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Jewish voices call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine

Jewish voices call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine

Jewish voices in calling for a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, say that first and foremost this requires an end to the occupation.
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Jewish Voice for Peace
19 July 2012

THE ISRAELI government often claims to act in the name and interests of all the Jews in the world. However, their actions do not reflect our Jewish values and beliefs.
We hold to Rabbi Hillel’s ancient precept: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” We support non-violent efforts that pressure the Israeli government to end its oppressive policies:
to remove the illegal settlements, the ‘separation wall,’ and the checkpoints it has built in the West Bank;
to end its inhuman siege of Gaza;
to respect the full equality of non-Jewish citizens of Israel;
to embrace a resolution of the conflict that is based on justice and that respects the common humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.
We condemn all acts of violence against civilians, be they Palestinian, Israeli, or others. We believe that one-sided US political, military, and financial (taxpayer) support of Israel has harmed both Israelis and Palestinians. It has not served the interests of peace or the American people. We call on Americans to demand an end to US enabling of Israel’s illegal and immoral acts.
Criticism of Israeli Actions and Policies is not Anti-Semitic
There is a difference between the government of Israel and the world Jewry.  Criticism of Israeli governmental actions is not an attack on either Jews or Judaism. Both Jews and non-Jews have a right—and a responsibility—to speak out against the injustices that are being perpetrated by the Israeli government and supported by the US government.
The incredible shrinking Palestine: a brief history
In 1947, the United Nations granted the Jewish immigrants in Palestine 55% of the Palestinians’ homeland, even though they then represented less than 1/3 of the population and had purchased less that 5% of the land. This partition left the Palestinians with only 45%.
The Jewish Agency, which was the provisional government before Israel declared statehood in 1948, immediately began to execute its strategic plan to cleanse its partition of the indigenous Arab population. This plan, developed over the previous decade, was called Plan Dalet. By the time that Israel declared its independence, on May 14, 1948, the majority of the Palestinians living within Israel had been forcibly expelled from their homes by Israeli regular and irregular military forces.
During the war of 1948, Israel not only continued this campaign of ethnic cleansing, but captured an additional 23% of historic Palestine, thereby leaving the Palestinians with only 22% of their ancestral land. By the end of 1949, Israel had expelled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land and destroyed over 400 villages. The Palestinians who were allowed to remain were placed under a direct military dictatorship for the next 16 years. In violation of international law, those who were expelled have never been allowed to return.
In 1967, Israel captured the remaining 22%: the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Israel has placed these Occupied Palestinian Territories under a brutal military occupation and has illegally transferred almost half a million of its own citizens there. This colonization of occupied territory is strictly prohibited by international law, as is the acquisition of territory through war.
To this day, Israel continues its strategic pattern of ethnic cleansing while constructing more illegal Jewish settlements and Jewish-only roads. It demolishes Palestinian homes and has built walls that concentrate Palestinians into small, isolated regions.
Israel maintains hundreds of military checkpoints (the Hebrew term translates as “obstacles”), which inhibit free travel. Because Israel controls all borders, air space, and natural resources, the Palestinian economy is thwarted at every turn. All this—together known as the Occupation—has produced poverty, hatred, and conflict.
In our view, a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, requires, first and foremost, an end to this Occupation.

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