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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