US Reform movement demands ‘decisive’ action against settler violence

The US Reform movement demands that the Israeli government take action to rein in settler violence in the West Bank.

“It is past time for decisive, public, and consistent action from the Israeli government and from allies committed to ending attacks that violate Palestinians’ human rights and endanger the prospects for peaceful coexistence,” the statement says.

“Ever-larger groups of settlers in the West Bank have attacked Palestinian olive groves, businesses, and homes with horrific violence and seeming impunity. These assaults devastate individuals, destroy livelihoods, and desecrate the land itself,” the group says. “When government officials claim these attacks are carried out by a small group of extremists whose actions tarnish the reputation of the broader settler community, we ask: if the group is truly small, why has the violence grown in both frequency and severity in recent months?”

“We again call upon the IDF and Israeli police to take immediate and effective measures to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” says the statement from the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the American Conference of Cantors.