[Peace] T'ruah Statement on UN Security Council Resolution

[Robert Naiman]

http://truah.org/13-issuescampaigns/supportpeace/805-t-ruah-statement-on-un-
security-council-resolution.html

T'ruah Statement on UN Security Council Resolution
<http://truah.org/13-issuescampaigns/supportpeace/805-t-ruah-statement-on-un-security-council-resolution.html>

December 26, 2016

תניא, רבי אומר: איזו היא דרך ישרה שיבור לו האדם - יאהב את התוכחות, שכל זמן
שתוכחות בעולם - נחת רוח באה לעולם, טובה וברכה באין לעולם,ורעה מסתלקת מן
העולם



Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said, “What is the correct path that a person should
choose? Love tokhecha (rebuke/correction), for as long as there is rebuke
in the world, comfort comes to the world, good and blessing come to the
world, and evil departs from the world.”—Talmud Tamid 28a



Over the past few days, we have heard significant pain and anger from the
Jewish community and from the State of Israel regarding the recent UN
Security Council Resolution and the decision by the United States to
abstain, thus permitting it to move forward. It is true that the UN has a
history of paying disproportionate attention to Israel. In the past, T’ruah
has spoken up against problematic resolutions, including the UNESCO
resolution this fall that ignored the Jewish historical connection to
Jerusalem and to our holiest sites there.



In this case, however, the tokhecha contained within this resolution simply
reflects decades of U.S. and international policy that affirms the goal of “two
democratic States, Israel and Palestine, liv[ing] side by side in peace
within secure and recognized borders,” and decries settlements as an
obstacle to achieving this vision. We encourage those concerned about this
resolution to read it in full before responding.



T’ruah has long advocated for an end to occupation, which violates the
human rights of Palestinians while threatening the safety and security of
Israelis. The expansion of settlements involves land theft, as well as the
blocking of access to land and of freedom of movement for Palestinians.
Within Area C of the West Bank, where the settlements sit, Palestinians and
Israeli citizens living side-by-side are governed by two different systems
of law, in contradiction of international law and of the biblical
principle, “You shall have one law for citizens and strangers alike.”
(Leviticus 24:22)



The settlements and the entrenched occupation also threaten the well-being
of Israelis, including those soldiers who risk their lives to defend an
ill-fated policy; the Israelis who see their tax dollars diverted from
needed health, education, and welfare programs in order to allocate
disproportionate funding to those living in settlements; and Israelis and
Jews around the world who face increasing isolation as a result of the
policy of occupation. No less a figure than Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that
the return of territory may be permitted--or even obligatory—for the sake
of pikuach nefesh—saving life.



Despite accusations that the resolution is one-sided, we welcome the call
to the Palestinian Authority for “confronting all those engaged in terror
and dismantling terrorist capabilities, including the confiscation of
illegal weapons” and the condemnation of “all acts of violence against
civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation,
incitement, and destruction.” T’ruah has always condemned terrorism and
rejected any claims that political aims justify violence against civilians.



The capture of East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War restored Jewish
sovereignty over our holiest sites for the first time in modern history. We
pray and work for a two-state solution that will preserve Jewish access to
these sacred sites. However, the continued policy of demolition of
Palestinian homes;  the lack of permits for Palestinians to build in the
East Jerusalem neighborhoods where they live; the expansion of settlements
in these neighborhoods, often by shady legal tactics; and the failure to
provide basic city services to East Jerusalem Palestinians living on the
wrong side of the wall that cuts through the “eternal undivided capital of
the Jewish people” simultaneously violate human rights, fly in the face of
Jewish law and values, provoke anger among the Palestinian population, and
make the goal of peace harder to achieve.



The rhetoric on the part of the Israeli government and some segments of the
Jewish community that caricatures the UNSC resolution as an erasure of
Jewish history or as a rejection of our connection to Jerusalem only blurs
the distinction between Israel and the occupied territories, and reinforces
the perception that standing up for Israel requires defending occupation.
In fact, we should celebrate the resolution’s distinction between Israel
within the Green Line and the occupied territories, and its rejection of
the one-state solution increasingly called for by many in the BDS movement.
Standing up for the future of Israel and for the safety of Israelis and
Jews around the world requires distinguishing between our commitment to
Israel and the current policy of occupation, and working toward a two-state
solution.



We affirm the call by the UNSC resolution for “all parties to continue, in
the interest of the promotion of peace and security, to exert collective
efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues.” The
expansion of settlements, including so-called “natural growth” changes the
facts on the ground before territory can be negotiated. Even the areas
that, according to most maps, will end up in Israel must be negotiated as
part of a final status agreement. We also affirm the call to Palestinians
to end the terrorism and incitement that frightens Israelis from taking
bold steps toward peace, as well as rejecting “Price Tag” attacks and other
violence and incitement on the part of Jews.



Much of the Israeli and Jewish communal response to the UNSC resolution, as
well as to all tokhecha regarding settlement growth, has emphasized the
failure of Palestinians to accept past agreements, or focused on terror as
the primary obstacle to peace. While there is certainly reason to find
fault with both sides—as the UNSC resolution does—Zionism, ultimately, is
about taking our future in our own hands, rather than waiting for someone
else to determine our future. This means both accepting responsibility for
the misguided and dangerous policy of settlement expansion, and taking it
upon ourselves to do what is necessary to bring about peace.



In permitting the hotly contested peace agreement with Egypt, including
relinquishing land captured in war, Rabbi Chaim David Halevy wrote:



We have great doubts regarding this peace agreement. That is to say—it’s
possible that it will be temporary until the Arab world gathers the
strength necessary for another round.



But it’s also necessary to remember that it’s possible that it will
continue for a long time. . .Therefore, it is incumbent on us, without
considering their ultimate intentions, to cultivate this peace, and to do
whatever is in our power that it should develop and set down roots, out of
hope and faith that time will heal all wounds, and that a new generation
will rise that has not personally suffered the defeat of war and the
humiliation that follows. (Aseh L’kha Rav 4:1)



The obligation to pursue peace weighs especially heavily as we approach the
momentous fiftieth anniversary of the Six Day War. Just as the biblical yovel
year—the fiftieth year of the agricultural cycle--brought liberation and a
fresh start, we commit to using this moment to move forward toward peace, a
two-state solution, an end to occupation, and a better future for both
Israelis and Palestinians.


===


Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1 <(202)%20448-2898>
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