Rabbis: Urge Congress to Support Foreign Aid for Israel
Deadline Extended - Letter Still Open
Dear Rabbi,
Support for, and love of, Israel is at the center of many of our rabbinates. Today, we are at a critical point where once again we need to make our voice heard. Foreign aid, including aid to Israel, is being threatened by the prospect of Congressional budget cuts.
You know that aid to Israel reflects a strong U.S. investment in the peace process, a belief in Israel’s importance as a vital ally for the United States in the Middle East, and an American commitment to a Jewish democratic state.
We need your help. Please add your name to the Rabbis’ letter below that will be sent to Congress. Our objective is to get as many signatures as possible from across the country and across our Movements. In order to give our letter maximum impact, we want to get it to Members of Congress during the budget debate. We are, therefore, asking you to add your name by Friday, April 15.
We hope that you will join us in putting your name on this letter. Questions can be directed to Religious Action Center Legislative Assistant Solly Kane at skane@rac.org.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie
President
Union for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Steven C. Wernick
Executive Vice President and CEO
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Rabbi Steven Weil
Executive Vice President
Orthodox Union
Rabbi Fredi Cooper
President
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Jonathan Stein
President
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Steven Fox
Executive Vice President
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
Executive Vice President
Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Basil Herring
Executive Vice President
Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbi David Saperstein
Director and Counsel
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Dear Senator/Representative:
As Rabbis in the American Jewish community we write today to express our unified support for the State of Israel and to underscore the vital importance of U.S. foreign aid to Israel. It is essential that foreign aid to Israel, America’s strongest ally in the Middle East, continue as part of a strong far-reaching foreign aid package that allows nations to address poverty, global warming, democracy building, human rights and disease prevention.
Aid to Israel is an investment in U.S. security and Israel’s security. President Obama’s proposed FY2012 budget includes an increase in foreign aid to Israel to $3.075 billion as part of the 10-year agreement signed in 2007. This aid is essential to Israel, which spends a higher percentage of its gross domestic product on its own defense than any other industrialized country in the world. U.S. foreign aid reaffirms our commitment to a democratic ally in the Middle East and gives Israel the military edge to maintain its security and the economic stability to pursue peace. Furthermore, U.S. foreign aid to Israel represents a strong investment in the American economy; Israel spends over 75% of its aid in the United States supporting American jobs.
It is essential that foreign aid to Israel not be separated from the rest of the foreign aid package. Aid to Israel, like foreign aid in general, is an investment in the future. The United States spends just over one penny of every federal dollar on foreign aid, a small price to pay for a world-wide investment in democracy, economic development and political stability, increasing the quality of life for millions of people outside the United States. As Jews, we insist that the U.S. do all that it can to continue to be a leader in the world supporting basic human rights and we are unwilling to compromise this for aid to Israel or vice versa.
As Jews we are committed to the vision of the Prophets and Jewish sages who considered the pursuit of peace a religious obligation. Foreign Aid to Israel is an essential way that we can fulfill our obligation to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15).
We urge you to vote for continued U.S. foreign aid to Israel and to support foreign aid broadly as a means of advancing American leadership and interests around the world. For a full list of Rabbis that signed this letter nationally, visit www.rac.org.
Respectfully,
As Rabbis in the American Jewish community we write today to express our unified support for the State of Israel and to underscore the vital importance of U.S. foreign aid to Israel. It is essential that foreign aid to Israel, America’s strongest ally in the Middle East, continue as part of a strong far-reaching foreign aid package that allows nations to address poverty, global warming, democracy building, human rights and disease prevention.
Aid to Israel is an investment in U.S. security and Israel’s security. President Obama’s proposed FY2012 budget includes an increase in foreign aid to Israel to $3.075 billion as part of the 10-year agreement signed in 2007. This aid is essential to Israel, which spends a higher percentage of its gross domestic product on its own defense than any other industrialized country in the world. U.S. foreign aid reaffirms our commitment to a democratic ally in the Middle East and gives Israel the military edge to maintain its security and the economic stability to pursue peace. Furthermore, U.S. foreign aid to Israel represents a strong investment in the American economy; Israel spends over 75% of its aid in the United States supporting American jobs.
It is essential that foreign aid to Israel not be separated from the rest of the foreign aid package. Aid to Israel, like foreign aid in general, is an investment in the future. The United States spends just over one penny of every federal dollar on foreign aid, a small price to pay for a world-wide investment in democracy, economic development and political stability, increasing the quality of life for millions of people outside the United States. As Jews, we insist that the U.S. do all that it can to continue to be a leader in the world supporting basic human rights and we are unwilling to compromise this for aid to Israel or vice versa.
As Jews we are committed to the vision of the Prophets and Jewish sages who considered the pursuit of peace a religious obligation. Foreign Aid to Israel is an essential way that we can fulfill our obligation to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15).
We urge you to vote for continued U.S. foreign aid to Israel and to support foreign aid broadly as a means of advancing American leadership and interests around the world. For a full list of Rabbis that signed this letter nationally, visit www.rac.org.
Respectfully,