By Rabbi Jeremy Simons
Jewish Congregation Bet Haverim, Davis and by The Union of Reformed Judaism
Reprinted with permission of the Rabbi
An unauthorized preface by Alan Hirsch
Please read carefully both statements beyond headline and first paragraphs. These are likely “Straussian texts” (after Maimonides) i.e. contain nuances and facts that may challenge the topic sentence. This would reflect the divergence in opinion on Israel within the liberal (‘reform’) part of religious Jewish community that its leadership has to straddle. I believe the fact they only once reference Netanyahu between two of them—and do not note his conduct of the war—is interesting. But don’t jump to conclusions- read closely and decide for yourself.
Most Jews in Davis – 60-80%?- are NOT religiously affiliated.
Reprinted with permission
Dear CBH members & friends,
I write to you having returned from vacation this morning. Like many of you, I have spent the last few weeks reading about the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The situation is complex; however, one thing is not: allowing people to starve to death, especially children, is wrong. There are those, including cabinet members of the current Israeli government, who say the lives of any of the 20 remaining hostages are worth more than those of all Gazans combined. While I believe Hamas bears responsibility for this disaster, there is a difference: Hamas is evil, and Israel is not. We ought to hold Israel to a higher standard. Israel, and Israel alone, has the power to allow or prohibit aid. To keep hundreds of tons of food in storage while people die of hunger miles away is indefensible. I say that not because I hate Israel–God forbid–but because I love it. I will not allow Zionism to be redefined by bigots and zealots who say, proudly, that Jewish lives are the only ones worth saving. Condemning a country’s actions and policies is not the same as condemning a country. Tochecha (rebuke) is necessary, as is demanding immediate humanitarian aid and an end to this war that will see the return of the remaining hostages. Below is a statement from the URJ that I urge you to read.
Rabbi Jeremy Simons
Davis Congregation Bet Haverim
Reform Judaism Movement’s (URJ+) Statement on Starvation in Gaza
July 27, 2025 – The ongoing crisis in Gaza is a devastating reminder of the immense human cost of war. Nearly two years into Israel’s war against Hamas, Israelis are still waiting for the return of their loved ones held hostage, and innocent Palestinians are caught in a mounting humanitarian catastrophe. Hamas has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to sacrifice the Palestinian people in its pursuit of Israel’s destruction, but Israel must not sacrifice its own moral standing in return. Neither escalating military pressure nor restricting humanitarian aid has brought Israel closer to securing a hostage deal or ending the war.
While long-delayed and not-yet-certain to be more effective than previous efforts, we are encouraged by Saturday night’s announcement that the Israeli military would revive the practice of dropping aid from airplanes and make it easier for aid convoys, including those from the UN’s World Food Program, to move through Gaza along “designated humanitarian corridors,” and to temporarily cease fighting in Gaza for a humanitarian pause.
No one should be unaffected by the pervasive hunger experienced by thousands of Gazans. No one should spend the bulk of their time arguing technical definitions between starvation and pervasive hunger. The situation is dire, and it is deadly. Nor should we accept arguments that because Hamas is the primary reason many Gazans are either starving or on the verge of starving, that the Jewish State is not also culpable in this human disaster. The primary moral response must begin with anguished hearts in the face of such a large-scale human tragedy.
Our tradition teaches that all people are created b’tzelem Elohim—in the image of God. One consequence of this is the moral priority, which is affirmed throughout the Bible and rabbinic tradition, of feeding the hungry—both for the individual and for the self-governing Jewish community.
More than a few members of the current Israeli government have publicly called for Israel to decimate the Gaza strip. The most recent was Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu who, on Thursday lauded the Israeli government for “racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out.” He added: “Thank God, we are wiping out this evil.” Of equal concern are far-right Israeli politicians who advocate for Israel to permanently push most Gazans from much of Gaza and replace them with Jewish settlements. We condemn all such statements. They do not represent Jewish values nor those embodied in the Zionist vision that produced Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
Despite PM Netanyahu’s calls to ignore these full members of his cabinet, their presence in this government has consistently morally compromised Israel’s actions.
Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the “total victory” over Hamas it seeks, nor can it be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law. It’s hard to imagine that this tragic approach will bring home the 50 remaining hostages, including the 20 who we pray are still alive.
It’s imperative that the Government of Israel ensures that the recently announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid succeed as Israel works with international partners to ensure its safe and sustained delivery and do whatever possible to reduce or eliminate the shootings and other injuries sustained at food distribution centers. We applaud Israel’s green light for foreign nations to resume providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza population desperate for food and are confident that they will do all they can to ensure that such aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas.
As Israel has effective control of 70% of Gaza, with the intent to remain in significant swaths of it, even if only temporarily, it should be directly involved, facilitate and cooperate with the international community, international humanitarian NGOs, and regional friends, to take urgently needed actions, such as these suggested by Israeli Reform rabbi and Member of Knesset Gilad Kariv:
- To prevent the alarming number of civilian deaths in and around the food and humanitarian aid distribution sites.
- Opening a significant number of food distribution centers at various locations across the Gaza Strip.
- Large-scale entry of infant formula (especially liquid formula) and ensuring safe delivery to both functioning medical centers and the few remaining international aid facilities.
- Establishing secure methods — potentially through cooperation with regional countries — for delivering food supplies to aid organizations and international agencies.
- Resuming sufficient water supply to population centers in Gaza, in accordance with international health standards.
- Authorizing and assisting in the supply of medications, the establishment of field hospitals and clinics operated by remaining Palestinian medical staff, by foreign governments and by international agencies, especially in areas where hospitals have ceased functioning.
Finally, while it is imperative that Israel and the U.S. resume diplomacy to bring home all hostages and end this war, denying basic humanitarian aid crosses a moral line. Blocking food, water, medicine, and power—especially for children—is indefensible. Let us not allow our grief to harden into indifference, nor our love for Israel to blind us to the cries of the vulnerable. Let us rise to the moral challenge of this moment.
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her) North American Board Chair
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him) President
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him) President
Rabbi Hara Person (she/her) Chief Executive Officer
American Conference of Cantors
Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him) President
Rachel Roth (she/her) Chief Operating Officer
This from Thom Friedman in the NYT nails it in my humble opinion:
“My answer: What makes this war different is that it pits what I believe is the worst, most fanatical and amoral government in Israel’s history against the worst, most fanatical, murderous organization in Palestinian history.”
“But they are alike not just in the awfulness of their goals — each seeking to wipe out the other to control all the territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. They are also guided by leaders who have consistently prioritized their own political survival and ideological obsessions over the basic well-being of their own people — not to mention the interests of the United States.
There has been talk of an aid crisis for over a year.
This is not a crisis at this point, its just culmination of actions that preceed it.
For what purpose have we sent $18 billion in arms here?
Hamas could never destroy Israel.
AH say: “There has been talk of an aid crisis for over a year.”
There was talk of a ‘genocide’ weeks before Israel even went into Gaza.
AH say: “This is not a crisis at this point, its just culmination of actions that preceed it.”
Everything is a culmination of actions that preceded. What is your point?
AH say: “For what purpose have we sent $18 billion in arms here?”
To destroy Hamas and other Iran proxy and to protect Israel.
AH say: “Hamas could never destroy Israel.”
You say that as if slaughtering 1200+ people and taking 200+ hostage is not reason enough to destroy Hamas’ military capability completely, which is difficult as they have spent nearly 20 years building a tunnel network and preparing for this very situation.
AH say: “Most Jews in Davis – 60-80%?- are NOT religiously affiliated.”
You tout yourself as a man of science, yet here you are doing nothing more than making S up. This is the wrongful thinking of Scientism. What are your terms for what ‘religiously affiliated’ means? You did not state them. What was your sample, and how did you preclude bias? Furthermore, there is an implicated that those religiously affiliated may . . . what? . . . have more of a tendency to be conservative . . . or support Israel. Yet, I can tell you that’s a crock of S, because I am not ‘religiously affiliated’, maybe, I think, though you didn’t define your terms. Yet I support Israel, in destroying Hamas’ military capability and hopefully getting the hostages back — but I’m not ‘religiously affiliated’. And I sure as H don’t support the crazy-arse far right in the cabinet. So what was your point in stating a number you pulled out of your arse? And how do you justify not using scientific method to achieve that figure?
I don’t have a huge issue with the letters — at least they don’t trash the Jewish community or make up lies about and do mention hey maybe Hamas has a big part in this. But — and not to make light of the horrific conditions in Gaza — but did anyone confirm this photo? After the controversy over the NYTimes photo, it would seem likely this is a similar situation. I’m pretty sure it’s ‘real’, but is it illustrative or propaganda? And no, ‘it’s so bad that it’s OK to exaggerate to make the point’ is not helpful to anyone, including those short on food, because lies do not in the long run help one’s cause. I did try to find or confirm this picture from elsewhere and cannot. Anyone?
“New York Times stunningly rolls back claims about viral photo of starving Gaza boy”
That’s just it, you don’t know what or who to believe. The NY Times is supposed to be credible but we all know they’re left wing activists.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/29/media/new-york-times-stunningly-rolls-back-claims-about-viral-photo-of-starving-gaza-boy/
“Op-ed | Israel Must End Hamas-caused Gaza Starvation”
The main problem I have with this headline is that it is too long, by the three words after the hyphen :-|
Good one, I totally agree.
The world would be much better without Hamas.
There’s something all of us can agree on
Thumbs up!
“The world would be much better without Hamas.”
The world would be much better off without the conditions that led to the success of Hamas.
You could ask the same question in regard to Hitler (or a bunch of other leaders, past and present).
After WWII, Germany, Japan, and Italy seemed to become reasonable, successful countries again. (You don’t hear as much in regard to Italy, in regard to what happened afterward. I suspect that’s because they weren’t as “on board” with Mussolini, but I’m not sure.)
And since the Soviet Union gave-up East Germany, I assume it’s also more-successful again.
Life itself goes on, even after massive individual losses.
“After WWII, Germany, Japan, and Italy seemed to become reasonable, successful countries again.”
The Marshall Plan rebuilt Germany. Japan was demilitarized and became a strong Western ally, forging close economic ties to the US and Europe. They also had a lot to offer economically.
I find it interesting that many say that we cannot ‘defeat an idea’ in Gaza, so we can never destroy Hamas. And yet, we defeated Nazism and Japanese Imperialism. If Hamas’ ideas are so undefeatable as some claim, then why? Even if so, the end game is to remove Hamas’ military capability and thus their ability to fire rockets into Israel and slaughter people in Israel en masse. If the ideas are not destroy-able, the harm they can cause can be destroyed. There are a Nazi’s, so Ok I guess the ‘idea’ isn’t dead, but at least Nazism hasn’t had an army in 80 years.
Unfortunately Israeli policy is also a huge part of the problem.
Probably so. Then again, I suspect that Israel (and/or the U.S.) could manage Gaza in a better manner than most.
The older I get, the more that I see the U.S. as rather benevolent and helpful, in regard to world affairs. (Maybe even under Trump, at times – though I’m reluctant to say that.)
In any case, I value those moments when Trump acknowledges “real starvation”, for example. Perhaps that’s a sign of “low expectations”, if you will.
Truth be told, religion is holding back the world – especially Muslims at this point in time. Sorry to say that, as I know it’s not politically-correct (even if true). Dump that, and the world will improve. (And that goes for the guy in the white hat as well, but less-so, since he seems to ineffectively advocate for peace, at least.)
The opposite for me.
It was Colin Powell who said something like “the only thing America has asked for is a place to bury its dead” (from wars, on behalf of other countries).
Then again, I sometimes wonder if Canada and Greenland would be better-off as part of the U.S. (I also wonder that in regard to Russia taking over Ukraine, and China taking over Taiwan.)
Maybe we have “too many” countries, and the world would be better-off with some consolidation.
At some point, I start thinking about the “United Federation of Planets”. (Not sure if the Klingons eventually became our allies, in one of those movies.) But this is a semi-serious comment, in regard to the underlying message.
How about “everyone” being part of NATO – including Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, etc.? :-)
Hamas originated in Gaza from the Muslim Brotherhood which was transnational. If Hamas went away somehow, another similar entity would replace it because of the conditions there.
Whether Hamas continues to run Gaza will likely be a decision for the residents to make, though when or how they’ll be allowed to do so is certainly an open question. Public opinions there are changing but there’s no clarity to the preferred outcome.
https://pcpsr.org/en/node/997
Fatah has limited support in Gaza, and no other group of significant size speaks for Palestinian interests. Hence, Hamas will likely remain until conditions change or a new regime is imposed.
It’s unfortunate that George W. Bush and Condoleeza Rice pushed so hard for the 2006 elections in the Palestinian Territories that resulted in the election of Hamas. Literally nobody expected them to win, but contingency planning was obviously insufficient.
It’s unfortunate that Abbas didn’t insist on disarming Hamas before the elections.
It’s unfortunate that the Netanyahu government funneled financial support to Hamas in order to weaken the Fatah Party and Mahmoud Abbas.
It’s unfortunate that none of the parties have made efforts to create livable conditions in Gaza. 60 – 80% unemployment over multiple decades is a recipe for civil unrest.
Terrorist organizations generally don’t arise and sustain themselves unless social conditions are dire.
Don says: “The Marshall Plan rebuilt Germany. Japan was demilitarized and became a strong Western ally, forging close economic ties to the US and Europe. They also had a lot to offer economically.”
That’s the ticket. There has to be a “do-over” in these places. (Pretty sure that neither of those places had much to offer economically, until after they were rebuilt.)
And like Germany and Japan, not “subject to a vote”. (We’ve already seen what happens when they are, as you noted.) At this point, the U.S. and Israel should just take-over Gaza on behalf of the people, there. (At first, they probably wouldn’t realize that this is for their own benefit – as it was in Japan and Germany. But that will change, over time – and not very much time.)
Ultimately, the U.S. is not responsible for dummies in other countries. We already have enough of them, here.