There shall be one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who resides with you (Numbers 15:16)
We are outraged that at least nine of our fellow Israeli and North American rabbis and dozens of others were detained while assisting a Palestinian family harvesting olives, and we call upon Israeli authorities to follow due process, immediately release all those detained, and protect Palestinians who peacefully work their land from harassment and violence.*
That farmers need to have others serve as a protective presence from violent settlers is itself a betrayal of Jewish values. Yet recent settler attacks on Palestinian harvesters and those working alongside them - and authorities' failure or refusal to stop such attacks - have made that protective presence necessary.
Our global memberships span the political and ideological spectrum. Yet we are united in opposing all forms of terrorism across the region and in our conviction that detaining rabbis working for justice undermines Israel's democratic values.
We are in close contact with our members and others on the scene and are reviewing all the details as they emerge. As we gather information about this detention, we call on the Israeli government to release the detainees immediately, enable the productive harvesting of land, and turn its law enforcement efforts toward the violent settlers who have long been attacking Palestinian farmers and, more recently, journalists and diplomats.
Rabbinical Assembly
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
MERCAZ USA
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Union for Reform Judaism
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Reconstructing Judaism
*We appreciate that some of those detained are now being released, but this never should have happened in the first place.