Largest Jewish Denomination In The USA On Gaza War – OpEd

The largest Jewish denomination in the U.S.A.issued a statement on January 30 calling the Israel-Hamas war “a just war” of defense, but reiterating its support for a two-state solution to the conflict.

The statement, signed by more than a dozen U.S. and Canadian leaders in the Reform Jewish  movement, conveyed a resolute support for Israel while offering a strong critique of the Netanyahu government proposals for the war’s aftermath.

Last week, in the midst of renewed international calls to revive a two-state solution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected an independent Palestinian state while thousands of people, including several ministers of Netanyahu’s government, called for Jews to resettle in the Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and forced Jewish settlers there to evacuate their homes.

The Reform movement’s statement opposed both Netanyahu’s stance and the new move to establish an Israeli presence in Gaza. It was issued by the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents almost 850 synagogues, as well as the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents 2,000 Reform rabbis (including me). About 37% of American Jews identify as Reform Jews according to Pew reach. 

But the two Jewish organizations maintained their support for Israel’s ongoing retaliation for the October  7, 2023 Hamas massacre of one thousand two hundred people in Israel, saying: “Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas’s military capabilities is “a just war” because of Hamas’s ongoing commitment to Israel’s total destruction.”

The war on Gaza has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, 9,000 of them Hamas fighters, and displaced nearly 85% of Gaza’s residents.