T’ruah Wins A Big Victory for Jewish Communal Transparency

Brooke Davies Image
Brooke Davies
on September 23, 2016

Last week, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights won a major victory for all those who believe in Jewish communal transparency and upholding the distinction between Israel and the occupied territory beyond the Green Line.

After over a year of pressuring the Jewish National Fund in the United States (JNF-USA) to provide greater financial transparency, they finally succeeded. JNF-USA has published a detailed breakdown of its investments in projects around the world and in Israel – including hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting projects and organizations operating in the settlements.

On behalf of J Street U and J Street, I congratulate T’ruah on their success. It shows how important it is that those who believe in a two-state solution and a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians stand up doggedly for what we believe in. Even when we face opposition, we need to keep insisting that our community take responsibility for the impact of our contributions and investments in Israel.

J Street U has been engaging with Jewish communal leaders over the course of the last year to ask them to take accountability for how they engage with Israel and the occupied territory – and to speak out against actions and groups that work to entrench the occupation and undermine Israel’s future. In the wake of T’ruah’s important victory, we feel even more empowered to push forward with our work.

Slowly but surely, change is possible.