World Congress of GLBT Jews: Keshet Ga'avah, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

12/14/2023

The World Congress of GLBTQ+ Jews Response to the GIN-SSOGIE Statement in Solidarity with Palestine and Call for Ceasefire.

We too watch in sorrow the horrifying loss of lives unfolding in Gaza and join the Global Interfaith Network for People of all Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions (GIN-SSOGIE) in your concern on the violence enveloping both Israel and Gaza.

And, after much reflection and profound hurt, we find it necessary to respond to your statement in solidarity with Palestine. This attack on Israel continues to stoke the universal fires of antisemitism.

You condemn countries aiding Israel but ignore the allies of Hamas and their violent actions which extend beyond Israel's borders. You also fail to condemn the surrounding Arab countries and Iran for their failure to offer vital resources and refuge to innocent Palestinians being used as pawns by Hamas.

You state that "the establishment of Israel took place through a process of dispossession and forced removal of Palestinians...." But you forget the rest of history and the fact that over 850,000 Jews were forced from Arab lands and Iran when Israel became a nation. You neglect to mention that the homes and businesses of Jews were seized with no reparations. You forget, that unlike today when Arab nations deny entry to Palestinians, Israel welcomed with open arms over three-quarter million refugees expelled from Arab lands. You ignore that it was the Palestinians who rejected proposals (accepted by Israel) which would have established an independent Palestinian state and an internationalized Jerusalem. You deny history by failing to acknowledge that Jews dwelt on the land now in contention long before Islam or Christianity existed. Israel neither colonized, stole, nor conquered it.

You declare, "We cannot overlook the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, ... for the continuing blockade and the refusal to implement a permanent ceasefire." You disregard the fact that Egypt, a Muslim country, shares a border with Gaza and continues a blockade of both resources and temporary refuge to their Palestinian neighbors and has done so for close to two decades.

You equate the kidnapping of infants and the elderly with Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Yet, you fail to delineate that the Israelis were taken as an act of war. You fail to acknowledge that, unlike Hamas, Israel has not threatened to murder all the prisoners.

You cite genocide of the Palestinian people with "the tragic loss of innocent lives, and crimes against humanity." Yet, you fail to mention the heinous crimes (r**e, murder, dismemberment, beheading of babies, kidnapping of infants and old people, branding of children, and more) perpetrated by Hamas against non-combatant Israeli civilians. You fail to acknowledge the multiple attacks against Israel since its inception as a sovereign nation, which leaves it no choice than to fight for survival.

You "condemn repressive measures taken by several governments around the world against freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly...," yet you fail to condemn the call for genocide of all Jews (“FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE"). You fail to acknowledge that these "peaceful protests" have resulted in the death of at least one nonviolent Jewish onlooker.

You also forget that Hamas and its allies have publicly declared (for over four decades) “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE" in essence championing the "final solution" and promoting the total elimination of Israel and extermination of all Jews therein. You fail to recognize that Israel is fighting for its life. The civilian casualties in Gaza, as horrifying as they are, have been entirely triggered by Hamas's use of its citizens as human shields. You fail to hold Hamas culpable for using their civilian population as weapons of war by building tunnels and storing arms, communication equipment, and other resources under schools and hospitals.

Like you, we deplore the killing and suffering of innocents used as pawns in this senseless war. We agree that it is vile no matter which party perpetrates the acts. We also know that as long as Hamas and their allies hate Jews more than they love their children peace will not come to the Middle East.