We are a group of Illinois rabbis and cantors who are part of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, a national Jewish organization representing over 2,300 rabbis and cantors across the country.
We were deeply disappointed when Illinois passed SB 1761 in 2015, part of the worrisome wave of anti-democratic laws that have swept across the nation penalizing companies that endorse the non-violent call of Palestinian civil society for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel. And, we are fundamentally concerned with the Illinois Investment Policy Board‘s decisions on divestment based on that law.
Some of us who are signatories on this letter support BDS, and others do not. Many of us make a clear distinction between boycotting products from or sales in the Occupied West Bank and in Israel proper, a distinction that even the Jewish United Fund of Chicago has made in its decision not to invest beyond the “Green Line.” We all believe, however, in the freedom to exercise a non-violent, economic boycott in the pursuit of justice.
Most recently, we object to the IIPB’s December vote to divest from Unilever because its subsidiary, Ben & Jerry’s, decided not to sell ice cream in the Occupied Territories. In doing so, the State of Illinois is recognizing Israeli sovereignty over disputed land that not even the State of Israel acknowledges. And to consider punishing an American company, Morningstar, for its subsidiary’s rating scale – a scale evenly applied to many countries with respect to human rights – is to go beyond the purview of the law. Given these attempts to define the parameters of SB 1761 so loosely, the IIPB’s actions appear to us to be poor application of a bad law.
Our tradition declares “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” (Deut. 16:20) insisting on justice for those with whom we disagree as much as for those with whom we sympathize. We find the IIPB’s punitive actions against companies exercising their free speech rights to engage in boycott to be patently unjust. As recently stated by T’ruah: “A true commitment to the First Amendment requires us to defend the principles of free speech even, and especially, when we find it objectionable or offensive.”
Therefore, we call on the Illinois Investment Pension Board not to punish people and businesses that support BDS or engage in boycotts. In the United States of America, our consciences, like our practice of religion, should be free from State control.
Rabbi Ilana Axel, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Andrea London, Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, Evanston, IL
Rabbi Michael Davis, Hebrew Seminary, Skokie, IL
Rabbi Bruce Elder, Congregation Hakafa, Glencoe, IL
Rabbi Laurence Edwards, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Maralee Gordon, Woodstock, Illinois
Rabbi Suzanne Griffel, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva, Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Max Weiss, Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion, Oak Park, IL
Rabbi Rachel Weiss, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL.
It is like a breath of fresh air to read articles like this and know that there are genuinely good people in the Jewish community who speak out for human rights and justice, especially Rabbis.
Israel is not looking so good right now because of the Russian aggression and attack on Ukraine. Many people are now pointing out to the fact that the poor Palestinians have been going through the same suffering now witnessed going on in Ukraine. There is a strong similarity that is obvious to many. Bennet’s recent trip to meet the ex KGB thug, resulted in failure to stop the blood shed going on in Ukraine. Maybe Putin simply reminded the other war criminal that Israel has been doing the same for decades.
Russia seems to have take many pages out of Israel’s playbook – False flags. Occupation. Theft of lands. Violence against civilians. Bombing of hospitals and claiming weapons being stored there. Unprovoked wars and excessive violence against a weaker side. Controlling the message/manipulation by troll farms and social media. Claiming rights to lands and territories which are disputed. Annexations of territories, and so much more.
What the US, UK, EU, and the rest of the world did not (and would not) do for the Palestinians:
Supply them with weapons to defend themselves. Send millions of dollars to support them, Impose harsh and crippling sanctions against Israel (BDS). Get the same businesses to leave Israel. Remove Israel from ALL international committees, including in the sports arena. Limits of access to Banking systems. Stop the aid, and supplying of weapons….the list can go on.
Whether it is white skinned Europeans, or brown skinned Muslims, the pain and suffering is the same. They all face the same violence and aggression inflicted by war criminals (who try to convince the world it is justified, and somehow THEY are the victims). They should all be protected and supported in the same manner. ALL lives are precious and deserve that protection.
Unfortunately the US Congress and the Media will never mention the glaring similarities, the elephant in the room.
The hypocrisy stinks to high heaven.
1 of 2
Speaking of “free speech” re BDS, I just received this news item from my Canadian friend.
“Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Combatting Antisemitism, delivered a virtual speech on January 26 at an event hosted by the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Cotler’s speech reinforced hatred against the indigenous Semitic Palestinian people in a way that is consistent with a broader pattern, used by apologists for Israeli apartheid, of silencing and erasing Palestinian voices. Cotler accused critics of Israel of promoting hatred of Jews since Israel is the world’s only Jewish state.”
“Cotler’s statement is as absurd as stating that criticism of the white supremacist regime of former South Africa promotes hatred of all white people or that criticizing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the world’s only Russian state, promotes hatred of all Russian people.
“By calling Israel ‘the world’s only Jewish state’, Cotler also echoes apartheid Israel’s beliefs which ignore the existence of 20% of Israel’s citizens who are Christian and Muslim Palestinians.
“Cotler went on to defend and justify Israel’s racism against indigenous Semitic Palestinians by stating that calling Israel an ‘apartheid state’ is another example of modern-day antisemitism.
“By doing so, Cotler brushed aside the indisputable findings of many renowned human rights organizations – including Israel’s B’Tselem’s report of January 2021, New York-based Human Rights Watch’s report of April 2021 and London-based Amnesty International’s report of February 2022 – that Israel has for 73 years been committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution and domination over 7 million indigenous Semitic Palestinians under its control and of the six million Semitic Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries who have not been allowed to return to their homeland since 1948.
“Alarmingly, Cotler implicitly slandered many Palestinian and international human rights groups including reputable mainstream ones such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – who dedicate their time and energy exposing human rights violations anywhere in the world and whose recent reports condemn apartheid Israel and call for sanctions – by accusing them of hating Jews.
(cont’d)
2 of 2
“Understandably, Israel tries to divert attention from its actions by claiming it represents World Jewry and accusing its critics of hating Jews. Cotler’s echoing of Israel’s claim is a serious mistake since it implies that all Jews are responsible for the crimes against humanity being committed by the apartheid Israeli regime.
“Even worse, Cotler is also promoting hatred against all those Jews who believe Israel is an apartheid state. An April 2021 poll by B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, found that 25% of Israeli Jews believe Israel is an apartheid state. A July 2021 poll commissioned by the Jewish Electorate Institute shows 25% of US Jews and 38% of US Jews under the age of 40 agreed that ‘Israel is an apartheid state.’
“Ironically, instead of combatting hatred of Jews, Cotler is targeting 25% of Israeli and American Jews, and Canadian Jewish groups (including Independent Jewish Voices and Palestinian and Jewish Unity) who assert Israel is an apartheid state.
“Desperately, Cotler attempted in his U of T speech to defend a racist regime (that enshrines Jewish supremacy between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea over the indigenous Semitic Muslim and Christian Palestinians who have inhabited the area for thousands of years) by resorting to slandering reputable human rights organizations and Jewish critics of Israel and by promoting anti-Palestinian racism.
“By having a special envoy who openly defends an apartheid regime that has been committing for 73 years crimes against humanity over the indigenous Palestinian people, tarnishes Canada’s image since it implies that Canada will tolerate racism against any racial or religious group and that it will silence those who expose racism in Palestine and Canada, including acclaimed human rights groups and Jews.”
Oh my. It’s not that long ago that no rabbi, no cantor, would dare criticize Israel for fear of losing their job. Where a few go, many may well follow.