Over 100 rabbis from across the liberal Jewish movements joined together to applaud Professor Michelle Alexander for writing “Time to Break the Silence on Palestine,” which was published in the New York Times on January 20. While we hold diverse opinions regarding the origins of and solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we are moved to speak publicly in support of Professor Alexander.
We have long been moved by Professor Alexander’s prophetic voice. We believe that her words are rooted in the same deep commitment to defending the rights and freedoms of oppressed communities, and we reject the charges of antisemitism that have been leveled against Professor Alexander by several Jewish leaders.
Professor Alexander’s work has been crucial for many rabbis in shaping how we understand race in this country. Now, drawing from her immense scholarship she is challenging our community to protest Israel’s abuse of power towards the Palestinians. While that might feel uncomfortable for some of us, she has given our community a real gift by inviting us to examine our own prejudices and to break the silences we too often maintain.
The Rabbinic Letter in Support of Professor Michelle Alexander
Whoever is able to protest against the transgressors of his household but does not is held responsible for the sins of his household. Whoever is able to protest against the transgressions of the people of his community but does not he is held responsible for the transgressions of his community. Whoever is able to protest against the sins of the entire world but does not he is held responsible for the sins of the entire world. (Shabbat 54b)
We, the undersigned rabbis, applaud Professor Michelle Alexander for her courageous article in the New York Times, “Time to Break the Silence on Palestine.”
We hold diverse opinions regarding the origins of and solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we support a range of American, Israeli, and Palestinian organizations working for peace, justice, and equality. While Professor Alexander’s words were painful for some of us to read, we deeply appreciate her commitment to break her silence and to lift up the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Professor Alexander has been an important teacher for us. Her groundbreaking work, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, had a profound impact on our understanding of race and the criminal justice system and inspired us to recommit ourselves to the struggle for racial justice.
As rabbis deeply committed to the Jewish communities we serve, we reject accusations that her criticism of Israel is tantamount to antisemitism. On the contrary, calling on the State of Israel to uphold the core Jewish values of justice and dignity for all human beings is a sacred task.
Jewish tradition teaches that we have a responsibility to protest when we see injustice. We must not stand idly by. Professor Alexander’s prophetic voice reminds us that we must take our spiritual teachings and apply them to the world we live in. Just as we commit to speaking up for the rights of African Americans, so too will we commit to speaking up for the rights of Palestinians. We will not give in to those who attempt to silence us or our allies who advocate for peace, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people. We believe, as Dr. King taught, that “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.” We are grateful for Professor Alexander’s courage and we join her in refusing to be silent in the face of injustice.
List of signers:
- Rabbi Leora Abelson
- Rabbi Alana Alpert
- Rabbi Doug Alpert
- Rabbi Rebecca Alpert
- Rabbi Caryn Aviv
- Rabbi Justus Baird
- Rabbinical Student Sarah Barasch
- Rabbi Benjamin Barnett
- Rabbi David Basior
- Rabbi David Dunn Bauer
- Rabbi Renee Bauer
- Rabbi Philip Bentley
- Rabbi Joseph Berman
- Rabbi Marjorie Berman
- Rabbi Phyllis Berman
- Rabbi Leila Gal Berner
- Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton
- Rabbi Caryn Broitman
- Rabbi Adam Chalom
- Rabbi Joshua Chasan
- Cantor Eric Cohen
- Rabbi Howard Cohen
- Rabbi Tamara Cohen
- Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels
- Rabbi David J. Cooper
- Rabbi Meryl Crean
- Rabbi Michael Davis
- Rabbi Diane Elliot
- Rabbi Barat Ellman
- Rabbi Andrew Ettin
- Cantor Shulamit Wise Fairman
- Rabbi Jeffrey Falick
- Rabbi Susan Falk
- Rabbi Charles Familant
- Rabbi Charles Feinberg
- Rabbi Michael Feinberg
- Rabbi Zev-Hayyim Feyer
- Rabbi Betsy Forester
- Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari
- Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman
- Rabbi Everett Gendler
- Rabbi Shai Gluskin
- Rabbi Mónica Gomery
- Rabbi Laurie Green
- Rabbi Julie Greenberg
- Rabbi Suzanne Griffel
- Rabbi Seth Goldstein
- Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
- Rabbi Hillel Greene
- Rabbinical Student Lara Haft
- Rabbi Maurice Harris
- Rabbi Eli Herb
- Rabbi Jay Heyman
- Rabbi Linda Holtzman
- Rabbi Margaret Holub
- Rabbi Devorah Jacobson
- Rabbi Jay Kridel
- Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill
- Rabbi Meredith Kahn
- Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman
- Rabbi Malka Binah Klein
- Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
- Rabbinical Student Alanna Kleinman
- Rabbi Julie Kozlow
- Rabbi Douglas Krantz
- Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer
- Rabbi Alan LaPayover
- Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg
- Rabbi Michael Lerner
- Rabbi Mordechai Liebling
- Rabbi Ellen Lippmann
- Rabbi Jeffrey Marker
- Rabbi Rim Meirowitz
- Rabbi Abby Michaleski
- Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom
- Rabbi David Mivasair
- Rabbi Gray Myrseth
- Rabbi Dev Noily
- Rabbi Dan Nussbaum
- Rabbi Alexis Pearce
- Rabbi Lucia Pizarro
- Rabbi Jonah Rank
- Rabbi Victor Reinstein
- Rabbi Moti Rieber
- Rabbinical Student Mackenzie Reynolds
- Rabbi Margie Klein Ronkin
- Rabbi Brant Rosen
- Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg
- Rabbi Jeffrey Roth
- Rabbi Michael Rothbaum
- Rabbi Elisheva Salamo
- Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips
- Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
- Rabbi Chaim Schneider
- Rabbi Arthur Segal
- Rabbi David Seidenberg
- Rabbi Mayer Selekman
- Rabbi Gerald Serotta
- Rabbi Jeremy Sher
- Rabbi Jessica K. Shimberg
- Rabbi David Shneyer
- Rabbi Mia Simring
- Rabbi Toba Spitzer
- Rabbi David Teutsch
- Rabbi Brian Walt
- Rabbi Arthur Waskow
- Rabbi Seth Wax
- Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
- Rabbi Sheila Weinberg
- Rabbi Simkha Y Weintraub
- Rabbi Lew Weiss
- Rabbi Ora Weiss
- Rabbi Ariann Weitzman
- Rabbi Michal Woll
- Rabbi Joseph Wolf
- Rabbinical Student May Ye
- Rabbi Shawn Zevit
- Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman
- Rabbi Michael Zimmerman
Thank you, Rabbis, for speaking this truth.