WCC NEWS: Rabbis for Human Rights: “We want to slowly rehabilitate our path towards a just and peaceful future”

Anton Goodman is director of Partnerships for Rabbis for Human Rights. He took time to reflect on how and why Rabbis for Human Rights values its partnership with the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel; the challenges ahead; and ultimately the vision for a just and peaceful future. Old City, Jerusalem: People come and go on one of the streets in the Old City of Jerusalem. File Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 30 January 2025 “Reconciliation begins with awareness for human rights,” said Goodman. “When we come to a Palestinian community and provide protective presence and solidarity, the relations that develop lead to reconciliation.” But we cannot have reconciliation without a conscious acknowledgement of the human rights violations that Palestinians face, cautioned Goodman. “People talk about reconciliation in general, but we have to find a way together,” he said. “I do not believe in merely meeting together; there has to be active work to defend human rights for Palestinians.” Goodman, an Orthodox Jew, describes the current situation as a human rights nightmare. “Jewish theology from the time of the Bible throughout all of the commentators clearly says that there is no ownership of land, especially of the Holy Land, and that ownership belongs to God,” he said. “We see a need for education and awareness within Israeli society.” Rabbis for Human Rights works with thousands of Jewish Israeli students before they go into the army, teaching them about human rights by using Jewish texts and by looking at violations in Israel and the occupied territories. “We try to reach as many Israelis as possible, to open their eyes about the occupation, and to provide them with a Jewish perspective on human rights and justice,” he said. “Much of the work is on the ground in the West Bank, where we provide a protective presence, bringing hundreds of Israelis to stand in solidarity, mainly in Area C, and to stand up against settler violence.”  Rabbis for Human Rights also has an agricultural support presence, bringing approximately 1,000 Israelis and internationals - but mainly Israelis - to provide a protective presence during the olive harvest.  The reality on the ground When asked about Jerusalem, Goodman acknowledged that Jerusalem has a spiritual value in all of the three monotheistic religions.  “Jewish texts identify Jerusalem as a city of all people who can come together and worship God,” he said. “The reality on the ground today is totally different from this vision.” Goodman sees a divided city, deep infrastructure discrimination, aggressive police and security policies against Palestinians, and increasing amounts of home demolitions. “The reality on the ground in Jerusalem is a lack of rights for East Jerusalem Palestinians,” he said. “We have a long history of working with Palestinian neighborhoods such as Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, where there is settler incursion.” As a multi-denominational Jewish organization, Rabbis for Human Rights includes rabbis who are Orthodox, Conservative Reform, and Humanist.  “We have gender equality within our organization, and we changed our Hebrew name to be gender neutral,” Goodman explained. “Our chairperson is a woman, and our board and staff are all fifty percent gender-equal.” In addition to a women’s interfaith prayer group, Rabbis for Human Rights also invite imams from Israel to regularly join in prayers and activities.  “Interfaith is so important to us, because we look to leverage our shared values towards faith-based activism,” explained Goodman. "So it is not only speaking, but being active to protect human rights on the ground.” The value of ecumenical accompaniers Goodman believes the partnership between Rabbis for Human Rights and the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is valuable, because both groups provide a protective presence and document human rights abuses from a faith-based perspective.  “We are also on the International Reference Group of EAPPI, and we have done many partnerships on the ground with the ecumenical accompaniers,” said Goodman. “EAPPI provides us with knowledge and best practices, which are useful to us.” He also noted that EAPPI documents settler violence, and when Rabbis for Human Rights receives that information, it helps them plan their activities as well.  “Last week we published a letter in the Swedish media, co-signed by numerous organizations, against the decision by the Swedish Government to prevent funding for EAPPI,” said Goodman. “We supported this letter because we think that the thoughtful and caring ecumenical accompaniers, who bring human dignity to people’s lives, must continue doing their work.” Upcoming activities “Our upcoming activity will be in Al-Walajeh village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, next to a new checkpoint,” said Goodman. “Our action together with the ecumenical accompaniers there is to protect Palestinian land, and not to turn a blind eye to the violation of rights.” The checkpoint was moved 2.5 kilometers into Palestinian land, which means that Al-Walajeh Palestinians lost 2,000 dunums (2.5 kilometers) of land.  Another ongoing activity is the alternative Jerusalem March conducted by Rabbis for Human Rights.  “We have seen the Jerusalem Day march, which is an Israeli national holiday marking the ‘unification’ of Jerusalem coopted by ultranationalists to further attack Palestinians in Jerusalem on that day,” said Goodman. “Overall, the concept that Jerusalem is ‘united' is not accurate.” He insists that Jerusalem is not a unified city.  “And when you have Israelis marching with flags throughout Palestinian neighborhoods and they yell racist chants,  we see it not only as a human rights abuse, but also as an abuse of our Jewish values,” he said. “So we march representing a different vision of the city: of human rights, equality, and peace.” He urges people to recognize that Palestinians are living under inequality, when their neighborhoods have little water supply or their homes are destroyed. “Our next march will be on 22 May, and it is designed by a coalition of 30 organizations who are from all religions: Jews, Muslims, and Christians,” he said.  When asked about the call to action of Rabbis for Human Rights, Goodman harked back to the Old Testament. “Our call for action is to embrace our core text which is the Old Testament, and the human rights within it, to immediately stop human rights abuses,” he said. “We want to slowly rehabilitate our path towards a just and peaceful future.” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland