2009 Convention Resolution: Supporting Israel’s Defense Forces

The contemporary battles that the Jewish people must confront in the media and the public arena may be, in their own way, as dangerous and destructive to the Jewish future as the engagement of weaponry in the actual theater of war. The State of Israel, in particular, is regularly attacked in these venues, in which preposterous accusations, no matter their level of veracity, promote hatred for Judaism and the Jewish people throughout the world.

In its ongoing war on terror, the Israel Defense Forces recently entered Gaza through Operation Cast Lead. The IDF strove to protect the citizens of the State of Israel from the deadly rocket attacks that have been recklessly launched, daily, into its population centers and cities, with the expressed purpose of taking the lives of its innocent civilians.

The high moral standards of the IDF have been put to the test in war after war, in terms of both policy and execution. Through it all, the facts have shown – in spite of notoriously false reports, doctored photographs, and fictional casualty numbers – that the Israeli army has regularly sought, and continues to seek,ways to reduce harm to civilians. Errors and violations are thoroughly investigated, corrected, and even publicized, while perpetrators are brought to justice.

Tragically, there is no war that does not place innocents in harm’s way, but we condemn the attempts by the Palestinian terrorist entity to intentionally place their own people in such situations, and to use them as human shields, in order to maximize a media campaign discrediting the State of Israel.

Furthermore, we find it ironic and outrageous that a nation seeking to protect her citizens is now accused of utilizing undue force and of failing to exhibit regard for non-combatants. All of this occurs while the instigators, whose murderous motives are clear and without debate, play the role of victims while smuggling in more weapons and making ready their next murderous attack.

We therefore call upon all members of the Rabbinical Council of America to reaffirm our praise for the high moral character of the IDF and its attempt to safeguard the sanctity of human life, to the degree possible, in war.

We further call upon our members, when necessary and when possible, to defend the IDF, in speech or through the written word, especially when such malicious accusations and charges against the State of Israel have the ability to promote hatred for Judaism and the Jewish people throughout the world.

May God give His nation strength and may He bless His nation with peace.