Statement
“One who is able to protest against a wrong that is being done
in his family, his city, his nation or the world and does not do so
is held accountable for that wrong being done.”
–Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbat 54b
“In a democracy some are guilty but all are responsible.”
“The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference.”
–Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Jewish tradition is not a pacifist tradition. Several chapters of the book of Deuteronomy delineate the laws of war, and good portions of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings describe stories of war, just and unjust. At the same time God denied David the right to build the Temple in Jerusalem because he had too much blood on his hands and gave that privilege to his son Solomon, who preferred peaceful resolutions to conflict. Judaism, however, is a Rabbinic and not purely a Biblical tradition. The Rabbis, following the Hebrew prophets, were strongly aware that war was the most destructive of all activities. Even a war that is permitted or necessary is evil, as it unleashes uncontrolled violence and death and brings out the worst in humanity. For example, the rabbis legislate that a kohen/priest who killed an enemy during a war, even in obvious self defense, is not allowed to serve in the Temple.
For this reason, in the legal world envisioned by the Rabbis, the king would have to get permission from the high priest and the high court to wage war. This set of checks and balances insured that leaders would not go to war on a whim.
Believing in the wisdom and relevance of the Jewish tradition, we, the undersigned, maintain that the invasion of Iraq was not just and that the continued occupation extends this injustice. It is now common knowledge that the “permission” to prosecute this war was gained under false pretenses by our president, and that the goals of the war were ill-considered, unrealistic, and poorly planned. The injustice of these goals was compounded by the poor execution of the Administration’s war plans, which has been characterized by appalling incompetence, rampant corruption, and widespread war profiteering. As concerned members of this democracy, we believe it is the moral responsibility of the current administration to end this war. The violence unleashed by the American invasion in Iraq has resulted, to date, in the deaths of hundreds of thousands1 of Iraqis and over 3,200 US troops as well as the wounding and maiming of hundreds of thousands of American troops and innocent civilians. Millions have become refugees. Iraq is embroiled in a civil war in which civilians are killed every day. More than 75% of Iraqis are opposed to the American occupation. America’s reputation in the region has been significantly compromised, seriously affecting its ability to have a positive influence in the future. There is no escaping the hard fact that the American military presence in Iraq is causing far more harm than good.
We the undersigned implore our elected officials to act according to the will of the people of this great country and end this war! We ask that Congress set hard and fast limits on the ability of the President to expand this war or to extend it further in a military action against Iran.
Signatories*
*Institutional affiliation is for purposes of identification only and should not be taken as an endorsement by said institutions.