80 Modern Orthodox rabbis urge ‘moral clarity’ in face of Gaza humanitarian crisis

JTA — Dozens of Orthodox rabbis have issued “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis,” in an addition to a recent cascade of open letters from Jewish voices responding to a hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave nearly two years into the Israel-Hamas war there.

Unlike some of the other letters, the new letter stresses condemnation of Hamas and does not call for Israel to end the war in Gaza. Instead, the rabbis write, “Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of Israel of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation.”

The Orthodox rabbis also lament the ascendance of extremist voices in Israel, the hardening of sentiments about Palestinians, and the explosion of settler violence in the West Bank — which they refer to using the Hebrew name for the region that conveys a historic Jewish connection to the land.

“The justified anger toward Hamas has dangerously expanded by some extremists into blanket suspicion of the entire population of Gaza — children included — tarnished as future terrorists,” they write. “Meanwhile, in Yehuda and Shomron (the West Bank), extremist settler violence has resulted in the murder of civilians and has forced Palestinian villagers from their homes, further destabilizing the region.”

The signatories are largely drawn from the liberal edge of Modern Orthodoxy, and relatively few hold congregational roles.

Still, their letter is notable because Orthodox communities tend to be more politically right wing and avowedly Zionist in orientation, with young adults more often joining the Israeli army after high school or making aliyah than in non-Orthodox denominations. Some politically liberal Orthodox Jews have expressed frustration about the hardline positions being taken in their communities on Gaza and other issues.

“Orthodox Jewry, as some of Israel’s most devoted supporters, bears a unique moral responsibility,” the letter says. “We must affirm that Judaism’s vision of justice and compassion extends to all human beings.”

The letter was spearheaded by Rabbi Yosef Blau, a longtime leading rabbi at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary who retired and moved to Israel this year.

“My support of Israel and Zionism stems from my commitment to Judaism. A non-critical loyalty is contradictory to the introspection fundamental to Judaism,” Blau said in a statement. “When religion is used to justify a worship of power, it distorts basic morality.”

Other signatories to the letter include the head of Yeshivat Maale Gilboa, a seminary in Israel; the chief rabbis of Poland, Denmark and Norway, as well as the former chief rabbi of Ireland; and the senior rabbis of prominent Orthodox congregations in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.