A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future

 

On the High Holidays, I spoke about the need to prioritize our particular Jewish communal needs and concerns for as long as necessary until we feel safe again. After nine years of increasing antisemitic rhetoric, threats and violence, and the explosion of anti-Zionism since October 7, 2023,  we must call out threats to our safety and welfare, even if that means risking partnerships with former friends and allies. This is a time for moral clarity. Every member of every synagogue in America should know exactly where their Rabbi stands when Jews and the State of Israel are under attack from so many. 

That's why I am among 900 Rabbis from across the United States who recently signed the Rabbinic Call to Action sponsored by The Jewish Majority. which has brought critical attention to our shared commitment to defend Jewish identity, combat antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and perhaps most importantly, to reaffirm that the authentic, mainstream voices of American Jewry belong at the heart of our public discourse. 

This letter, signed by Rabbis across the ideological and denominational spectrum, is already having an incredible impact. It's been covered by leading news outlets and was even discussed at Wednesday night's New York City mayoral debate. This letter is also an important counterweight to those terrible letters signed by Rabbis and Jewish leaders castigating Israel in the several weeks before the High Holidays. 

I was proud to join my colleagues to sign this letter. I hope you will take the time to read it. 

 

A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future

As rabbis from across the United States committed to the security and prosperity of the Jewish people, we are writing in our personal capacities to declare that we cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation. When public figures like New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani refuse to condemn violent slogans, deny Israel’s legitimacy, and accuse the Jewish state of genocide, they, in the words of New York Board of Rabbis president Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, “Delegitimize the Jewish community and encourage and exacerbate hostility toward Judaism and Jews.”

As prominent New York City Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove stated in a recent sermon, “Zionism, Israel, Jewish self-determination—these are not political preferences or partisan talking points. They are constituent building blocks and inseparable strands of my Jewish identity. To accept me as a Jew but to ask me to check my concern for the people and state of Israel at the door is a nonsensical proposition and an offensive one, no different than asking me to reject God, Torah, mitzvot, or any other pillar of my faith.”

We will not accept a culture that treats Jewish self-determination as a negotiable ideal or Jewish inclusion as something to be “granted.” The safety and dignity of Jews in every city depend on rejecting that false choice.

Therefore, we call on all Americans who value peace and equality to participate fully in the democratic process in order to stand up for candidates who reject antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric, and who affirm Israel’s right to exist in peace and security.

We also call on our interfaith and communal partners to stand with the Jewish community in rejecting this dangerous rhetoric and to affirm the rights of Jews to live securely and with dignity.

Now is the time for everyone to unite across political and moral divides, and to reject the language that seeks to delegitimize our Jewish identity and our community.