Responding to President Trump's 'Plan' on Gaza - Feb 2025

 

There are several reasons NOT to respond to President Trump's recent attempt to solve the problem of Gaza.

Good reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm not an expert in geopolitics. I'm not a citizen of Gaza, Israel or the United States.

Bad reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm busy. There is a piece of me that respects the fact that Trump played a role in managing to get some hostages out. There is a piece of me that is so scarred by October 7th that I'm sneakily excited at the idea of making the problem go away with the ease President Trump promises.

An insufficient reason TO respond is that the so-called plan is stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating for ethnic cleansing. The ‘plan’ is all of these things, but if it was only this, I wouldn’t be posting. But …

One.

There are people who are excited about this 'plan.' They include Israelis, self-described friends of Israel and (for my church is a broad church) I suspect even members of my own community. To these people I want to scream, "be careful what you wish for." Israel must be secure, but Israel's security will not come by ethnically cleansing Gaza of two million Gazans and creating a Riviera on the Gazan coast. No wall is high enough. Hatred will not dissipate by the transfer of Gazans away from Gaza. And the idea that somehow this President is a reliable ally for Israel is tenuous in the extreme. The ‘plan,’ like so many ‘plans’ currently being aired in his new Presidential term, is not thought through. It’s not funded. And it won’t be, no matter how many times President Trump says he’s spoken with a bunch of people who agree with him. In a recent podcast, Rabbi Donniel Hartman suggested that Israel has a new Prime Minister, Donald Trump. Speaking of this ‘plan’ as supportive of Israel’s security is to outsource self-determination to a demagogic criminal who doesn’t really care about anything other than himself. Long-term meaningful security can only come by doing the hard work, building towards peace and respect. I know it doesn’t feel that that is possible now, but falling in line with Prime Minister Trump will only make that worse, and pushes the prospect of long-term security further away.

Two

People watch who speaks out against 'plans' which are stupid, illegal, immoral and verge on advocating for ethnic cleansing. I've been one of those people. When 'plans' were hatched against Jews, I've watched, waiting for people to speak out with the conviction and clarity I expect of any decent human being. In the aftermath of October 7th, I was desperate to hear from any Palestinian, Arab or Muslim a rejection of the awful plans of Hamas and (with notable exceptions - I recommend following Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib ) I've largely waited in vain. And now this.

Gazans, and those who feel an affinity for the people of Gaza, are not wrong to watch out. So I, a mainstream rabbi who supports Israel, leading a mainstream shul which supports Israel, speak out.

To anyone listening, I do not accept President Trump’s ‘plan’ for Gaza. It’s stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating ethnic cleansing. Can we please focus on trying to find a different way?

Thank you Jeremy Assous for the prompt below. I've signed, and am proud to sign this https://secure.yachad.org.uk/page/165571/data/1... from Yachad. Also proud to support עומדים ביחד نقف معًا and recommend checking out A Land for All ארץ לכולם بلاد للجميع among other organisations who are working to advocate other ways.