RHR-NA can respectfully discuss the Gaza Crisis.
We will post as many submissions as is possible. Please make sure your post is respectful of others who have a different point of view. If you want to alert others to a significant article or piece of writing, insert a link or the url, not the text.
You can follow this discussion by:
To start us off, I invite you to respond to any of the following questions:

How do you feel about Israel's military campaign in Gaza? Do you think the campaign is justified?
Have you felt torn about your own response? If so, what are the different ideas and feelings that you are struggling with inside your own heart and mind?
Has your opinion about this war changed over the past two weeks? How?
Has anything you have read or seen changed your perspective?
How do you respond to the pictures and descriptions of the human suffering in Gaza?
How do you feel about the way the American Jewish community has responded to this crisis? What do you think American Jews should say or do in response to the war?

Gaza: All God's Children

Lori Shaller — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:36:47 -0800

The following article was written by Carol Towarnicky and published in the Philadelphia Daily News on January 7, 2009. Carol was a participant on the RHR-NA Nurturing Justice: Human Rights Solidarity Mission to Israel and the West Bank this past November.

GAZA: ALL GOD'S CHILDREN?

Jan 07, 2009

IN NOVEMBER, as the bus carrying our group of 40 Americans approached the Israeli border town of Sderot , less than four miles from the Gaza Strip, here's what we were told: If you hear a siren, you have 20 SECONDS to find a shelter. Look for one near a bus stop. If you don't see one, lie down in the middle of the street away from glass, and put your arms over your head to protect yourself. Twenty seconds.

Later, when we were eating sandwiches at an outdoor table, someone asked, "So, if there were a siren, where would we go?" We could see a bus stop a few blocks away - way more than 20 seconds to reach, at least the way I run.

The odds of our being attacked were minimal, of course, but, for a short time, I was forced to imagine what it would be like to hear the siren and lie facedown waiting for the explosion - let alone have sirens and rockets be part of daily life.

Sderot and nearby Ashkelon were attacked regularly by Qassam rockets from Gaza, attacks that were cited as the major reason for the Israeli bombardment and invasion now in its second week. I was there as part of a trip sponsored by Rabbis for Human Rights-North America when the cease-fire that expired Dec. 19 had begun to crack.

A week earlier, Israeli soldiers had moved into Gaza following a tip about tunnels being dug to use as an avenue to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Soon after, the Qassams escalated.

At Kibbutz Mfalsim a few minutes away, Israeli children stood on the steps of their school and sang for us. Children's music is a blessing no matter where you hear it. At the kibbutz, it was transformed into a prophetic message. "Bashana, Ha Ba'ah," the children sang. It's a song we used to sing often in my synagogue, and one I love dearly. The English verse goes:

Soon the day will arrive/When we will be together/And no longer will we live in fear.

A hundred yards from the school steps, a new playground with a soft surface and colorful climbing apparatus has been built on the site where a rocket had hit. The roof of the school has been fortified with concrete of a thickness you'd see in a parking garage.

In Sderot , at Kibbutz Mfalsim, children and other innocents - who are not responsible for the actions that created this conflict - are at risk. Hamas is indeed targeting them, and that's a violation of human rights. A war crime.

But here's the thing. During the cease-fire, the number of Israelis killed by Qassam rockets was . . . zero. Some people were wounded. Many were traumatized, to be sure. But the Israeli response has left more than 500 dead in Gaza, thousands more wounded and many more than that traumatized.

Some argue this is "self-defense." But is it proportionate? And how does this bring "security" for Israel? Hamas has stepped up the attacks, and the vows of revenge have escalated, not only from Palestinians but throughout much of the Arab and Muslim world.

And what does it mean that Israel is in the last weeks of its election campaign, and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor Party and Tsipi Livni's Kadima have both climbed in the polls following the attack? And how should ordinary Palestinians in Gaza protect their children, who, like the little ones who sang for us in Mfalsin, had nothing to do with creating this conflict?

On that day in southern Israel, at the home of our guide, we could see a balloon flying over Gaza: an intelligence balloon, we were told. Israel has excellent intelligence - so why then so much "collateral damage"?

IT MAY BE TRUE that Hamas stores its weapons among civilians, but - according to B'Tselem, the Israeli human-rights organization - in seven years, 13 Israelis and one foreigner have been killed by rocket attacks. In the same period, Israel has killed 2,990 Palestinians, 634 of them children. Not included in this number are the uncounted Palestinians who have died from the effects of the 18-month blockade that has kept out food and medicine.

I don't want to say anything that could be construed as a defense of Hamas. I do want to say this: Violence, especially this overwhelming and indiscriminate violence, can't lead to peace or justice or security - not for any of God's children.

Carol Towarnicky is a member of the Daily News editorial board. E-mail her at carol.towarnicky@verizon.net.

Further thoughts on the impact of the Goldstone Commission report

Steven Gerber — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:56:14 -0800

A sad, but extremely accurate, assessment by Letty Cottin Pogrebin of the impact of the Goldstone Commission report. Instead of discussing the allegations raised in the report (many of them previously made by international human rights organizations), the discussion devolved into personal attacks on Justice Goldstone and claims of anti-Israel bias by anyone who had the temerity to call for an independent and impartial investigation.
http://www.momentmag.com/Exclusive/2010/2010-02/201002-Opinion-Pogrebin.html

RHR-NA delegation visits Israeli embassy about Operation Cast Lead

Rachel Kahn-Troster — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:38:41 -0800

Read Rabbi Ellen Lippmann's Op-Ed in the New York Jewish Week about the visit.

Last week, a delegation from Rabbis for Human Rights-North America travelled to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC to meet with Galit Baram and discuss with her our concerns regarding allegations of war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza raised in the Goldstone Commission Report as well as by other independent investigators. We presented her with our letter to President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu requesting the State of Israel establish an independent and impartial investigatory body to look into these allegations. Our delegation consisted of Co-Chair Rabbis Ellen Lippmann, Co-Chair Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Vice-Chair Rabbis Chuck Feinberg, Board member Rabbi Sid Schwarz and Executive Director Steven Gerber. We await a response from the Government of Israel. Later, Rabbi Lippmann spoke about the letter and our embassy visit at the J Street conference, and asked the first question, during the conference plenary session that involved Jeremy Ben Ami and Rabbi Eric Yoffie in conversation and debate. Since the conference, we have created an ad from our letter which will be in a special edition of the Forward given out at the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities next week. There is still time to sign the letter (click here) and donate money to support the ad.

RHR-NA urges Israeli government to investigate Operation Cast Lead: Sign your name to the letter and read the press release

Rachel Kahn-Troster — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:32:47 -0700

Click here to read the letter.

Click here to sign the letter.

Click here to make a donation to support publication of the letter.

PRESS RELEASE October 20, 2009

For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Steven Gerber, Executive Director
646-789-5230
stevengerber@rhr-na.org

Rabbis for Human Rights - North America Urges the Israeli Government to Launch an Independent and Impartial Investigation into Allegations of War Crimes During Operation Cast Lead.

Rabbis for Human Rights-North America released a letter today addressed to President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on the Government of Israel to appoint an independent commission to investigate allegations of human rights violations made by the Goldstone Commission fact finding mission chartered by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

"Our colleagues in Israel have been urging the Israeli government to launch an independent and impartial investigation of its own," said Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Co-chair, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA). "No one denies Israel's right to defend itself," said Steven Gerber, Executive Director of RHR-NA, "but with allegations being made by several respected human rights advocates and organizations it is vital for Israel to launch its own investigation to determine if these allegations have a basis in fact." The RHR-NA letter also calls upon Hamas to launch a similar investigation.

In a key paragraph the letter states: "Israel has long been a beacon of liberty and democracy in a region of the world where such a posture is extremely difficult to maintain. As rabbis and leaders of Jewish communities across North America we have taken pride in the many times Israel has taken the moral high ground even when it put the country, its soldiers and its citizens at great risk. We ask that you take the moral high ground now."

Rabbis for Human Rights - North America (RHR-NA) has requested a meeting with Ambassador Michael Oren for Monday morning, October 26th, in conjunction with its Board meeting. The meeting was requested so that the rabbis could better understand the position being taken by the Government of Israel on the Goldstone Commission report.

Rabbis for Human Rights-North America is an organization of rabbis from all the streams of Judaism dedicated to the protection of human rights in Israel and around the world. Associated with Rabbis for Human Rights, which was founded in Israel in 1988, it is made up of lovers of Israel who would like to see the Jewish homeland realize her own highest aspirations to be both the center of a Jewish cultural and spiritual renewal as well as a beacon of justice and liberty to the entire world.

The Arrow Cannot Be Taken Back

Lori Shaller — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:06:46 -0800

Gaza: The Arrow Cannot Be Taken Back

Rabbi Brant Rosen, an RHR-NA Board member, wrote this entry about the Gaza Crisis in his blog on January 20, 2009. You can read more from his blog at http://rabbibrant.com/

January 20, 2009 by Rabbi Brant Rosen

"When an arrow leaves the hand of a warrior he cannot take it back." (Mechilta of Rabbi Ishmael, Beshallach, Shirah)

From this classic Jewish teaching we learn that violence unleashes a myriad of consequences that we can neither control or reverse. Apropos of recent events, I take this to mean many things:

...when you loose tons and tons of bombs on a small patch of land inhabited by 1.5 million people, you will invariably kill a myriad civilians.

...we cannot begin to fathom the depths of grief and loss that Israel's actions have brought upon scores of Gazans, their families and loved ones. Indeed, even in the wake of a fragile ceasefire the death toll continues to rise. (Read this article from today's NY Times, which documents heartbreaking scenes of victims continuing to be pulled from the rubble weeks after they were killed).

...we cannot comprehend the anger and fury Israel's actions have inspired in Gazans, Palestinians, and the Arab world at large. Yesterday I spoke with a Palestinian American friend who told me he had never seen the Arab streets so inflamed against Israel - and in many cases, against their own governments. (The anger of Egyptian citizens toward their goverment is frightening to behold).

...it is impossible to underestimate the damage this war has done to the already tenous prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine. Most analysts seem to agree that no matter whoever might be considered the military "victor" in this war, the moderate Fatah (at present Israel's only Palestinian peace partner) is the heaviest political casualty. Moderate Arab countries are all the queasier about supporting the peace process and the Saudis are now under fire to pull their plan from the table.

This quote from the NY Times article above sums up the tragic new reality on the ground:

In the upper middle-class neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa, Ziad Dardasawi, 40, a wood importer, was trying to process what had happened. As a supporter of Fatah, a political rival of Hamas, Mr. Dardasawi said that he despised Hamas, but that its rocket fire was no justification for Israel's military response.

"Let's say someone from Hamas fired a rocket - is it necessary to punish the whole neighborhood for that?" he said, standing in a stairway of his uncle's house, where furniture had been smashed, and all the windows broken.

He drew on an analogy he thought would strike a chord: "In the U.S., when someone shoots someone, is his entire family punished?"

The Israeli actions made the situation more intractable, he said. "How can I convince my neighbors now for the option of peace? I can't."

He added: "Israel is breeding extremists. The feeling you get is that they just want you to leave Gaza."

Rabbi Lenny Gordon's Israel Mission Blog

Lori Shaller — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:28:28 -0800

Rabbi Lenny Gordon went on a Masorti mission to Israel in January, 2009. This is a link to his blog:

http://rabbilenny.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

A Prayer for Those Suffering in Gaza

Lori Shaller — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:35:23 -0800

Alanna Sklover, a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, has written this prayer for those suffering in Gaza.

..May the holy one who lifts up the fallen see to the safety of those children of Ishmael who are put in harm's way whether by chance or by design. May they find the shelter, food, water, and medical attention that they so desperately need, and may they, too, find peace and security in their homeland swiftly and in our days. Bless the aide workers who risk their lives daily as they strive to do your work through their hands. Oh God, who is slow to anger, imbue us with the ability to hear and understand multiple perspectives and see truth, even when the truth is veiled....

Reflections on a Visit to Sderot and the War in Gaza by RHR-NA Executive Director Rabbi Brian Walt

Brian Walt — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:46:55 -0800

Two months ago as part of a human rights trip to Israel, I led a group of Americans on a visit to Sderot. As our bus entered the area within the range of rockets, I explained what participants should do in case of an attack - "find the nearest bomb shelter, follow others, if you don't find a shelter, lie down and cover your head with your hands, you have 20 seconds to respond." The fear in our group was palpable. Then we all realized that this is what the people of Sderot and other Israeli towns live with every day. This was the reason we had come to Sderot: to express our solidarity with its residents and our concern for their security. They and all the people of Israel deserve security.

We are now three weeks into a war with the official goal of providing that security. Yet rocket attacks, less frequent, are still being launched and in fact, more Israelis have been killed in the past three weeks than were killed in the past four years of rocket attacks. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed (half or more of whom were women and children). The level of suffering in Gaza is horrifying.

All this has not tempered the overwhelming support for the war in Israel, by the American Congress, and by mainstream American Jewish organizations. As a rabbi deeply committed to the security of Israel, to the prophetic vision on which Israel is founded, and to the centrality of justice, compassion and peace in Judaism, I believe that this war is nothing less than a disaster. It is a disaster for the residents of Sderot, for the people of Israel and for all who care about Judaism and the Jewish values of compassion and justice. How will this war bring Israel security? For three weeks Israel's army has sown hatred that endangers Israel's long-term security. How many suicide bombers and guerillas have been created by the suffering on the Palestinian side?

And why is there so little empathy for the suffering of the Palestinians? What about the Jewish teaching that one who kills a single human being kills a whole world, and that all human beings are created in the image of God? This teaching, which is regarded by many as the most important teaching of our tradition, is not that only Jews or Israelis, or any other national or ethnic group, are created in the image of God. Judaism insists that all human beings are created in God's image and that every human life is of infinite value. This includes Palestinians. The silence about this in Israel and the United States is shocking.
This war started on the Sabbath of Hannukah, a day on which the prophetic reading is from Zechariah - "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit." On the Sabbath when we celebrate the Maccabean rebellion against the Greek empire, Jews read a passage that cautions us against a belief in military power and military solutions. The passage warns us against relying on power and military force to solve conflicts.

The consensus among American politicians and the American Jewish community is that Hamas is to blame for the war and that Israel had no choice. Both these claims are false. The war is not the fault of Hamas; it is the fault of both Israel and Hamas. Firing rockets was not the only way that Hamas had to respond to the Israeli blockade, and war was not the only way Israel had to respond to the attacks on its civilians. Maybe Israel "had to do something" but the war is not the "something" that had to be done. What should have been done was direct negotiation with Hamas. Instead, Israel, with the support of the international community, blockaded Gaza and refused to talk to the Hamas government.

How can one make peace with Hamas, an organization that wants to destroy Israel? It is by no means easy, but one makes peace with one's enemies, not with one's friends. There have been openings for negotiation. Hamas has on several occasions offered Israel a long-term truce. Israel has not responded to these offers.

Those who support this war claim that no country would accept attacks on its civilians by a neighboring country. But would any country allow itself to be surrounded by another, the movement of all its citizens controlled by another, and its food, supplies of fuel and basic necessities controlled by another?

I support the sacred work of Israeli human rights organizations that have spoken out about the abuses in this war, but I can't join those in my community and others who have unconditionally supported the war. It is because I care deeply about Israel and its future that I am firmly opposed to the war. I grieve the attacks that my own people have suffered from rockets from Gaza, and I grieve the suffering that Israel, the Jewish state, has inflicted on the people of Gaza.

Thankfully there is talk of an imminent truce. The war will probably end before the inauguration of President Obama. I hope that he will take courageous leadership to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a Jew I will urge him to take bold steps, pushing both Israel and the Palestinians to make painful sacrifices for peace. It is only the resolution of the conflict that can provide security for the people in Sderot and all the people, Israelis and Palestinians, who have killed one another for far too long.

Update January 12, 2009: RHR Actions on Gaza

Lori Shaller — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:10:25 -0800

Gaza Update

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I know that these are wrenchingly painful times for you, as they are for us. Our efforts on behalf of civilians on both sides seem so paltry in the midst of war. Here is an update on what RHR has been doing since the initial statement we sent you the day after the war began, as well as an additional piece that I wrote a week ago, and now have been able to translate. It addresses the idea that we have no alternative to war. You can also see a piece written by Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch on RHR's behalf in Hebrew on YNET at:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3651947,00.html. Unfortunately, the message of my piece is a little more challenging, and we haven't been able to get it published yet.

A number of RHR members and staff have had rockets fall close to their homes, while others have children and grandchildren who are soldiers. One of our Israeli Arab staff people has police units constantly at the entrance to her village. The police would say that this is to prevent unrest as took place at the outbreak of the war, but it is felt as a message that even peaceful voicing of an alternative opinion by Israeli Arabs is forbidden. Some 99% of Israelis (Including RHR) agree that the situation in the south was intolerable and had to be stopped. A smaller but significant number (I don't know the exact percentage) are also extremely concerned that we defend ourselves in as moral a way as possible. During the first week or so of "Cast Lead" we were told that the IDF was not harming citizens. It is perhaps a credit to Israelis that this is what they wanted to believe. However, as the numbers of dead children, reports of the IDF not allowing ambulances to get to the injured for days, etc. are gradually creeping into the Israeli press, the standard response has changed to "We have no choice."

RHR actions have been mostly on the public level - working with our fellow Israeli human rights organizations to get missing factual information to the Israeli public, as well as the human rights message that no civilians on either side should be targets. On its own, RHR has sought to deliver a Jewish message. We have been working together with additional human rights organizations on specific issues such as injured that need to be evacuated or the need to provide civilians with clean water and other basic humanitarian needs. We are currently trying to set up an interfaith prayer service, and possibly a fast. Physicians for Human Rights is very grateful that many of our supporters have contributed to their emergency appeal for funds for medical supplies, and have spoken to us about joining them in a convoy to bring supplies to the border.

Rabbi Gil Nativ and I were interviewed last week on Israeli television about our Jewish approach (I won't say "only" Jewish approach) to the war, while Rabbi Novis-Deutsch was interviewed on a second program.

Along with our fellow Israeli human rights organizations we have been pushing the message "Citizens are not cannon fodder - Not in Sderot and not in Gaza," and providing statistics and information not always appearing in the Israeli press. We published a joint ad in HaAretz with this message and statistics on the killed and wounded on both sides. We have created an info blog as part of our effort to encourage the press and others to publish information that, especially at the beginning of the war, was not appearing in the Israeli media.

The English version of the infoblog, which has less information than the Hebrew version, can be found at: http://trailer.web-view.net/Links/0X1CA35EAAC0667A23D3EBFE12A9183832A4325703DFADA46D5FEA070F29A35283922CE29858CA0810ABAEF99F4DF54BC975685D7293F3FC7DC02572BB5C960D4F552835B8FF6C759D.htm

We have been running a joint banner with a link on YNET, one of Israel's most visited electronic news outlets. We also have a hyperlink which we are encouraging people to spread "virally" which I am going to try and place on this email. It says in Hebrew "Enough of harming civilians." Clicking on it brings you to the message "Civilians are not cannon fodder," and from there one can go to the infoblog.

At the end of RHR's retreat last Wednesday and Thursday to mark our 20th anniversary, we issued a communiqu? calling for an immediate ceasefire and the supply of essential goods to Gaza, expressing our deep distress at the loss of life on both sides, offering the hope that a cease fire could lead to a durable long term solution and emphasizing the ultimate value of human life in the Jewish traditions, "One who destroys a single life destroys an entire world. One who saves a single life saves an entire world."(Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5) The retreat had originally been scheduled to take place in Ashkelon. While many of us wished to keep it there as an expression of solidarity with our fellow Israelis under fire, the Home Command forbade gatherings of over 100 people.

RHR has signed on to letters to the Defense Minister on behalf of 6 patients who needed life saving treatment they could not get in Gaza and to allow more fuel into Gaza. Three children finally made it to Israeli hospitals after the Peres Center agreed to fund their treatment. One man was transferred to an Egyptian hospital. Another man's situation improved and did not need to leave Gaza. The 6th woman was still waiting for a solution until the European Union pressured Israel to take her without a payment guarantee. Unfortunately, not all of these patients survived even after getting out of Gaza. Many additional patients are caught in political football between Israel, Hamas, the PA and Egypt. Hamas does not want to send patients to Egypt and Israel does not want to let patients into Israel without a guarantee of payment. The PA does not want to pay, claiming they are Israel's responsibility because they were injured in an Israeli attack. Many additional injured people are waiting to get out of Gaza.

The High Court heard arguments on Friday on two petitions brought by human rights organizations. One was regarding the intolerable situation in which ambulances are prevented from evacuating patients for up to a week. (See Physicians for Human Rights press release below) Sometimes the army simply does not make the necessary arrangements for the ambulances to travel safely and sometimes the forces on the ground don't know or respect those arrangements. Ambulances have been frequently fired on, although the army insists that this is not intentional. The second appeal by our fellow human rights organization, "Gisha," and to which RHR is signed on to, demands that Israel allow the delivery of fuel necessary for basic humanitarian needs such as the delivery of clean drinking water. The press release on this appears below. We joined this appeal after a joint letter by human rights organizations to Defense Minister Barak had no impact.

The High Court demanded that the State supply answers by Tuesday as to what measures they are taking and what further measures can be taken to allow the timely evacuation of the injured and a proper supply of fuel and electricity to Gaza. The judges were angry that the state didn't bring anybody who could give information as to what was actually happening in the field. The judges (and we) understood that "things happen" in war, but it was also clear to them that the State is obligated in these matters, and that waiting for 4 or 5 days, or even a week for evacuation is not reasonable. On Thursday the International Committee for the Red Cross issued an uncharacteristically sharp statement indicating that the army was not doing a reasonable job of allowing safe passage for ambulances and that they can not work in such conditions.. It was said in court that the Red Cross had indicated that ambulances were being fired on by the IDF. UNWRA had coordinated with the army on Thursday to bring fuel already on the Gaza side of the border to the Gaza power plant, but they turned back when they were fired on. Government lawyers said that they were in touch with the Red Cross , that a humanitarian command center had been set up on 6.1 and that they were doing everything they could under the circumstances. They said that ambulances were not being fired upon intentionally, but they were not willing to say that the firing would be stopped. (They did not even say that they were willing to stop the firing as long as not fired upon. They did indicate that there will now be a 3 hour cease fire each day.) One family mentioned in the appeal on evacuation was evacuated Friday morning, apparently because the army wanted them evacuated before the court hearing.

In a press release human rights organizations stated that those waiting for evacuation or in need of electricity, water and sanitation, can not wait until Tuesday.

And so we go on. When we feel that our actions will have no effect we must remember that we never know what little act will tip the scales one way or another. As we focus on this human rights disaster here and now we know that we must sow seeds for the future. With our eyes on Sderot and Gaza, we remind ourselves that we must also invest energies in our upcoming conference on the Israeli Wisconsin plan, in ongoing educational programs and in planting olive trees.

Greek Tragedy by Rabbi Arik Ascherman

Lori Shaller — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:36:36 -0800

Greek Tragedy

Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman

In the final days of Hanukah, the holiday on which we focus on the struggle between Jewish and Hellenistic culture, we wrote this year another chapter in our own Greek tragedy. As in so many stories, the way we understand it depends on the point at which we choose for our story to begin.

The justice of our position is clear when we begin the story on the day that Hamas cancelled the cease fire, or even a month previous to that, when the number of rockets and mortars being fired on Sderot increased dramatically. There is no country in the world that would allow rockets to rain down on its citizens, if it had the power to stop them. Both the Jewish tradition and international law recognize the right and responsibility of self defense. (Sanhedrin 72a). It is true that both traditions limit that right to the minimum necessary force and forbid harming of an innocent third party. (Ibid. 74a). However, while we can debate whether the amount of force we are using is necessary and proportionate, and where to draw the line between what is permitted and forbidden, from the point when rockets are falling on our citizens, we were in a lose-lose situation, choosing between bad and worse options. Personally, I have little patience for those who protest our actions in Gaza, but don't have a word to say about the firing of Kassams on Sderot. Those who are mentioning Sderot now in order to be "balanced," but didn't have anything to say about qassams until Israel reacted, also share some of the responsibility for our getting to the point where we had to respond.

However, we ought to begin our story in June when the cease fire began. Israel committed itself to easing the draconian limitations of food, fuel and other essential goods entering Gaza which it imposed when Hamas took over Gaza. This is also a forbidden attack on civilians. However, we never kept our side of the agreement.

Answering a High Court appeal by several Israeli human rights organizations a year ago, the State argued that it is acceptable to set a minimum humanitarian standard to which Israel is obligated in Gaza. According to this logic, it is permissible to intentionally lower the standard of living available to Gazans in a controlled way until this red line was reached. Incredibly, the discussion focused on how drastically Israel could limit food and other goods going into Gaza without creating a humanitarian crisis.

In addition to the obvious and terrible moral problems with this approach, it also harms us Israelis.

Israelis wonder why Gazans don't rise up against the Hamas regime that has caused them so much suffering. Gazans have been for a long time on the brink of starvation, without electricity on cold nights, and as a result also at times without running and/or clean water. They are not directing their anger towards Hamas, but towards the party that is denying them these goods and making their lives unbearable - Israel. Israelis ask, "Do Gazans care so little about human life, including their own?" When life is already a living hell, many feel, "We don't have anything to lose." Israel insists that there is no humanitarian crisis and cites the number of trucks entering Gaza without comparing the goods entering to the amount needed.

For the first week of Cast Lead we were told that our army was not harming civilians, although Israelis could certainly go to the internet and see things on a factual level that could not be dismissed as "anti-Israel bias." Today, the numbers of dead children and the reports of injured waiting for days before the IDF allows ambulances in make it harder to believe that we are not harming civilians. However, most Israelis maintain that we had no choice.

And here our story becomes a classic Greek tragedy. It is now moot that that we did not truly exhaust non military options before turning to war. However, not only are we unaware of how the terrible results of our siege should cause us to look in the mirror, but our lack of understanding that there never was a true cease fire for Gazans because we never kept our side of the agreement now reduces the chances that we will achieve the new agreement we desperately seek to bring much deserved quiet to the south of Israel.

There has been reticence in Israel to include opening of the borders in a new cease fire agreement. Because the borders were not open when Hamas cancelled the cease fire, it seems to us that this would be granting Hamas a victory. "They forced a war upon us and end up with a better agreement." There are plenty of other issues we can include in a cease fire to show that we came out on top in this war - the return of Gilad Shalit, international supervision of the border crossings and the tunnel areas, etc., without continuing to cause suffering to civilians through limiting food, electricity and fuel.

In the Jewish tradition we are commanded to leave one side open when laying siege to a city (Mishna Torah, Laws of Kings 6:7). We are also taught to offer peace before resorting to war (Ibid 6:1). This is for tactical as well as humanitarian reasons. People with their back to the wall will fight much more fiercely. Without absolving Hamas for a moment for the death and destruction they have caused, we must understand that we have put the back of Gazans to the wall and are thus denying ourselves the peace and calm which we so dearly desire and deserve.

Taking responsibility for our actions, using the minimum necessary force to protect ourselves only after exhausting every non military solution, not harming civilians and not putting their backs to the wall constitute a Jewish solution to our Greek tragedy.

RHR Press Release January 8, 2008

Lori Shaller — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:32:14 -0800

Israel's High Court will Rule on January 13th Regarding Evacuation of Sick and Injured from Gaza

Lori Shaller — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:46:38 -0800

The High Court today (January 9, 2009) demanded that the State supply answers by Tuesday (January 13) as to what measures they are taking and what further measures can be taken to allow the timely evacuation of the injured and a proper supply of fuel and electricity to Gaza. RHR is signed on "Gisha's" appeal on fuel/electricity. RHR Executive Director Rabbi Arik Ascherman does not know whether there will be another High Court discussion on Tuesday.

The judges were angry that the state didn't bring anybody who could give information as to what was actually happening in the field. It was clear to the judges that the State is obligated in these matters, and that waiting for 5 days for evacuation is not reasonable. Yesterday the International Red Cross issued an uncharacteristically sharp statement indicating that the army was not doing a reasonable job of allowing safe passage for ambulances and that they cannot work in such conditions. It was said in court that the Red Cross had indicated that ambulances were being fired on by the IDF.

UNWRA had coordinated yesterday to bring fuel already on the Gaza side of the border to the power plant, but they turned back when they were fired on. Government lawyers said that they were in touch with the Red Cross, that a humanitarian command center had been set up on June 1, and that they were doing everything they could under the circumstances.

They said that ambulances were not being fired upon intentionally, but they were not willing to say that the firing would be stopped. (They did not even say that they were willing to stop the firing as long as they were not fired upon. They did indicate that there is a 3 hour cease fire each day.) One family mentioned in the appeal on evacuation was evacuated last night or this morning, apparently because the army wanted it to take place before the court hearing.

In a press release human rights organizations stated that those waiting for evacuation or were in need of electricity, water and sanitation, cannot wait until Tuesday.

RHR-NA Board Sends Letter of Support to RHR in Israel

Lori Shaller — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:44:28 -0800

Dear Anita and Arik,

We write to you, the Board and Staff of RHR, and to all of RHR's supporters and volunteers, to express our profound concern and caring for you in the midst of such a devastating time of crisis for Israel and Gaza.

Over the past week and a half, as we have looked on from North America at the overwhelming events in the region, many of us have been glued to news and email reports coming from Gaza, Sderot, Ashkelon, and other areas affected. Our hearts have been yearning for your safety and well-being as you gather to do the sacred work of promoting human rights even during the most threatening of times. We want to express our most heart-felt support and admiration for you in this effort. Although we are separated by distance, we are with you both in distress over the ongoing violence, and in the hope that the military incursion and the rocket firing will come to an end quickly so that the sacred work of elevating the human dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians may continue in an environment of safety and security for all.

During this time, please know that our hearts and prayers are with you in entirety.

B'yedidut Chamah,

The Board of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America

RHR Petitions Israeli Supreme Court to Stop Collapse of Gaza's Water and Sewage Systems

Lori Shaller — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:39:58 -0800

On Wednesday, January 7, Rabbis for Human Rights was one of nine human rights organizations petitioning Israel's Supreme Court for Israel to stop the collapse of the water and sewage system, according to the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, the authors of the petition. The petition explains that the collapse of the systems is being caused by the blocking of fuel supplies into Gaza. The fuel is needed to create the power on which the water and sewage systems run.

The petition states that "the military's physical control over Gaza and its access to the civilian population under its control create a heightened positive duty to take all measures to insure the needs of the civilian population of the Strip." It claims that the fuel crisis has been building for the last fourteen months and has been exacerbated by the irregular access into the Strip of fuel and humanitarian supplies.

Severe electricity shortages, and by extension fresh water shortages, are being felt throughout Gaza. Because the sewage pumps are not working, raw sewage has begun to flow in the streets. This causes a heightened threat of infectious disease outbreaks.

In addition to RHR, the other signatories to the petition are the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Physicians for Human Rights in Israel, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Bimkom, HaMoked, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Yesh Din.

RHR Board Member Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman's "A Jew's Prayer for the Children of Gaza"

Lori Shaller — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:17:03 -0800

A Jew's Prayer for the Children of Gaza

If there has ever been a time for prayer, this is that time.
If there has ever been a place forsaken, Gaza is that place.

Lord who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day. God whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth, where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches the skin.

Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them. Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief. Deliver them from us, and from their own.

Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven.

Remind us, O Lord, of the child Ishmael, who is the father of all the children of Gaza. How the child Ishmael was without water and left for dead in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba, so robbed of all hope, that his own mother could not bear to watch his life drain away.

Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel to comfort his mother Hagar.

Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God, the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar's eyes that day, and showed her the well of water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life.

Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned.

In this day, when the trepidation and rage and mourning that is called war, seizes our hearts and patches them in scars, we call to you, the Lord whose name is Peace:

Bless these children, and keep them from harm.

Turn Your face toward them, O Lord. Show them, as if for the first time, light and kindness, and overwhelming graciousness.

Look up at them, O Lord. Let them see your face.

And, as if for the first time, grant them peace.

RHR in Israel Responds to the Crisis in Gaza

Lori Shaller — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:38:08 -0800

The following is a statement about the situation in Gaza that RHR issued on December 29.

STOP HARMING CIVILIANS NOW RHR Rabbis-"Can we say the full Hallel on the 8th day of Hanukah in Light of the Events in Gaza?" The firing on Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza gives the State of Israel the right to defend her citizens, but both the Jewish tradition and international law do not allow the harming of innocent civilians. Many Israelis will quote from the Talmudic Tractate Sanhedrin, "When somebody is coming to kill you, get up earlier and kill him first." However, few are aware of how the Talmud continues, teaching us only to use the minimum necessary force and drawing a sharp contrast between defending ourselves against those attacking us, and harming an innocent third party. These are also principles in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) "Not by might and not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of Hosts." Our Talmudic sages determined that these words from the prophet Zechariah would be read as part of the Haftarah (Scriptural reading from the prophets after the reading of the Torah) for the Sabbath of Hanukah, and edited the story of the war of the Macabees out of the Talmud. They understood that, in the long run, sustainable peace and security are not achieved through acts of war. RHR calls on the leadership of Israel and Hamas to act according to these standards. RHR calls upon Israel not to harm civilians either through firing on them or through the collective punishment of the ongoing closure severely limiting the amount of food, fuel and other basic goods entering Gaza. RHR calls upon Hamas to cease the intentional harming of civilians through firing on the residents of the Western Negev. Israel has actualized its right of retaliation and the defense of her citizens in the last 36 hours. Both the State of Israel and Hamas must now take a "time out" to determine whether the cease-fire can be reinstated. Otherwise, they will soon be plunged even deeper into a cycle of bloodletting, with neither side knowing how they will get out of it. We hope that, as we reach the end of Hanukah, the "Festival of Lights," that we will see the fulfillment of the prayer, "May a new light shine upon Zion, and may we all speedily merit its light." (Prayerbook) There are those who say that the Talmudic sages ruled that we do not recite the full Hallel (Festive psalms recited on holidays.) on the 7th day of Passover because that is the day that the Egyptians drowned in the Reed Sea. RHR asks whether this year it is appropriate to recite the complete Hallel on the 8th day of Hanukah (Monday) when the work of God's hands are dying on both sides.