Young Israel Letter to President Biden: US Policy Must Support Israel

The National Council of Young Israel today sent the following letter to President Biden regarding the United States’ policy toward Israel (a PDF of the letter is attached):

 

March 28, 2024

 

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

The White House

 

Dear President Biden,

 

The Young Israel movement consists of more than 100 affiliated Orthodox synagogues and 25,000 member families in the United States. We, the Board of Directors of the National Council of Young Israel, are compelled to write to you because we have grave concerns that United States foreign policy is turning away from Israel.

 

We last wrote to you on October 13, 2023, in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack of October 7, 2023—an attack which your administration forcefully condemned and correctly stated that no society could ever allow even a minimal risk of reoccurrence. In that letter, we effusively thanked you for your moral clarity and leadership, and for the immediate support the United States provided to Israel to assist in Operation Swords of Iron.

 

Thanks in large part to your leadership, the nation and the free world understood at that time that Israel faced no choice but to rescue its hostages and to decisively destroy Hamas and its ability to commit further attacks. Yet we knew widespread support for Israel would not last. We wrote:

 

“We know there will be calls for the IDF to end Operation Swords of Iron before it has achieved its goal of defeating Hamas, and that some will make moral equivalencies and pressure your administration to withdraw support for Israel. We are heartened because you have already rejected those calls in clear and decisive terms, and we implore you to remain strong in your convictions when these demands inevitably come.”

 

Now, less than six months after Hamas committed the most unimaginable acts of barbarism—torture, torment, rape, mutilation, burning alive, murder, and kidnapping—loud voices are urging the United States to reduce its support for Israel’s war of self-defense. These voices have gained traction even though Israel is waging the war in the most ethical manner and has taken more efforts to protect civilians than any other army in history, adding great risk to its own soldiers.

 

We are a non-partisan organization. Our members span the political spectrum. We pray for our country’s leaders irrespective of party. But wherever we individually stand politically, we are united in petitioning our government when it must do more to support Israel, particularly now.

 

Any American policy towards Israel must unconditionally seek the following overarching goals, which should be uncontroversial: First, Hamas must be fully defeated. Second, the hostages must all be released and returned home, without preconditions. Third, the U.S. cannot reward terror by advancing the Palestinian cause as a result of Hamas’s barbaric acts and double war crimes.

 

Mr. President, we write to you now because, regrettably, it is evident to us that United States policy is no longer adequately supportive of these basic, but vital goals. We certainly acknowledge and remain grateful for all the help that your administration continues to provide to Israel. We are increasingly alarmed, however, at American policy that would hold Israel back from decisive victory in a war it never wanted, putting Israelis and the world further at risk and emboldening Israel’s enemies. We respectfully ask that you reverse this regrettable policy trend.

 

The Board of Directors of the National Council of Young Israel

 

Rabbi David Warshaw

President

 

David N. Schultz

Chairman of the Board

 

Adam P. Cohen

Public Advocacy Chair

 

For the past 112 years, the National Council of Young Israel has ably served the broader Jewish community. With more than 25,000 member families and approximately 135 branch synagogues throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel, the National Council of Young Israel is a multi-faceted organization that embraces Jewish communal needs and often takes a leading role in tackling the important issues that face the Jewish community in North America and Israel.