CrossFireArabia
Over 350 rabbis and Jewish fugures have called for an end to US President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza, stating “Jewish People Say No to Ethnic Cleansing!”
The group made the call on Thursday in a full-page ad in The New York Times entitled, “Jewish People Say No to Ethnic Cleansing!”
Actor Joaquin Phoenix, playwright Tony Kushner, and comedian Ilana Glazer also joined the call.
The rabbis who signed the ad include those from Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal and Kohenet movements working in congregations, campuses, hospitals, rabbinical seminaries, and community organisations around the world.
“Donald Trump – like Pharaoh in the Bible – 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,” rabbi Yosef Berman of the New Synagogue Project in Washington, DC, said.
“Trump’s desire to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza is morally abhorrent.”
Actor Glazer said it is imperative to stand with Palestinians.
“We, Jews, and all of us who care about basic human rights must speak up and stand up to ensure Palestinians remain on their land so they can rebuild their homes and lives in Gaza after the genocidal destruction they have endured,” she said. “All of our safety is intertwined.”
At least one thousand additional leaders and members of the Jewish community from around the globe have signed the call since the ad was published on Thursday, according to reports.
The move comes after Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza and forcibly expel its more than 2 million Palestinians.
Trump has also called on Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries to take in Palestinians – a proposal that has been met with widespread criticism and rejection from Arab countries and other allies while being condemned as an ethnic-cleansing plan.
In an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier at the weekend, Trump also said he would “own” Gaza and said it would be a “real estate development for the future”. Asked whether Palestinians would have the right to return, Trump said: “No, they wouldn’t.”
“In the meantime, I would own this,” Trump – a former real estate developer – added, saying: “Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”
Peter Beinart, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, who also signed the ad, said: “It is utterly horrifying to see the degree to which people who enjoy great legitimacy and respect in our community are willing to support something that would be considered one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century.”
