Over 130 Jewish and Israeli Rhode Islanders ask federal delegation to support ceasefire in Gaza

"We recognize Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism. But we do not believe that Benjamin Netanyahu’s radical government ... deserves the benefit of the doubt on how best to protect Israel..."

Updated November 19, 2023, with additional signatories.

Press release:

Today, a cross-section of over 80 members of Rhode Island’s Jewish community – including rabbis, legislators, professors, doctors, and many others – sent a letter to Rhode Island’s federal delegation asking them to support a ceasefire in Gaza. The letter begins:

As Jews and Israelis, we have spent weeks grieving the brutal October 7 attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists. All of us have close family and friends in Israel, and we feel the trauma of these evil attacks deeply and personally. In our grief, we are profoundly concerned about Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack and the escalating conflict that is leading to immense loss of civilian life. We recognize Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism. But … we are extremely fearful that Israel has no endgame and that its current military assault on Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, the majority of whom are under the age of 18, will only serve the extremists who wish to sabotage political and diplomatic efforts that would ensure justice, dignity, and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“This extremist right-wing Israeli government – that up until the atrocities of October 7 was criticized by the Biden administration and many members of Congress for being anti-democratic – is still dangerous and should not be trusted in wartime,” said Ruth Ben-Artzi, a Professor of Political Science at Providence College and an Israeli, explaining why she believes the assault on Gaza is undermining Israel’s interests. “What my country’s government is doing is playing into Hamas’s hands by isolating Israel in the international community and arming extremists with more motivation and more support to use force. My strong belief in Pidyon Shvuyim (hostage release) reinforces these concerns, as the continued military assault on Gaza puts the 240 Israeli hostages in Hamas’s hands in further jeopardy.”

Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, Senior Jewish Educator at Judaism Unbound and a signatory of the letter, described how Jewish tradition informed his position.

“This Shabbat, Jews all around the world read a story from the Torah about Abraham’s famous argument with God,” said Rabbi Rofeberg. “In the face of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham argued vociferously and repeatedly that we must hold in our hearts those who are innocent, and that we must do absolutely everything in our power to prevent the needless loss of life. Abraham lost his argument with God, but his impassioned plea for human solidarity has served as a model for our people for millennia. It is with this same spirit that I am adding my voice to the call for a ceasefire in Gaza.”

The letter’s request to support a ceasefire is grounded in a concern for the safety and security of both Palestinians and Israelis, including the 240 hostages, with signatories urging Rhode Island’s federal delegation to understand that Israel's long-term security interests “can get worse if a halt to the military assault on Gaza is not immediately declared and the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s residents are not immediately addressed. To advocate for these policies is to support the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians. That is why we urge you to show leadership – and, yes, courage – by calling for a ceasefire.”

The full letter:

Dear Senator Reed, Senator Whitehouse, and Representative Magaziner,

We, the undersigned Rhode Island Jews and Israelis are grieving the brutal October 7 attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists. Many of us have close family and friends in Israel, and we feel the trauma of these attacks deeply and personally.

In our grief, we are profoundly concerned about Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack and the escalating conflict that is leading to immense loss of civilian life. We recognize Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism. But we do not believe that Benjamin Netanyahu’s radical government – whose incompetence and divisiveness led to the greatest intelligence and security failures in Israeli history – deserves the benefit of the doubt on how best to protect Israel in this critical moment. Our strong belief in Pidyon Shvuyim (hostage release) reinforces this concern, as the continued military assault on Gaza puts the 240 hostages in Hamas’s hands in further jeopardy. And we are extremely fearful that Israel has no endgame and that its current military assault on Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, the majority of whom are under the age of 18, will only serve the extremists who wish to sabotage political and diplomatic efforts that would ensure justice, dignity, and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

For these reasons – both the safety of Palestinian civilians and the security of our families in Israel – we urge you, as your constituents and as members of Rhode Island’s Jewish community, to seek an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

As Jews, we were appalled by certain antisemitic responses we saw immediately after October 7justifying Hamas’s massacre of Israelis with the twisted logic that there was no such thing as an Israeli civilian. We are similarly appalled to see Israel employing methods of collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza. Cutting off water, electricity, food, communications, and medicine to millions of non-combatant civilians is a war crime under international law. Such acts are incompatible with our Jewish values.

Violence begets violence. The decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield and cannot be managed without a political resolution. Israel’s policy of aggression in the Gaza Strip and its creeping annexation in the West Bank are playing into Hamas’s hands by isolating Israel in the international community, arming extremists with more motivation and more support to use force, and undermining the credibility of those who seek peace. This is what Hamas wants, and giving Hamas what it wants will not make Israel safer.

We recognize the immense pressures being exerted on members of Congress to demonstrate support for Israel. We urge you to understand this reality: the current dire situation can get worse if a halt to the military assault on Gaza is not immediately declared and the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s residents are not immediately addressed. To advocate for these policies is to support Israel’s safety and security. That is why we urge you to show leadership – and, yes, courage – and to truly stand with Israelis and Palestinians by calling for a ceasefire.

Thank you for your consideration and representation.

Sincerely,

• Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Providence

• Rabbi Xava De Cordova, Warwick

• Rabbi Alan Flam, Barrington

• Rabbi Jason Klein, Providence

• Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, Providence

• Rabbi James B. Rosenberg, Providence

• State Sen. Sam Bell, Providence

• State Sen. Meghan Kallman, Pawtucket

• State Sen. Joshua Miller, Cranston

• Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Pawtucket

• Margaret Bauer, Providence

• Ruth Ben-Artzi, Providence

• Lucy Berman, Providence

• Francesca Binder, Providence

• Mark Binder, Providence

• Alex Birch, Providence

• Joshua Blaine, Providence

• Luke Dani Blue, Providence

• Roger Blumberg, Providence

• Eliana Blumberg, Providence

• Amy Borak, Providence

• James Brophy, Cranston

• Joanna Brown, Providence

• Noa Brown, Providence

• Liza Burkin, Providence

• Marielle Buxbaum, Providence

• Madeline Canfield, Providence

• Avital Chatto, Providence

• Maize Cline, Providence

• Sheryl Cohen, Barrington

• Cynthia Davis, Pawtucket

• Sara Davidson Flanders, Providence

• Jackie Delamatre, Providence

• Rink Dickinson, Providence

• Julia Dubnoff, Providence

• Jesse Edelstein, Providence

• Fil Eden, South Kingstown

• Sam Eilertsen, Providence

• Ruth Engelman, Providence

• Adria Evans, North Kingstown

• Anne Fausto Sterling, Providence

• Rita Feder, Providence

• Ronald Florence, Providence

• Nigel Gibson, Providence

• Naama Gidron, Providence

• Jackie Goldman, Providence

• Anna Goldpet, Riverside

• Zachary Goldpet, Riverside

• Jared Goldstein, Providence

• Heather Grant Florence, Providence

• Liliana Greyf, Providence

• Julie Herzlinger, Providence

• Alizah Holstein, Providence

• Lynn Holstein, Providence

• Barbara Holtzman, Wakefield

• Monique Jonath, Providence

• Ross Johnston, East Providence

• Esme Josephson, Providence

• Lisa Kahn, Coventry

• Taylor Kahn-Perry, Providence

• Shelley Katsh, Pawtucket

• Linda Katz, Providence

• Judy Kaye, Providence

• Shana Klinger, Pawtucket

• Sandra Krupp, North Kingstown

• Rachel Kulick, Providence

• Aurit Lazarus, Providence

• Sarah Leibel, Providence

• Sarit Lesser, Barrington

• Talia LeVine, Providence

• Sandra Levy, Cranston

• Shelley Lynch, Pawtucket

• Mica Maltzman, Providence

• Jordan Mann, Providence

• Becki Marcus, Providence

• Eugenia Marks, Providence

• Barry Marshall, Riverside

• Carole Marshall, East Providence

• Sage X Morgan-Hubbard, Providence

• Barbara Morin, Cranston

• Eli Neuman-Hammond, Providence

• Rachel Newman Greene, Providence

• Adi Ophir, Providence

• Tom Padwa, Warren

• Tamar Paull, Providence

• Devorah Phillips, East Providence

• Amy Pickworth, Providence

• Lewis Pollis, Providence

• Callie Rabinovitz, Providence

• Aaron Regunberg, Providence

• Abraham Josephine Riesman, Providence

• Galit Ringach, Providence

• Seth Rockman, Providence

• Lisa Roseman-Beade, Pawtucket

• Kayla Rosen, Providence

• Philip Rosen, Providence

• Ariella Rozenzwieg, Providence

• Manya Rubinstein, Providence

• Sam Saltz, Providence

• Steven Scharf, Providence

• Debbie Schimberg, Providence

• Stephen Schwartz, Providence

• Judy Semonoff, Barrington

• Roberta Shapiro, Providence

• Ronnie Shashoua, Providence

• Ellie Siegel, Providence

• Michael Siegel, Cranston

• Jonathan Sigman, Kingston

• Katie Silberman, East Greenwich

• Rayna Simons, Providence

• Susan Sklar, Providence

• Savanna Sklar, Providence

• Susannah Slocum, Providence

• Jacob Sokolov-Gonzalez, Providence

• Ella Spungen, Providence

• Claudia Stagoff-Belfort, Providence

• Richard Stahl, Jamestown

• Tammy Stahl, Providence

• Ali Steinberg, Providence

• David Stern, Providence

• Sam Stewart, Providence

• Rich Streitfeld, Providence

• Cynthia Sutton, Providence

• Nina Tannenwald, Providence

• Rebecca Taub, Barrington

• Brian Tesar, Providence

• Gerry Tyler, North Kingston

• Paula Vogel, Cranston

• Love Wallace, East Providence

• Eve Wartenberg Condon, Warwick

• Beckett Warzer, Providence

• Bob Weinstein, Pawtucket

• Miriam Weizenbaum, Providence

• Etta Zasloff, Hope Valley