April 3, 2024
Dear Friends,
As a follow-up to Rabbi London’s message below, I want to thank her and her interfaith partners for coming together to draft a statement in response to developments since Oct. 7. During this collaborative process, Rabbi London met with our Executive Committee to read and discuss the statement. This was in addition to a small and esteemed group of Beth Emet congregants from whom Rabbi London sought counsel while the statement was in development. The goal of this statement is to offer balanced, consistent language for the clergy and other congregations to use in these difficult times. It is not intended for review or consideration by the Evanston City Council. The interfaith clergy signed this statement as an ethical statement from themselves, not on behalf of their respective congregations. I am supportive of the process by which this statement came to fruition and proud of our entire community for the united efforts put forth in the spirit of caring about the dignity and safety of all people.
L’shalom,
Lee Weintraub, Board President
As you may know, one of the highly charged developments in our community since the attacks of October 7 has been the effort to compel the Evanston City Council to take a stand on the war between Israel and Hamas. While there are diverse views on this proposition in our congregation, I have opposed this effort on multiple grounds—first and foremost that it has the potential to create painful rifts in our local community.
As an alternative to a City Council statement, members of the Evanston Interfaith Clergy have written a statement that reflects our shared concern as faith leaders for everyone in the war-torn region and for the rights and dignity of people here at home in our own community. Our congregational officers and a number of other leaders provided me with helpful input as the statement was being drafted. However, I have signed this statement as an individual and not on behalf of our congregation. This statement was published today (April 3) in the Evanston RoundTable. We have no intention of bringing it to the City Council.
Working together to express something that articulates our values and concerns has not been easy, as we approach the conflict from a variety of perspectives, but the process of writing a statement, as well as the educational programs we have hosted, have helped the clergy better understand the nuances and complexity of the situation in the Middle East. At a time when many in our society are looking for simple answers, my clergy colleagues have worked hard to draft a statement that eschews binary choices and instead seeks a path forward that ensures the safety and right to self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians. Moreover, our statement has been an important guide to congregations that are writing their own statements.
For the entire period of my rabbinate at Beth Emet, my colleagues in the Evanston Interfaith Clergy have worked to bring our community together during hard times and to stand up for the dignity of every person and every faith community. They were there with us after the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville and after the murder of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and they are with us today when all of us are still reeling from October 7, aching for loved ones in Israel and also grappling with an alarming increase in antisemitism. My clergy colleagues have been outspoken in condemning the bigotry toward Jews that has reared its ugly head locally on numerous occasions since October 7. I feel blessed to have them as our partners in building a community of faith and mutual support.
I hope you will recognize in our statement that dialogue and partnership are a shared commitment among our local faith leaders and that they are steadfast allies in the pursuit of a better and safer world for all of us. We have no illusions that our statement will solve or end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we hope that it creates a greater sense of understanding in our community and that, in some small measure, it may contribute to a more peaceful path forward for Israelis and Palestinians.
Rabbi Andrea London
