The Israel Committee of Congregation B’nai Israel of Northampton strongly condemns the threatened unilateral plan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex into Israel as much as 30% of the West Bank in the near future.
In taking this public stance, the Israel Committee joins many other organizations and religious institutions, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who oppose the plan, and we call upon our neighbors in the Pioneer Valley and our elected representatives to voice their opposition as well.
In addition, we call on Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel to continue their resistance to annexation and on members of the Israeli Knesset to reject and condemn any such annexation, whether in its planned 30% entirety or even a small symbolic portion thereof.
This call for action is taken with a heavy heart, for we unalterably support Israel’s right to live as a Jewish and democratic state and to do so in security. If anything, however, we believe annexation actually threatens both principles, a view expressed by many renowned Israeli defense and security personnel.
In addition, we believe that annexation, no matter its size, would undermine Israel’s founding commitment to democracy and sorely test Israel’s relationship with American Jewry. Further, annexation would be the death knell of the two-state solution and, in effect, doom both Palestinians and Israelis to a future filled with conflict. Finally and as importantly, the unilateral annexation of parts of the West Bank would be — as described in a June 18 letter from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights signed by over 700 rabbis and cantors — antithetical to “Jewish values of dignity for every human being, legal equality for all people, and the commitment to pursuing peace.”
Given that we are a diverse community, there are doubtless some members of our congregation who may see things differently than we do and are free to voice such views as they see fit. With respect, however, the Israel Committee’s position itself is grounded in its own exploration of both the facts and issues during an open two-part program these last weeks, including a community conversation.
The overwhelming consensus among participants was that annexation needed to be opposed, swiftly and publicly, with particular emphasis on the reasons mentioned above.
In addition, in our view, annexation would disregard the majority of Israelis who actually oppose such an act, would threaten security arrangements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (as it has so far), and would serve to unfairly humiliate Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Moreover, if implemented as threatened, annexation would incorporate into Israel a large number of settlements already deemed by many to violate international law and would create a map of Palestinian enclaves filled with discontent.
We also believe that annexation would alienate Israel’s friends in both the United States and Europe, endanger Israel’s peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt, and likely sever Israel’s growing ties with certain Arab states.
For all these reasons and more, the very thought of any unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank is a travesty, its implementation catastrophic.
Mordechai Kamel is chairman of the Israel Committee Congregation B’nai Israel Northampton.