Hundreds of American Jewish leaders denounce Trump plan for Gaza

Source: New York Times, Vatican Media

Hundreds of Jewish public figures in the United States have condemned President Trump's proposal to "take over" and redevelop Gaza, saying this would amount to the ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinians.

On Thursday, 13 February, more than 350 rabbis and other Jewish public figures took out a full-page ad in the New York Times and used it to condemn President Trump's proposal.

The ad reads: "Trump has called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jewish people say no to ethnic cleansing!"

The huge list of the signatories includes: Rabbis Sharon Brous, Roly Matalon, and Alissa Wise, as well as Jewish actors, directors and writers, such as Tony Kushner, Naomi Klein, Joaquin Phoenix and his siblings Summer and Rain, Ilana Glazer, Eric André, Morgan Spector, Jonathan Glazer, Larry Charles, Peter Beinart, Tavi Gevison and Wallace Shawn.

President Trump's proposal for mass expulsion of Gazans who have survived the Israel-Hamas war, according to commentators, is reminiscent of the 1948 Nakba, the "catastrophe" in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes by Zionist paramilitaries.

Some argue that ethnic cleansing, if carried out with the intent to destroy a particular group, can meet the legal threshold for genocide, as defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention. Similarly, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) classifies deportation, forcible transfer, and persecution on ethnic grounds as crimes against humanity (Article 7), whilst the Geneva Conventions prohibit the forced displacement of civilians in armed conflicts (Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention).

Rabbi David Rosen, former International Director of Interfaith Affairs for the AJC (American Jewish Committee) and current Special Interfaith Advisor at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, said: "It is important that the world knows as much as possible that the initiative of President Trump as it stands, and as it has been understood, is not acceptable."

Speaking to Vatican News' Jean-Charles Putzolu, he said ethnic cleansing is not a solution. "Moving populations against their will is against the Geneva Convention...." "more importantly, it is immoral. It is unethical to move people away from their place of domicile."

He stressed that people wanting to move voluntarily is one thing-"but it has been presented as a forced movement, and that is morally unacceptable from an ethical and moral point of view."

In an interview with Fox News's Bret Baier over the weekend, President Trump said he would "own" Gaza and that it would be a "real estate development for the future."

"Think of it as a real estate development for the future, he added. "It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent."

After being asked whether Palestinians would have the right to return, Trump replied, "No, they wouldn't."

Speaking to The Guardian, Rabbi Yosef Berman of the New Synagogue Project in Washington, DC, responded to these comments by the US President saying, "Trump seems to believe he is God with authority to rule, own, and dominate our country and the world."

"Jewish teaching is clear: Trump is not God and cannot take away Palestinians' inherent dignity or steal their land for a real estate deal. Trump's desire to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza is morally abhorrent. Jewish leaders reject Trump's attempts to wring profit from displacement and suffering and must act to stop this heinous crime."

J Street, a liberal advocacy group that champions a "pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy" agenda, was among the first to denounce President Trump's plan. They described the proposal as "absolutely unacceptable" in a statement shared on social media shortly after its announcement.

Over the course of the week, the two largest American Jewish denominations, the Reform and Conservative movements, also issued statements objecting to Trump's plan. The Rabbinical Assembly, representing the Conservative movement, said the plan was "anathema to Jewish values and international human rights law." Read the full Rabbinical Assembly statement

The Union for Reform Judaism said emptying Gaza was "neither an acceptable strategic nor moral action." Click on the following link to read the full Union for Reform Judaism statement.