A resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza will be voted on at today’s 4 p.m. special meeting of the Municipal Council. A coalition of rabbis from Jersey City and Hoboken have called upon the council to set the resolution aside. Below is their letter to the Municipal Council. We are reaching out to those in favor of the resolution for a statement. The resolution is sponsored by Ward D Councilman Yusef Saleh.
Dear Council President Watterman and Council Members:
We, the rabbis serving Jewish constituents of Jersey City, respectfully request the members of the Jersey City City Council to permanently set aside the proposed extraordinary resolution concerning the situation in the Middle East. While we recognize that many people, including Jersey City residents, feel passionately about this issue, the correct venue for this complex and multifaceted issue to be addressed is not with a local government resolution that assigns blame or calls for outcomes. The recent City Council meeting demonstrated that this resolution is doing the opposite of community-building in Jersey City.
As Jewish leaders, we are continually aware that Jersey City was the site of one of the most heinous massacres targeting the Jewish community in United States history, just four years ago at the kosher grocery store. That massacre would have been even worse without the quick response of the Jersey City Police, as the murderers likely intended to attack the adjacent yeshiva full of school-age children. Let us also not forget the further subsequent spillover of antisemitic rhetoric from an elected official and the community at large following the massacre. Especially with this tragic recent history of antisemitism in our city, the focus of the Jersey City City Council should be on making this city safe from acts of hatred and violence that target any group, and not on aggravating group tensions.
A resolution that identifies antisemitism and Islamophobia as real problems in Jersey City, and that encourages the community to come together to oppose all acts of hatred against any religious, racial, national or any other group, would be very welcome. A resolution that calls for action in a notoriously difficult and complex international conflict, however, would embolden those who inappropriately want Jersey City’s government to be a venue for their struggle against Israel’s legitimacy, as well as those who harbor animus against Jews. As Jewish leaders, this profoundly alarms us. Antisemites do not distinguish between Israelis and Jews in general. It is well documented that rhetoric regarding Israel actually and too often inflames frightening antisemitic activity here locally in New Jersey and elsewhere in the U.S. We respectfully request that you keep your focus on Jersey City civic issues and set aside this extraordinary resolution that is already having such a divisive effect in this city, making our constituents feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods. Please do what you can to keep this city united so that we can address its real local challenges together.
Respectfully,
Rabbi Yosef Berger, United Jewish Council of Greenville
Rabbi Baruch Lepkivker, Bris Avrohom Congregation Sons of Israel
Rabbi Leana Moritt, Temple Beth-El of Jersey City
Rabbi Netanel Reed, Congregation Mount Sinai of Jersey City Heights
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, United Synagogue of Hoboken