Over 250 US Rabbis Demand End of Jewish Settler Violence in Palestine

Over 250 US rabbis signed a letter demanding an end to settler violence in Palestine. (Photo: via T'ruah Twitter Page)

Following an escalation of settler violence against Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied West Bank, a North American rabbinic human rights group issued a letter to express their concerns to the US Israeli Embassy. 

The letter, a copy of which was received by the Palestine Chronicle, was issued by the rabbinic human rights organization, T’ruah, and was signed by over 250 rabbis and cantors. 

Israeli settlers uproot newly planted olive tree saplings in a northern West Bank city.https://t.co/nHCgiX8lsJ pic.twitter.com/Cu4fLxyNIy

— Wafa News Agency - English (@WAFANewsEnglish) February 9, 2022

It calls on the Israeli government “to stop settler violence against Palestinians by arresting and charging perpetrators and by dismantling illegal outposts.”

The letter, addressed to Michael Herzog, Israel’s Ambassador to the US, asserts that “violent incidents perpetrated by Jews against Palestinians in the West Bank have risen more than 150% since 2019.”

NEW: We delivered a letter to @AmbHerzog from over 250 rabbis & cantors calling on the Israeli govt to take immediate action to stop settler violence by:

1) Swiftly arresting & charging perpetrators

2) Dismantling illegal settler outposts

Full text: https://t.co/9zADoHVvyO pic.twitter.com/dDQzPTmTM6

— T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights (@truahrabbis) February 10, 2022

“Thus far, almost none of those who have carried out these attacks have been arrested, and even fewer have been indicted and brought to justice,” the letter reads, adding that “videos and eyewitness reports show soldiers standing by, failing to intervene, and even protecting the settlers carrying out the attacks.”

Jewish settler attacks against Palestinians are on the rise in the occupied West Bank. Last November, UN experts raised concerns about what they called “an extremely disturbing feature of the Israeli occupation”.

The daily violence in Hebron results largely from Israeli settlers operating with impunity. They are part of the ongoing Israeli settler-colonial project, supported by US-based “charities” like the Hebron Fund. Let's halt their funding. https://t.co/mFryvVpeq8#DefundRacism pic.twitter.com/YQnPZA829Q

— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) February 7, 2022

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in the first 10 months of 2021, there have been 410 attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians. Four Palestinians were killed by settlers that year.