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July 8, 2005
Statement of the
Orthodox Union with Regard
to the Pending
Implementation of
the Government of
Israel’s Plan to “Disengage”
from Gaza and
Northern Samaria; OU
Leadership Working to Communicate
Constituency’s Views to U.S. &
Israeli Officials in
a Forceful & Effective Fashion
In November,
2004, national leaders and community synagogue delegates of the
Orthodox Union gathered in the holy city of Jerusalem for the
organization’s biennial convention. At this gathering, the
delegates debated and adopted policy Resolutions to guide the
organization’s actions on a range of critical topics. Among those
topics was Prime Minister Sharon’s “disengagement plan.” After
extensive debate and consideration, the following Resolution was
adopted by the convention:
The State of Israel remains a primary focal point of Jewish
aspiration and prayer. We reaffirm our abiding commitment to a
spiritually vibrant Medinat Yisrael and to the promise of a
genuine and lasting peace for which the people of Israel and Jews
throughout history have longed and sacrificed.
We meet in Jerusalem, our nation’s eternal spiritual heart and
indivisible political capital. We meet at a time of great testing,
resolute in our support for Medinat Yisrael, thankful for the
unwavering bond of friendship between the people of the United
States and the State of Israel, and deeply aware that questions of
Israeli foreign policy and domestic security are best left to the
citizens of Israel and the State of Israel’s democratically
elected institutions.
At the same time, as concerned North American Jews, we have our
own views on various Israeli policies. We have always sought to
make the concerns of our constituents known to Israeli government
officials in a forceful and effective fashion. It has always been
the Orthodox Union’s belief that any discussion of Israeli
government policy or initiative from Jewish communities outside
the country be handled sensitively and in a manner that does not
weaken Israel’s position or standing in the global community.
Thoughtful North American Jewish friends of Israel are to be found
on every side of the various complex issues facing Israel today.
In particular, the current Israeli debate over disengagement from
Gaza and parts of Shomron has evoked strongly held feeling within
the Orthodox Union family. The intensity of these emotions is
compounded by the profound identification that so many in our
community feel with the plight of Jews who face removal from their
homes in areas that resonate in Jewish history, and where their
presence was encouraged and supported by the State of Israel.
At the same
time, there is so much we all agree upon, including:
-
our abiding
belief that everlasting peace would be the greatest blessing that
God could grant the State and people of Israel;
-
our abiding
solidarity with the people of Israel, particularly their valiant
armed forces and the victims of Arab terror and their families;
-
our
admiration and encouragement for those in Israel and North America
who express their differences with civility, eschewing behavior,
language, and terminology of hatred and vigilantism;
-
our strong support for Israel’s security fence and other
defensive measures taken to prevent terrorism and our outrage at
spurious efforts to challenge these measures by the United
Nations, the World Court and the media.
We accordingly resolve that:
The incoming administration of the
Orthodox Union is mandated to continue to mobilize public and
communal support for a secure State of Israel, while sharing,
sensitively and with due discretion, the full range of our
constituents’ views on divisive issues with appropriate
representatives of the Israeli and American governments.
In the months since the adoption of this Resolution, its
principles have been reaffirmed by the Orthodox Union’s Board of
Directors and its mandate -- to make the concerns of our
constituents known to Israeli and American government officials in
a forceful and effective fashion -- has been implemented by the
senior leaders of the Orthodox Union.
Orthodox Union leaders have initiated private in-person meetings
and communications with senior Israeli government officials
expressing the views and concerns of the Orthodox Union’s
constituency with regard to the assessments of the disengagement
plan’s impact on Israel’s security as well as the government’s
plans for the actual relocation and transfer of Israeli citizens
as well as religious infrastructure such as synagogues and
cemeteries. Orthodox Union leaders have also stressed to
government officials the need for the state to retain an
environment within which public debate and disagreement is
nurtured and not frustrated and we are encouraged by governmental
efforts as well as the efforts of leaders of anti-disengagement
protests to interact in a civil and peaceful manner.
Orthodox Union leaders have initiated private in-person meetings
and communications with the President of the United States and
senior American administration officials and leaders in the U.S.
Congress. These communications and meetings have also been a
productive means of expressing the views of the community,
particularly with regard to the lack of sustained activity by the
Palestinian Authority to confront and dismantle terrorist groups
and activities.
Orthodox Union leaders have also tasked the organization’s Israel
Center in Jerusalem to work directly with the residents who are
being asked to move by making available to them the resources and
programs of our Israel Center.
The Orthodox Union will continue these efforts as they constitute
the most productive and unique role the Orthodox Union can play in
the array of community activity directed at this historic moment
in the life of the Jewish People.
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