JVP Rabbinical Council Calls on Members of Congress to #skipAIPAC

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2019
Contact: Sonya E Meyerson-Knox | sonya@jvp.org | 929-290-0317
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Dear Members of Congress,

We, the members of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council urge you not to attend the upcoming AIPAC conference, March 24-26th 2019.

With the issue of the AIPAC now squarely in the public spotlight, we believe two things are indisputably clear: AIPAC does not speak for all Jews and it is not anti-Semitic to criticize its methods and tactics.

While AIPAC claims it speaks for all American Jews, as rabbis who serve the wider Jewish community, we know that is false. Growing numbers of Jews reject AIPAC’s claim to speak on their behalf, and instead are increasingly vocal in their criticism of Israel.

As rabbis, we dedicate our lives to the central Jewish principle that all humanity was created in God’s image. In contemporary terms this means we affirm that Judaism and human rights are inherently and fundamentally inextricable.

We are particularly dismayed that AIPAC regularly invites Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak at their convention, while his government openly aligns itself with anti-Semitic regimes throughout the world, supports anti-democratic measures against Israel’s non-Jewish population, and encourages violations of Palestinian human rights. If there could be any doubt, Netanyahu made his anti-democratic convictions abundantly clear when he recently stated that “Israel is the nation state not of all its citizens but only of the Jewish people.”

By attending the AIPAC convention, you will send a very real message that you support this government’s abuse of Palestinian human rights and its promotion of anti-democratic policies.

By not going to AIPAC you stand with the growing progressive movement of Americans and American Jews that want equality and freedom for all in Israel/Palestine.

Sincerely,

The Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council

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Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 200,000 online supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of leading U.S. intellectuals and artists.

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