American Jewish Leaders Urge PM Netanyahu to Adopt Levy Report

More than sixty-five American Jewish leaders signed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to adopt the findings of the Levy Report, which asserts that the “settlements” in Judea and Samaria are legal in accordance with international law.
 
The report, which was authored by a panel of renowned Israeli jurists comprised of Supreme Court justice Edmond Levy, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker, and former deputy president of the Tel Aviv District Court Tehiya Shapira, recommends against the future demolition of communities that had been deemed to be “illegal outposts.”
 
The letter endorsing the Levy Report, which was spearheaded by Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President, Emeritus of the National Council of Young Israel, is signed by dozens of prominent Jewish leaders from across the United States, with additional people joining in support of the letter daily.
 
“As the Levy Report correctly notes, Israel is not engaged in 'military occupation' in relation to the communities in Judea and Samaria,” the American Jewish leaders wrote in their letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu.  “We believe that this conclusion vindicates the Israeli government, which has been unjustifiably vilified by many in the international community, simply because there are Jews living in this particular area of the Jewish State.”
 
“Like you, we recognize and respect the fact that the Jewish people have inalienable rights to the land of Israel which stem from the Bible, and we are familiar with the historic legacy of the movement of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Menachem Begin, and Herut/Likud, which you now lead, that has long endorsed Jewish rights in the entirety of the land of Israel,” continued the Jewish leaders.  “Viewing it from this perspective, the Levy Report confirms what we all know to be true and just, and it certainly warrants your support and endorsement.”
 
In addition to expressing their staunch support of the Levy Report, the American Jewish leaders urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to reject the claims about the report that were set forth in a recent letter organized by the Israel Policy Forum.
 
“In our opinion, the individuals who have urged you not to accept the findings of the Levy Report under the pretext that Israel's status as a Jewish and democratic state could somehow be compromised by its adoption are doing a disservice to the State of Israel,” the American Jewish leaders wrote in their letter to the Prime Minister.  “Despite assertions to the contrary, the conclusions of the Levy Report do not 'place…the prestige of Israel as a democratic member of the international community, in peril.'  We categorically reject this absurd declaration and sincerely hope and pray that you do the same.”
 
The following is the text of the letter and the complete list of signatories.  The organizations are for identification purposes only.
 
August 2, 2012
 
Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
P.O. Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem, Israel 91950
 
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu:
 
We write to you in support of the recent report issued by the Levy Committee.  We welcome the report's findings and greatly appreciate the thorough process and honest approach undertaken by the well-respected legal professionals tasked with authoring this study.
 
We are heartened by the Levy Report's finding that the “settlements” in Judea and Samaria are completely legal under international law, and we are encouraged that the report recommends against the future demolition of communities that had been deemed to be “illegal outposts.”
 
As the Levy Report correctly notes, Israel is not engaged in “military occupation” in relation to the communities in Judea and Samaria.  We believe that this conclusion vindicates the Israeli government, which has been unjustifiably vilified by many in the international community, simply because there are Jews living in this particular area of the Jewish State.
 
Those who have repeatedly leveled criticisms at Israel for its willingness to sanction the “settlements” inexplicably ignore the fact that there are approximately 350,000 Jews residing in vibrant communities throughout Judea and Samaria, most of whom make immeasurable contributions to Israeli society.  Playing politics with the lives and futures of these tens of thousands of families, comprising hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, is absolutely shameful and wholly unacceptable.
 
In our opinion, the individuals who have urged you not to accept the findings of the Levy Report under the pretext that Israel's status as a Jewish and democratic state could somehow be compromised by its adoption are doing a disservice to the State of Israel.
 
Despite assertions to the contrary, the conclusions of the Levy Report do not “place…the prestige of Israel as a democratic member of the international community, in peril.”  We categorically reject this absurd declaration and sincerely hope and pray that you do the same.
 
It is not the responsibility of the State of Israel to appease the United Nations or other entities whose interests run counter to the best interests of the Jewish State.  We know that your government has not, and will not, mollify those who repeatedly have sought to delegitimize the State of Israel.
 
We fully understand that you work diligently, day in and day out, to ensure that the citizens of Israel are safe and that their interests are duly protected.   We deeply appreciate your ongoing support of the citizens of the scores of communities throughout Judea and Samaria and your continuous efforts to enable them to live their lives fully and freely in their respective homes.
 
We all owe it to future generations to stand up now for the right and the reality of having the entirety of the Land of Israel, including Judea, Samaria, and all of Jerusalem, for our Jewish People.
 
Like you, we recognize and respect the fact that the Jewish people have inalienable rights to the land of Israel which stem from the Bible, and we are familiar with the historic legacy of the movement of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Menachem Begin, and Herut/Likud, which you now lead, that has long endorsed Jewish rights in the entirety of the land of Israel.  Viewing it from this perspective, the Levy Report confirms what we all know to be true and just, and it certainly warrants your support and endorsement.
 
We urge you to adopt the findings of the Levy Report, thereby formally validating the status of the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria as a true part of the State of Israel within the purview of the Israeli government.
 
Very truly yours,
 
Rabbi David Algazi
Congregation Havurat Yisrael
President, World Committee for the Land of Israel
Forest Hills, NY
 
Richard Allen
Founder
JCCWatch.org
New York, NY
 
Rabbi Moshe Averick
Board, Rabbinical Council of America
Chicago, IL
 
Marvin S. Belsky, M.D.
Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam
New York, NY
 
Rabbi Mordechai Cohen
Milwaukee, WI
 
Rabbi Yochanan Davis
Rabbinical Alliance of America
Brooklyn, NY
 
Michael Dobrin
National Council on Jewish Affairs
Nashville, TN
 
Rabbi Yisroel Edelman
Young Israel Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach, FL
 
Fred Ehrman
New York, NY
 
Rabbi David Eliezrie
North County Chabad Center
President, Rabbinical Council of Orange County
Yorba Linda, CA
 
Gary Erlbaum
Board Member
Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Ardmore, PA
 
Rabbi Dov Fischer
Young Israel of Orange County
Irvine, CA
 
Stephen M. Flatow
Terror Victims Right's Activist
West Orange, NJ
 
Joseph Frager, MD
Chairman, World Committee for the Land of Israel
Jamaica Estates, NY
 
Helen Freedman
Executive Director
Americans for a Safe Israel
New York, NY
 
Michael Gerbitz
United with Israel
Lawrence, NY
 
Beth Gilinsky
Executive Director
National Conference on Jewish Affairs
New York, NY
 
Dr. Chanania Gang
Vice President
Religious Zionists of America
Yonkers, NY
 
Dr. Jonathan Gold
Americans For a Safe Israel
Passaic, NJ
 
Steven M. Goldberg, Esq.
National Vice Chairman
Zionist Organization of America
Los Angeles, CA
 
Beverly A. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Co-chair, Cuyahoga Valley Republican Club
Beachwood, OH
 
Michael S. Goldstein, Esq.
President, Northern Ohio Chapter, Association for Intelligence Officers
Beachwood, OH
 
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer
New York, NY
 
Marvin Green, President
Hunter Green Associates
New York, NY
 
Rabbi Yonah Gross
Congregation Beth Hamedrosh
Wynnewood, PA
 
Rabbi Abraham B. Hecht
Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Sharre Zion
President, Rabbinical Alliance of America
Brooklyn, NY
 
Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht
Beth Israel of Westport/Norwalk
President, Rabbinical Council of Connecticut
Norwalk, CT
 
Rabbi Yonoson Hirtz
Utopia Jewish Center
Fresh Meadows, NY
 
Odeleya Jacobs
Vice President Media Relations
World Committee for the Land of Israel
Flushing, NY
 
Rabbi Ari Jacobson
Young Israel of Monsey and Wesley Hills
Monsey, NY
 
Chaim Kaminetzky
Past President
National Council of Young Israel
Flushing, NY
 
Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY
 
Stuart Kaufman
National Conference on Jewish Affairs
Great Neck, NY
 
Ruth King
Executive Committee
Editorial Board OUTPOST
American for a Safe Israel
New York, NY
 
Jay Knopf
Executive Board, The Hebron Fund
Teaneck, NJ
 
Mara Kochba
Israel Cancer Research Fund
Los Angeles, CA
 
Rabbi Pesach Lerner
Executive Vice President, Emeritus
National Council of Young Israel
Far Rockaway, NY
 
Rabbi Reuven Mann
Young Israel of Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ
 
Lori Lowenthal Marcus
President, Z STREET
Philadelphia, PA
 
Alan A. Mazurek, MD
Former Chairman, ZOA National Board
Assistant Clinical Professor, Neurology
Mount Sinai Medical Center, NYC
Great Neck, NY
 
Yaniv Meirov
CHAZAQ Organization
Queens, NY
 
Julio Messer
Past President, American Friends of Likud
New York, NY
 
Cherna Moskowitz
Miami Beach, FL
 
Shlomo Mostofsky, Esq.
Immediate Past President
National Council of Young Israel
Brooklyn, NY
 
Rabbi Yehuda L Oppenheimer
Young Israel of Forest Hills
Forest Hills, NY
 
Russel Pergament
Boston, MA
 
Gerald Platt
President, American Friends of Likud
New York, NY
 
Rozanne Polansky
Executive Board
Young Israel of North Bellmore
North Bellmore, NY
 
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky
Congregation B'nai Yeshurun
Teaneck, NJ
 
Susan L. Rosenbluth
Editor and Publisher
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Englewood, NJ
 
Rabbi Dov Schreier
Young Israel of North Bellmore
North Bellmore, NY
 
Sheldon Schreiner
Chairman of the Board
National Council of Young Israel
Plainview, NY
 
Harvey Schwartz
Chairman
American Israeli Action Coalition
Woodmere, NY
 
Rabbi Ze'ev Smason
Nusach Hari Bnai Zion Congregation
St. Louis, MO
 
Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Scher
Beit Midrash Kol Beramah
Santa Fe, NM
 
Josef Silny
Miami, FL
 
Rabbi Moshe Snow
Young Israel Beth El Of Borough Park
Brooklyn, NY
 
Rabbi Sroya Sorscher
Dean, Rabbi Jacob London Yeshiva
Brooklyn, NY
 
Sarah N. Stern
Founder and President
Endowment for Middle East Truth
Washington, DC
 
Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Director, Rabbinical Alliance of America
Brooklyn, NY
 
Yitzchok Tenenbaum
Lechaim Charities
New York, NY
 
Howard Teich
New York, NY
 
Robin Ticker
American Friends for a Safe Israel
Brooklyn, NY
 
Stanley Treitel
American Friends of the Jerusalem Conference
Los Angeles, CA
 
Farley Weiss
President, Young Israel of Phoenix
1st Vice President, National Council of Young Israel
National Vice President, ZOA
Phoenix, AZ
 
Dr. Rina Yarmish
Chairperson, Mathematics & Computer Science
City University of New York, Kingsborough
New York, NY