Coalition of Jewish Leaders Release Petition with Over 1000 Signatures Urging an End to the Iraq War

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

“Jews Against the War” (JAW) to deliver petition signed by members of every Jewish denomination to Congress and run it as an ad in a major Jewish publication

News Release
For Immediate Release: May 21, 2007

Contacts (available May 22-23): Zack Kaldveer, Publicist, 510-938-2664, Dr. Aryeh Cohen, 310-440-1262, Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, 626-798-1161

(CA) The day before Shavuot, a Jewish holiday marking the day the Torah was delivered at Mount Sinai, “Jews Against the War” (www.jewsagainstthewar.org) released a petition signed by over 1000 Jews, including members of every major religious denomination - from Orthodox to Conservative to Reform to Reconstructionist to Renewal - urging an end to the war in Iraq. The signatures were gathered during the weeks between Passover and Shavuot, and include the support of over 250 rabbis, educators and Jewish professionals.

JAW is a grassroots organization dedicated to ending the Iraq War and preventing one with Iran. The group will deliver the petition to every member of Congress and run it as an ad in a major Jewish publication. JAW was launched on March 19th 2007 - the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq - to give voice to the majority of American Jews who oppose the war. A recent Gallup poll indicated that fully 77% of American Jews think the Iraq War was a mistake, compared with just 52% of the general American public. This disparity between the poll results versus the relative lack of an active and vocal Jewish effort to oppose the war was integral to the organization’s initial creation.

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Coalition Announces Launch of “Jews Against the War” to Give Voice to Anti-War Jewish Majority

Monday, March 19th, 2007

Coalition Announces Launch of “Jews Against the War”
to Give Voice to Anti-War Jewish Majority

New Gallup Poll Shows 77% of American Jews Oppose War

(CA - Los Angeles) On the fourth anniversary of the war on Iraq, a coalition of Jewish leaders announced the launch of “Jews Against the War” (JAW), an organization dedicated to ending the Iraq war and preventing one with Iran. The group will also focus on mobilizing the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans opposed to the war - demonstrated by a new Gallup poll showing 77% of Jews believe the Iraq War was a mistake, compared with 52% of the general American public.

This strong anti-war sentiment indicated in the poll is reflective of the Jewish community’s long history of standing up for social justice and human rights. Prominent Jewish leaders played an active role in protesting against the Vietnam War and supporting the struggle for civil rights in the South. The problem JAW sees is the disparity between these poll numbers versus the lack of an active and united Jewish effort to end the war. JAW will seek to give voice to this emerging consensus among Jews that America’s occupation of Iraq must end, something that hasn’t been done by leading pro-Israel lobby groups.

“We couldn’t continue to remain silent on one of the most catastrophic, immoral and tragic foreign policy decisions in the history of our country,” said Aryeh Cohen, Asst. Prof. of Rabbinic Literature at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. “The Talmud teaches that silence is akin to assent. Jews that oppose this administration’s illegal war must come together, speak in one voice, and say loudly and clearly: Bring the troops home and stop the endless cycle of violence.”

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