North Carolina Jewish clergy: Jewish protesters in NC “do not speak in our name”
(Editor’s note: The following was authored by Rabbi Daniel Greyber on behalf of the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association):
On Nov. 3, not yet a month since the Hamas massacre of 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians, and the taking of more than 220 hostages, a group of protesters sat on NC Highway 147 with a sign saying, “NC Jews Say Ceasefire Now.” They do not speak in our name. We are grateful for the steadfast support of Israel by North Carolina’s Congressional delegation as well as Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina House and Senate. Our commitments to peace and compassion for innocent Israelis and Palestinians force us to confront a painful truth: Israel must fight a just war until Hamas is defeated.
A just war is not easy or victimless; it is morally necessary, because pacifism in the face of an unfettered evil is an untenable moral position. Israel must do its utmost to prevent civilian casualties and do all within its power to ensure food, water, medicine and other humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza, while fighting an enemy that violates all rules of war. Hamas purposefully uses its own citizens as human shields and has cynically misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to buy and manufacture weapons and to build a network of tunnels deliberately beneath neighborhoods, mosques and hospitals.
Scholars at West Point write that Israel’s Military Advocate General’s Corps “is an exceptionally competent group of advisors on the law of armed conflict that is organized to ensure IDF commanders have access to high-caliber legal advice in real time. Once planners identify and propose targets based on anticipated or actual missions and operational goals, lawyers from the International Law Department (ILD) review each.” Independent reviews of Israel’s targeting practices consistently find them within the mainstream of contemporary state practice.
Civilian deaths in Gaza are extraordinarily tragic and heartbreaking. We recognize that far too many innocent Gazans, including children, are suffering immeasurably and have lost their lives. However, as a matter of policy, the IDF - unlike Hamas - follows the international protocols of war and civilian casualties are never intentional. We firmly believe that Hamas, not Israel, is ultimately culpable for the deaths of innocent Palestinians.
No modern nation state can tolerate a situation in which its borders are violated and where its civilian citizens - men, women, children, and the elderly - are unable to go to sleep at night without fear of murder, injury, dismemberment, rape and abduction, as happened in Israel on Oct. 7. On Thursday Nov. 2, Hamas official Ghazi Hamad stated on Lebanese television that Hamas will repeat the Oct. 7 massacre again and again until Israel is destroyed. A ceasefire allows Hamas to continue its reign of terror over innocent people in Israel and Gaza. Eradicating Hamas is essential for achieving the safety and security of both Jews and Palestinians between the river and the sea. This terrible war can end tomorrow. Rather than call for a cease fire as some activists have done we call for Hamas to immediately and unconditionally free all hostages and to offer its immediate and unconditional surrender.
Finally, demonstrations in the Triangle will not determine the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the type of conversations we have about it will impact the future of our local interfaith community. We encourage you to invite us to hear the perspective of mainstream Jewish leaders who represent the majority of the North Carolina Jewish community and to share questions that have arisen for you and your communities about Israel/Palestine. Together we can build communities of understanding and relationship here in North Carolina.
Rabbi Daniel Greyber is the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in Durham. The views expressed in this editorial are his own, as they are the own views of the 28 individual clergy who signed on to this editorial. Rabbi Chaya Bender, Wilmington Rabbi Philip J Bentley, Hendersonville Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, Winston-Salem Rabbi Robin Damsky, Efland Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Raleigh Rabbi Andrew Vogel Ettin, Salisbury Rabbi John S. Friedman, Durham Rabbi Michael Gisser, Chapel Hill Rabbi Daniel Greyber, Durham Rabbi Fred Guttman, Greensboro Rabbi Raachel Jurovics, Raleigh Rabbi Tracy Klirs, Charlotte Rabbi Asher Knight, Charlotte Rabbi Andy Koren, Greensboro Cantor Karen Kumin, Durham Cantor Ted Labow, Hendersonville Rabbi Mitchell Levine, Asheville Rabbi Laura Lieber, Durham Cantor Shira Lissek, Charlotte Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov, Wilmington Rabbi Batsheva Meiri, Asheville Rabbi Judy Schindler, Charlotte Rabbi Melissa B. Simon, Chapel Hill Rabbi Matthew Soffer, Durham Rabbi Eric Solomon, Raleigh Rabbi Dr. Jenny Solomon, Raleigh Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas, Charlotte Rabbi Michael Wolk, Charlotte
