Israel’s Gaza Policy: That “Call for Moral Clarity”

Rabbi Yosef Blau, the former long-time “mashgiach ruchani” at Yeshiva University, created a stir last week with an open letter he authored – joined in by several dozens of his colleagues – entitled: “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis.”

His theme was that “Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation.” Israel was not meeting its obligations in this regard, he said, and in avoiding harm to Gaza civilians – and the Orthodox have a duty to speak up.

“This moment,” the letter said, “demands a different voice – one grounded in our deepest Jewish values and informed by our traumatic history of being victims of persecution. Orthodox Jewry, as some of Israel’s most devoted supporters, bears a unique moral responsibility.”

Yet, he freely conceded in an interview that his cosigners included “a lot of people who are on the left fringe of Orthodoxy...and maybe they reflect only a fraction.... We never said we’re speaking on behalf of everybody else.”

So, Rabbi Blau fairly invited debate and frankly we are very concerned that the letter, notwithstanding his significant caveat, is feeding the false notion that Orthodoxy is joining the Reform and Conservative movements in condemning Israel’s policy in Gaza.

Indeed, The New York Times headlined its report on several open letters on Israel and Gaza, “Rabbis Emerge as Growing Voice of Criticism of Israel’s tactics In Gaza,” and carried the sub-headline, “Among the recent public letters was one from dozens of Orthodox rabbis demanding “moral clarity” to what they called a humanitarian crisis.”

The Times went on to say, “As Israel’s tactics in Gaza have increasingly provoked international condemnation, rabbis from across the world are taking the unusual step of speaking out against the Israeli government’s conduct in the war, on moral and religious grounds.

“Over the past few weeks, as reports of mass killings in Gaza have spread and experts declared the area is officially suffering from famine, a significant number of clergies across the spectrum of Jewish observance and affiliation have signed a series of high profile, carefully crafted public letters criticizing the Israeli government.”

Of course, the media is typically playing fast and loose with the facts. Even under the Biden administration, American defense officials were reporting that Israel was taking measures to spare enemy civilians from avoidable harm that were unprecedented in modern warfare. Have they forgotten about Hamas’s regular use of human Palestinian shields and fabricating tales of wanton Israeli targeting of Palestinian civilians.

Nor do they seem to remember the reports of Hamas notoriously stealing food and other supplies provided by Israel from Gaza’s civilians. Has anyone ever really seen a gaunt looking 20-year-plus Gazan demonstrating before the camera or shooting rifles into the air?

Plainly, we don’t agree that there is a premise for the so-called “open letters.” But the problem goes beyond that. If Hamas will be able to continue exploiting their deceptions by seducing the unwary, then they will have figured out how to make gains against Israel they can’t achieve on the battlefield.

With all respect, it’s time for a reality check.