124 Jewish Studies Scholars on Trump's Jerusalem Declaration

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Trump's pronouncement ended the longstanding charade of a peace process - dead-on-arrival each time initiated. 

It stripped the mask off Washington as an honest broker on any issues. It showed unforgivable contempt for Palestinian rights - revealed for the whole world to see, no longer lurking in the shadows, no pretense otherwise.

It assured continued occupation harshness, apartheid viciousness, land theft, ethnic cleansing, and cold-blooded murder at Israel's discretion, supported and encouraged by Washington.

It leaves Palestinians struggling for liberation alone, the world community dismissive of their longstanding suffering for failing to intervene on their behalf.

There's no joy in Occupied Palestine this holiday season. There never was before, just lingering hope for something better one day, nothing ahead in prospect.

The statement by Jewish studies scholars said the following:

"We write as Jewish Studies scholars to express our dismay at the Trump administration's decision to reverse decades of bipartisan US policy by declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and authorizing the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv, outside of a negotiated political framework that ends the legal state of occupation and ensures respect for the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to Jerusalem."

"Jerusalem is of immense religious and thus emotional significance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. It is the focus of national aspirations for both Israelis and Palestinians." 

"We hope one day to see a world in which all inhabitants of the land enjoy equal access to the city's cultural and material resources. Today, unfortunately, that is not the case."

"As the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has documented, Palestinian residents of Jerusalem endure systematic inequalities, including an inequitable distribution of the city's budget and municipal services, routine denial of building permits that are granted to Jewish residents, home demolitions, and legal confiscation of property for Jewish settlement." 

"In addition, Palestinians in the West Bank, unlike Jewish Israelis residents in that territory, require a special permit to visit Jerusalem's holy sites."

"In this context, a declaration from the United States government that appears to endorse sole Jewish proprietorship over Jerusalem adds insult to ongoing injury and is practically guaranteed to fan the flames of violence." 

"We therefore call on the US government to take immediate steps to deescalate the tensions resulting from the President's declaration and to clarify Palestinians' legitimate stake in the future of Jerusalem."

Signatories include:

1.    Beverly Bailis, Brooklyn College

2.    Mark Baker, Monash University

3.    Elissa Bemporad, Queens College and The CUNY Graduate Center

4.    Mara Benjamin, Mount Holyoke College

5.    Matthew Berkman, University of Pennsylvania

6.    Joel Berkowitz, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

7.    Lila Berman, Temple University

8.    David Biale, University of California, Davis

9.    Jeffrey Blutinger, California State University, Long Beach

10.    Ra'anan Boustan, Princeton University

11.    Zachary Braiterman, Syracuse University

12.    Francesca Bregoli, Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY

13.    Emma Brodeur, Syracuse University

14.    Samuel Brody, University of Kansas

15.    Debra Caplan, Baruch College, CUNY

16.    Jessica Carr, Lafayette College

17.    Flora Cassen, UNC Chapel Hill

18.    Geoffrey Claussen, Elon University

19.    Aryeh Cohen, American Jewish University

20.    Rebecca Davis, University of Delaware

21.    Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Vancouver School of Theology

22.    Barat Ellman, Fordham University

23.    Barbara Epstein, University of California, Santa Cruz

24.    Robert Erlewine, Illinois Wesleyan University

25.    Sara Feldman, University of Illinois

26.    Sandy Fox, New York University

27.    Ben Freeman, Harvard Divinity School

28.    Joshua Friedman, Duke University

29.    Olga Gershenson, University of Massachusetts

30.    Shai Ginsburg, Duke University

31.    Evan Goldstein, Yale University

32.    Andrew Gordon, University of Florida

33.    Erin Graff Zivin, University of Southern California

34.    Ronnie Grinberg, University of Oklahoma

35.    Chaya Halberstam, Western University

36.    Rachel Havrelock, University of Illinois Chicago

37.    Elizabeth Heineman, University of Iowa

38.    Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College

39.    Jonathan Hess, UNC Chapel Hill

40.    Curtis Hutt, University of Nebraska at Omaha

41.    Claire Katz, Texas A&M

42.    Gwynn Kessler, Swarthmore College

43.    Rebekah Klein-Pejsova, Purdue University

44.    Michal Kofman, University of Louisville

45.    Rachel Kranson, University of Pittsburgh

46.    Chana Kronfeld, University of California, Berkeley

47.    Jacob Labendz, Youngstown State University

48.    Yitz Landes, Princeton University

49.    Timothy Langille, Arizona State University

50.    Nitzan Lebovic, Lehigh University

51.    Daniil Leiderman, Texas A&M

52.    Brian Leonard, Boston College High School

53.    Maggie Levantovskaya, Santa Clara University

54.    Daniel Levine, University of Alabama

55.    Laura Levitt, Temple University

56.    Lital Levy, Princeton University

57.    Andrea Lieber, Dickinson College

58.    Ari Linden, University of Kansas

59.    Joe Lockard, Arizona State University

60.    Ian Lustick, University of Pennsylvania

61.    Lindsay Macumber, Saint Mary's University

62.    Shaul Magid, Indiana University

63.    Charles Manekin, University of Maryland

64.    Barbara Mann, Jewish Theological Seminary

65.    Ibrahim Miari, University of Pennsylvania

66.    Michael Miller, Liverpool Hope university

67.    Sarah Anne Minkin, UC Berkeley

68.    Leslie Morris, University of Minnesota

69.    Eva Mroczek, UC Davis

70.    Rachel Neis, University of Michigan

71.    Judith Newman, University of Toronto

72.    Anita Norich, University of Michigan

73.    Jess Olson, Yeshiva University

74.    Ranen Omer-Sherman, University of Louisville

75.    Riv-Ellen Prell, University of Minnesota

76.    Vadim Putzu, Missouri State University

77.    Shari Rabin, College of Charleston

78.    Randi Rashkover, George Mason University

79.    Elliot Ratzman, Lawrence University

80.    Emily Rogal, Harvard Divinity School

81.    Na'ama Rokem, University of Chicago

82.    Kate Rosenblatt, Emory University

83.    Jordan Rosenblum, University of Wisconsin-Madison

84.    Bruce Rosenstock, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

85.    Michael Rothberg, UCLA

86.    Adam Rovner, University of Denver

87.    Nora Rubel, University of Rochester

88.    Elias Sacks, University of Colorado Boulder

89.    Alison Schofield, University of Denver

90.    Benjamin Schreier, Penn State University

91.    Joshua Schwartz, New York University

92.    Naomi Seidman, Graduate Theological Union

93.    Sasha Senderovich, University of Washington, Seattle

94.    Joshua Shanes, College of Charleston

95.    Nathaniel Shils, University of Pennsylvania

96.    Anne Shlay, Georgia State University

97.    David Shneer, University of Colorado Boulder

98.    Maeera Shreiber, University of Utah

99.    Larry Silver, University of Pennsylvania

100. Shana Sippy, Centre College

101. Andrew Sloin, Baruch College, CUNY

102. Rachel Smith, UCLA

103. Scott Spector, University of Michigan

104. Loren Spielman, Portland State University

105. Gregory Spinner, Skidmore College

106. Neta Stahl, Johns Hopkins University

107. Deborah Starr, Cornell University

108. Richard Steigmann-Gall, Kent State University

109. Mira Sucharov, Carleton University

110. David Teutsch, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

111. Irene Tucker, University of California, Irvine

112. Alana Vincent, University of Chester, UK

113. Burton Visotzky, Jewish Theological Seminary

114. Anika Walke, Washington University in St. Louis

115. Kerry Wallach, Gettysburg College

116. Mira Wasserman, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

117. Dov Waxman, Northeastern University

118. Liliane Weissberg, University of Pennsylvania

119. Beth Wenger, University of Pennsylvania

120. Barry Wimpfheimer, Northwestern University

121. James Young, University of Massachusetts Amherst

122. Michael Zank, Boston University

123. Saul Zaritt, Harvard University

124. Sarah Zarrow, Western Washington University

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