The letter, signed by a broad group of 18 organizations, was delivered to Israel Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog this morning.
September 27, 2024: This morning, the undersigned American Jewish Organizations delivered a letter to Israeli Ambassador Herzog calling for the Israeli government to do everything it can to prioritize the lives of the hostages and sign a deal to secure their release in advance of the upcoming High Holidays.
An Open Letter to the Israeli Ambassador from American Jewish Leaders
Ambassador Herzog:
Close to a year has passed since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were murdered and 250 were kidnapped. Today, as 101 hostages are still desperately waiting to be freed from their captors, news of hostages who have been murdered in captivity serves as a painful reminder that time is not our ally in these efforts.
As meetings continue apace around the terms of a possible hostage deal, we call upon the Israeli government to ensure it is prioritizing this issue above all others, and we join the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in calling for them to at long last “seal the deal.” For as Maimonides wrote in the twelfth century, “There is no mitzvah so great as redeeming captives” (Hilkhot Matanot Aniyim, 8:10).
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the courageous parents of executed hostage Hersh z”l, wrote after learning of their son’s murder in captivity, “We are still in mourning, but we are also in an emergency. We are speaking on our behalf, but also in the sweet memories of the precious souls of Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, Eden, and Carmel. Their deaths could have and should have been avoided. We have people whose lives are hanging in the balance, and we don’t want any other family to experience what we are currently experiencing.” They went on to implore people to “keep writing to the White House, keep writing to the prime minister…. keep going out and advocating.”
There is no question that it is Hamas who initiated this war with the unprovoked and brutal, massacre of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 more. There is no question that it is Hamas who executed those six hostages and continues to hold the rest in draconian conditions. There is no question that Hamas is ultimately responsible for this situation.
The same applies to Hezbollah in Lebanon, who, since October 7th, has continuously attacked northern Israeli cities and towns, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. We stand firmly with Israel as it takes measures to defend against Hezbollah and works to secure the north from further attacks.
And yet, despite Hamas’ culpability, we reiterate with one voice that it remains the solemn duty of the Israeli government to avail itself of every opportunity and exhaust every option to bring the remaining hostages home, so that they may both celebrate and mourn with their loved ones during these most sacred and holy days and beyond. We take this action as we listen to their voices of anguish, as well as from the relatives of those being held alive in Gaza and those whose family members know their loved ones are no longer alive and deserve the chance to give them a proper burial.
This must not be seen as a political issue; this is about the strength and unity of the Israeli people and the Jewish people around the world. We have signed this letter in the name of the values upon which Israel was founded and as part of our moral, ethical, and Zionist duty.
During these days leading to the new Jewish year, may the sound of the shofar stir us to act on behalf of our siblings who are languishing underground desperately holding on to life.
Please do all you can to bring them home now.
Signed,
Ameinu
Americans for Peace Now
ADL
Association of Reform Zionists of America
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Jewish Council of Public Affairs
Jewish Labor Committee
Jewish National Fund-USA
Maccabi USA
Mercaz USA
Na’amat
National Council of Jewish Women
The Rabbinical Assembly
Union for Reform Judaism
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
WIZO – Women’s International Zionist Organization
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Women for Reform Judaism
