The Rabbinical Alliance of America — Igud HaRabbonim, with a membership of over 950 Orthodox Rabbis — condemns the unbalanced and often intentionally misleading reporting by the media regarding the recent Gaza border violence.
Much of the media have failed to report accurately the Hamas-organized attacks on Israel’s border with Gaza — that target Israeli civilians. Videos of these attacks show armed combatants attempting to infiltrate Israel in order to murder civilians. Instead, the Israeli Defense Force is portrayed as the aggressor. In reality, violence would cease immediately if Hamas and other aligned groups would stop their terror.
The death of any of G-d’s children is never cause for celebration but if we fail to accurately report the context of the situation at hand, we directly cause more deaths in the future. Focusing on the wounded and dead demonstrators without telling us why this violence is happening fuels gratuitous enmity and condemnation of Israel and at the same time unwarranted comfort and support to the Hamas terrorists.
How can anyone with a moral vision and ethical center be so callous and brutish as to deny a sovereign nation the right and the duty to defend its borders from those who seek its destruction?
Israel has a moral obligation to prevent terrorists from infiltrating its border. The Israel Defense Forces utilizes documented procedures for engagement, trying soldiers who violate those ethical protocols and punishing those who are convicted. These border attacks by Hamas pose real risk to civilian life, which is being minimized by the ethical decision-making of the responding soldiers.
The Rabbinical Alliance of America thanks the IDF for protecting the lives of Jews, Muslims, Christians and all innocent civilians. War is tragic but defense of innocents is brave, honorable and morally imperative. This is the Torah’s position that is called a teaching for life and nurturing life.
Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, Presidium Chairman of the RAA, stated that much of the current print and electronic media make a mockery of the fifth estate — journalism. Their biased, one-sided reporting only aids the evil Hamas and their supporters to advance the killing and mayhem.
The Rabbinical Alliance of America continues to pray for the peace of all who desire peace and for all who work to bring understanding and truth to a world so conflicted and hurting.
May the One who makes peace in His heavens make peace upon us and upon all Israel. Amen.