WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – Hundreds of rabbis in the U.S. have signed a petition to block far-right members of the incoming Zionist rulers, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, from speaking to their synagogues and their communities.
The open letter states that the rabbis will not invite any members from the bloc of the new rulers, which includes far-right lawmakers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich
“We will speak out against their participation in other fora across our communities,” the letter states.
“We will encourage the boards of our congregations and organizations to join us in this protest as a demonstration of our commitment to our Jewish and democratic values.”
According to The Times of Israel, the letter had more than 330 signatures as of Friday morning.
The letter was signed by a range of Jewish religious leaders from Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, including some who lead major communities in Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago. However, it does not include any signatories from the Orthodox movement.
Netanyahu’s bloc sailed to victory in the October elections thanks to an alliance with far-right Zionist parties.
The parties’ leaders have secured positions in a future cabinet that may help them push through policies such as annexing large swaths of the occupied West Bank, expanding illegal settlements, and allowing Zionists at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Members of the regime occasionally speak at synagogues in the U.S. to garner support amongst Jewish communities.
The letter that has been circulating this week is a clear sign of a growing divide between the regime’s rulers and segments of the American Jewish community.
The election of the far-right coalition in the occupied territories was a shock to some segments of the Jewish community in the U.S. However, the community’s perception of the occupying regime has already been changing.
After the regime’s bombing of Gaza last May, 25 percent of American Jewish voters said the Zionist regime was an apartheid regime, in a poll conducted by the Jewish Electorate Institute. Another 38 percent of voters said the regime’s treatment of Palestinians was similar to general racism in the U.S.
“There already is a widening divide in American Jewish politics around Israel. It’s already generationally divided. Younger Jews are statistically more likely to be critical and more likely to be disengaged. And I think that [the Israeli election] is just going to contribute to continuing that trend,” Mari Cohen, assistant editor at Jewish Currents, told MEE in November.
The letter specifically called out Religious Zionism, which won 14 seats in the November election running on a joint slate with the Otzma Yehudit, (“Jewish Power”), and Noam, which fights for conservative “family values”. The three factions split apart after the election.