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I urge you to take part in two conversations organized by our Israel Committee that highlight the moral and humanitarian danger of the Netanyahu government's proposal to annex parts of the West Bank.  

T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, has written a short statement clarifying their reasons for opposing annexation.  Chief among them is that annexation would create a situation in which Palestinians would be denied basic democratic rights.  The T'ruah statement emphasizes how annexation would therefore undermine Israel's status as a democracy and violate Israel's founding principles as enshrined in Israel's Declaration of Independence.  

For many years now, CBI has been a community where we have had the opportunity to support organizations and people seeking peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis.  With respect to all who hold the range of opinions in our community, we have committed ourselves to welcoming both Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who devote their lives to a long term future based on a mutual recognition of each other's history and humanity.

Amid our response to Covid-19 and the protests in support of Black lives, I have not taken the opportunity to draw our collective attention to the danger of annexation as I should have. I am therefore especially grateful to the Israel Committee for organizing these important conversations, which will be recorded and available for viewing in the future.

Over the next several months, I anticipate that we will see additional calls to urge the Netanyahu government to abandon its goal of annexation.  For our community, I hope these two conversations represent an important and crucial first step toward our ongoing action in the future.