Shabbat Gathering: Letter to President Biden.

Dear Chevrei, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

On March 5, 2024, Reconstructing Judaism and Renewal Judaism joined with Progressive Israel Network organizations in signing a letter to President Joe Biden.

Here’s the text of the letter:

Dear President Biden,
We write to you as American Jews – member organizations of the Progressive Israel Network – who represent the vast majority of liberal American Jews.

We thank you for your sincere, deep, and ongoing solidarity with Israelis and the Jewish diaspora in the United States and around the world. You have stood with the victims of Hamas’ October 7 atrocities, have shared the grief and pain of those whose loved ones have been taken hostage, and made clear – in word and in deed – that the United States will defend Israel from existential threats.

For your compassion, principles, and enduring support, you have earned the deep and abiding trust of the Israeli people and Jewish people around the world.

All of us invested in the fate of the ongoing war in the region stand at a critical juncture. As we come upon the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and stand on the brink of a potential Israeli military campaign in Rafah, where over 1.2 million Palestinian civilians are sheltering, the situation on the ground has the potential to deteriorate even further. As American Jews, we are profoundly concerned with the risks that this moment poses to Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region.

We firmly believe that there is no military solution to this conflict; the only future for Israelis and Palestinians is a shared future; and we must raise up, not shut down, our shared humanity in this moment.

To that end, we, members of the Progressive Israel Network, stand together in support of your efforts to seek a viable path out of this nightmare — a bilateral ceasefire that brings a stop to fighting, a release of all hostages, and a surge in humanitarian assistance. We also turn to you for further leadership in laying out a plan for peace, security, freedom, and self-determination for all.

Out of this dark chapter in the history of Israelis and Palestinians we can write a new and better one. One that delivers the promise of safety, freedom and peace to Israelis and Palestinians now and for generations to come.

With gratitude for your leadership,

ALEPH
Ameinu
Americans for Peace Now
Habonim Dror North America
J Street
New Israel Fund
NYJA (New York Jewish Agenda)
Partners for Progressive Israel
Reconstructing Judaism
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

That’s it for this week’s newsletter.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.