A call to diaspora Jews
If You Care About Israel, Silence Is No Longer an Option!
As we approach June 2017, fifty years of Israeli military control over the Palestinians, Israel stands at a crossroads. The present situation is disastrous.
The prolonged occupation is inherently oppressive for Palestinians and fuels mutual bloodshed. It undermines the moral and democratic fabric of the State of Israel and hurts its standing in the community of nations.
Our best hope for the future – the surest path toward security, peace, and prosperity – lies in a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian State alongside the State of Israel.
We call upon Jews around the world to join with Israeli partners for coordinated action to end the occupation and build a new future, for the sake of the State of Israel and the generations to come.
Click here to answer the call
On the Days of Awe, HaYamim HaNoraim, we come together for teshuva, as individuals, as a community and as a people. Teshuva, repentance, is a cycle of acknowledgement, forgiveness and change. We recognize that our actions have consequences, we take responsibility for having erred or harmed others, and we make amends. Our future welfare depends on this process: through teshuva we hope to change our gezira, our fate, regarding the year to come.
The fiftieth year of Israel’s rule over the Palestinians is an opportunity for teshuva on the collective level: to acknowledge the way that Israel’s action have been harmful, to ask for forgiveness and to commit to making change. In a very real sense, a better future for Israel depends on such a process.
We have collected materials to encourage reflection, acknowledgement and collective repentance regarding Israel’s continued rule over the Palestinians. Leading figures from Israel and Jewish communities created prayers, sermons and poems for use during the High Holidays.
All of the texts are available free of charge, in Hebrew and English.
List of contents:
An address for Yom Kippur / Rami Pinchover
Vidui / Rabbis for human rights
Now, did the hands of Moshe make or break the battle / Pinchas Leiser
Zchut ezrach / Leah Shakdiel
Iyun Tefillah and Meditation before reciting “U’vakhen” / Arik Ascherman
Blessings over symbolic foods / Dalia Marx
TESHUVA / Chaim Seidler-Feller
The Situation / David Grossman
