{"id":3500,"date":"2018-02-12T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T16:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?page_id=3500"},"modified":"2024-03-12T11:18:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T15:18:26","slug":"jewish-insider-maryland-rabbis-urge-van-hollen-to-change-course-on-israel-rhetoric","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-maryland-rabbis-urge-van-hollen-to-change-course-on-israel-rhetoric\/","title":{"rendered":"JEWISH INSIDER: Maryland rabbis urge Van Hollen to change course on Israel rhetoric"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Marc Rod<\/a>, Jewish Insider<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a scathing letter<\/a>, a group of more than 70 Maryland rabbis from across the denominational spectrum accused Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a leader among critics<\/a> of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza, of spreading falsehoods about Israel and stoking \u201cdivisions\u201d and \u201cisolat[ing]\u201d Israel and the Jewish community in his state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have differing opinions about some of the rhetoric and actions taken by the current Israeli government, but today we write with a unified voice to urge you to change your rhetoric and actions that we believe mischaracterize the current war and undermine America\u2019s support for the Jewish state,\u201d the letter, sent Monday, reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter states that, at a time when American Jews are facing record levels of antisemitism in the U.S., Van Hollen\u2019s \u201cefforts in the Senate have only stoked deeper divisions and further isolated Israel and our Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rabbis wrote that, \u201cWhile Israel fights against terror and threats of annihilation, we are aghast by [the senator\u2019s] claims about war crimes and your portrayal of Israel as the aggressor,\u201d slamming Van Hollen for efforts to condition<\/a>or cut off military aid to Israel<\/a>, which the letter describes as necessary to protect Israelis and Palestinians from Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also took umbrage with what they characterized as Van Hollen\u2019s claims that Israel \u201cshould be solely blamed for the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.\u201d They argued that Hamas is \u201cindisputably\u201d responsible for the crisis and for years of Palestinian suffering. They also accused Van Hollen of \u201cfalsely suggest[ing] Israel is deliberately withholding aid\u201d from innocent civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maryland senator said in a statement to JI, \u201cI always welcome feedback from my constituents, and I appreciate these rabbis sharing the views they expressed in this letter,\u201d and that he would \u201clook forward to continuing these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that he has \u201crepeatedly and unreservedly spoken out about the horrors of the Hamas terrorist attacks,\u201d \u201cfully support[s] the right of Israel to defend itself and eliminate the military threat of Hamas\u201d to ensure that \u201cthere must be no more October sevenths\u201d and \u201chave continuously prioritized and pressed for the immediate release of all hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cI also believe that a just war must be fought justly. That is why I have continued to express my deep concerns about the actions taken by the Netanyahu government in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter criticizes Van Hollen for failing to call out the United Nations Relief and Works Agency\u2019s ties to Hamas and Hamas\u2019 yearslong record of stealing international humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything less than the removal of Hamas from power will only lead to more war, more violence, more civilians killed at the hands of the terrorists,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cWe ask you that you take these threats seriously and stand up to hate in Maryland, Israel and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signatories called on Van Hollen to take the threat that Hamas\u2019 continued power poses \u201cseriously and stand up to hate in Maryland, Israel and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter was organized by Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt of Congregation B\u2019nai Tzedek in Potomac, Rabbi Chai Posner of Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Rabbi Dana Saroken of Beth El Congregation in Baltimore and Rabbi Shmuel Silber of Suburban Orthodox Congregation in Baltimore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter is a signal of growing in-state discontent with Van Hollen \u2014 who was the favored candidate of Maryland\u2019s pro-Israel community in his 2016 Senate primary \u2014 over his increasingly vocal stances on Israel since Oct. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weinblatt told Jewish Insider<\/em> that many of the signatories have known Van Hollen \u201cfor years if not decades, and respect much of the work he has done for the State of Maryland, and the Jewish community\u201d but see his comments on Israel as \u201cmisguided\u201d and serving \u201cno purpose other than to inflame an already tense situation, while also making our jobs as religious leaders in the Jewish community that much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that Van Hollen\u2019s comments and actions have been \u201calmost insulting\u201d given the steps Israel takes to avoid civilian casualties, adding that there\u2019s \u201can increasing recognition\u201d in Maryland\u2019s Jewish community that Van Hollen\u2019s comments are \u201coutright unhelpful\u201d because \u201cit really only encourages Hamas, which prolongs the war and leads to more suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weinblatt said the rabbis \u201cwould welcome a change in course, or a conversation about why his rhetoric has taken such a turn.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marc Rod, Jewish Insider In a scathing letter, a group of more than 70 Maryland rabbis from across the denominational spectrum accused Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a leader among critics of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza, of spreading falsehoods about Israel and stoking \u201cdivisions\u201d and \u201cisolat[ing]\u201d Israel and the Jewish community in his state. \u201cWe have… more JEWISH INSIDER: Maryland rabbis urge Van Hollen to change course on Israel rhetoric<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3501,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3500","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nJEWISH INSIDER: Maryland rabbis urge Van Hollen to change course on Israel rhetoric - Jewish Political Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-maryland-rabbis-urge-van-hollen-to-change-course-on-israel-rhetoric\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"JEWISH INSIDER: Maryland rabbis urge Van Hollen to change course on Israel rhetoric - Jewish Political Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Marc Rod, Jewish Insider In a scathing letter, a group of more than 70 Maryland rabbis from across the denominational spectrum accused Sen. 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