Jewish Voice for Peace - Canadian Friends of Sabeel

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The Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council Supports
the Canadian Friends of Sabeel Conference
"Seeking the Peace of Jerusalem”
(Vancouver BC, April 23-25, 2015)
As rabbis and people of faith, we stand in solidarity with the work of Friends
of Sabeel North America and Canadian Friends of Sabeel.
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Palestinian Christian liberation theologians such as Canon Naim Ateek of
Sabeel challenge Jews and Christians to rethink our relationship to the Holy
Land and each other on the basis of a universal standard of human rights
grounded in nonviolence. We have long encouraged the Jewish community to
engage the Palestinian Christian faith community with an open heart and mind
in order to encounter another version of faithfulness.
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As Jews, we believe it is enormously important to engage in dialogue and find
common cause with Sabeel. We appreciate their justice-based approach for
providing needed alternatives to Christian Zionism and Replacement
Theology, which so often find their basis in fundamentalism and antiSemitism. We are also aware that far too often, mainstream Christians are loath
to criticize Zionism and/or Israel for fear of offending their Jewish sisters and
brothers.
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In fact, we must speak out – and we must do it together. The Palestinian people
suffer from daily brutality by the Israeli authorities, who are destroying their
homes, confiscating their land and water, manning the checkpoints that prevent
freedom of movement to hospitals, work and study, shooting tear gas during
demonstrations, and dropping bombs in civilian areas. They are also forced to
endure a toxic form of racism growing in Israeli society, as was recently
evidenced during Israel’s national election.
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The work of Sabeel is rooted in a theological vision of justice for all who live
in the land. This is why we, as religious Jews, are honored to stand in
solidarity with them. When the Declaration of Human Rights was written in
response to the Holocaust, Jews were grateful for a universal measure by
which to judge human behavior. We believe groups like Sabeel are our partners
in affirming these sacred standards that are rooted in our shared conviction that
all human beings are created in the image of God.
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We are proud to stand together with them in our shared work of justice, dignity
and liberation for all.
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