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Jewish Values and Israel's Use of Force in Armed Conflict

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Jewish Values and Israel's Use of Force in Armed Conflict ערכים יהודים ושימוש בכוח על ידי ישראל בעימות מזוין Jewish Values and Israel’s Use • ערכים יהודים ושימוש בכוח :of Force in Armed Conflict על ידי ישראל בעימות מזוין: Perspectives from World Jewry עמדות יהודי העולם Project Heads ראשי הפרויקט Shmuel Rosner | Michael Herzog שמואל רוזנר | מיכאל הרצוג A Special Report by the Jewish People Policy Institute דו"ח מיוחד של המכון למדיניות העם היהודי Jewish Values and Israel’s Use of Force in Armed Conflict in Use of Force and Israel’s Values Jewish שותפים וחברי האסיפה הכללית: מועצת המנהלים והמועצה Partners and Members Board of Directors and המקצועית המנחה: :of the General Meeting: Professional Guiding Council קרן ויליאם דוידסון יושבי ראש Lester Crown and Charles Goodman Co-Chairs סטוארט אייזנשטאט אליסה רובינס דוקטורוף ולינדה מירל on behalf of Crown Family Philanthropies Stuart Eizenstat מטעם פדרציית ניו יורק דניס רוס Dennis Ross William David on Foundation יו"ר עמית s פול זינגר Associate Chair ליאוניד נבזלין מטעם קרן פול זינגר Nathan and Frances Kirsh Leonid Nevzlin on behalf of the Kirsh Family Foundation חברי מועצת המנהלים: Members of the Board אירינה נבזלין קוגן Elliott Abrams אליוט אברמס Irina Nevzlin Kogan מטעם קרן נדב Yohanna Arbib on behalf of Nadav Foundation יוהנה ארביב Irwin Cotler אריק גולדשטיין נתן ופרנסיס קירש Alisa Robbins Doctoroff and Linda Mirels Wendy Fisher מישה גלפרין בשם קרן משפחת קירש בע"מ on behalf of UJA Federation of New York Sami Friedrich אלן הופמן Misha Galperin סטיב הופמן לסטר קראון וצ’רלס גודמן Charles Ratner Eric Goldstein דן הלפרין מטעם קרן משפחת קראון Dan Halperin אהרון ידלין as Chairman of the JAFI Board of Governors Steve Hoffman גלן לווי Ratner Family צ’רלס רטנר ברנרד-הנרי לוי Alan Hoffmann David Kolitz יו"ר חבר הנאמנים של הסוכנות היהודית לא"י מורלי לוין Natan Sharansky Vernon Kurtz יהודית בוקסר ליברנט as Chairman of the JAFI Executive משפחת רטנר יצחק מולכו Morlie Levin יעקב נאמן David Silvers Bernard-Henri Lévy קרן ג’ודי ומייקל שטיינהרט סטיב נסטיר as Chairman of the JAFI Budget Glen Lewy Judit Bokser Liwerant אלן סולו and Finance Committee נתן שרנסקי טד סוקולסקי Isaac Molho יו”ר הנהלת הסוכנות היהודית לא”י ג’רי סילברמן Paul E. Singer Steven Nasatir אבי פזנר on behalf of the Paul E. Singer Foundation Yaakov Neeman וונדי פישר Avi Pazner רני טריינין סמי פרידריך The Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation Jehuda Reinharz סגן יו"ר הנהלת הסוכנות היהודית לא"י אירווין קוטלר Doron Shorer דוד קוליץ Jerry Silverman דוד סילברס ,Our thanks to UJA Federation of New York ורנון קורץ The Jewish Federations of North America, Ted Sokolsky יו"ר ועדת התקציב והכספים של הסוכנות היהודית לא"י יהודה ריינהרץ the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Alan Solow דורון שורר ,the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Michael Steinhardt מייקל שטיינהרט Arlene Kaufman and Sandy Baklor, Aharon Yadlin תודות לארלין קאופמן וסנדי בקלור, Alex Grass z"l and Jack Kay z"l לפדרציית ניו-יורק, לפדרציית שיקגו, נשיא ומנכ"ל מייסד for their support of this project. President and Founding Director לפדרציית קליבלנד, לפדרציית סנט לואיס, אבינועם בר-יוסף Avinoam Bar-Yosef לפדרציות היהודיות בצפון אמריקה, Projects Coordinator לאלכס גראס ז”ל וג’ק קיי ז”ל, ניהול פרויקטים Ita Alcalay על תמיכתם בפרוייקט איטה אלקלעי JEWISH VALUES AND ISRAEL’S USE OF FORCE IN ARMED CONFLICT: PERSPECTIVES FROM WORLD JEWRY A Special Report by the Jewish People Policy Institute JPPI Copyright © 2015 by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without express written permission from the publisher. An original project of the Jewish People Policy Institute (Established by the Jewish Agency for Israel, Ltd.) (CC) JPPI, Givat Ram Campus, P.O.B 39156, Jerusalem 9139101, Israel Telephone: 972-2-5633356 | Fax: 972-2-5635040 | www.jppi.org.il Cover, Graphic Design and Production: Lotte Design Cover Photo by the Israeli Defense Forces Flickr Printed and distributed by JPPI Table of Contents Foreword by Avinoam Bar-Yosef 5 Jewish Values and Israel’s Use of Force in Armed Conflict: Perspectives from World Jewry 9 A Special Report by the Jewish People Policy Institute 9 Introduction 15 Dialogue Background: The Military Operation in Gaza and Allegations against Israel 21 Israel-Diaspora Tensions and Jewish Reactions to Operation Protective Edge 27 What do Jews Expect of Israel? 35 Do Diaspora Jews Think that Israel Should Take them into Consideration? 41 Is Israel Willing to take Diaspora-Jewish Opinions into Account? 47 Political Views and the Strength of the Israel-Diaspora Relationship 53 Jewish Ethics as a Source for Israeli Policy in Wartime 63 How Israel Acts, and How it is Perceived 71 The Effect of Israel’s Recent Wars on Diaspora Jews 77 Jewish Youth and Israel: Discrepancies over the Use of Force 85 Appendix A: Background on the Seminars, Their Advantages and Limitations 95 Appendix B: Data from the Survey Administered to Dialogue Participants 101 Appendix C Appendix C: Questionnaire handed out to the Dialogue participants 105 Appendix D: Technical data, including a list of participating communities and participants 109 Main Publications of the Jewish People Policy Institute 133 About JPPI 135 Foreword This is the second year theJ ewish People Policy Institute has led a structured Dialogue process in Jewish communities throughout the world on topics of significance and influence on all Jews Last year, in the framework of an Israel Ministry of Justice process and several legislative proposals, the Dialogue was conducted on the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel Professor Ruth Gavison, who prepared recommendations for the Justice Minister, asked the Institute to examine Diaspora Jews’ attitudes toward Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and the implications of the legislative initiatives on their lives abroad This year’s Dialogue was conducted under the broader umbrella of the Institute's Pluralism and Democracy Project, supported by the William Davidson Foundation Following Operation Protective Edge, and in parallel with a similar project requested by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we decided to focus in 2015 on one of the more sensitive subjects in the Jewish Diaspora discourse: Jewish Values and Israel’s Use of Force in Armed Conflicts As in the previous year, JPPI conducted more than 40 seminars in Jewish communities around the world – from Melbourne and Sydney in Australia; through Johannesburg in South Africa; Paris and London in Europe; from New York, Washington DC and Atlanta on the East coast of the US and through Dallas in the South and Los Angeles in the West; from Chicago and Cleveland in the Midwest; and Toronto, Canada to the North through Sao Paolo, Brazil in South America The State ofI srael was established as the core state of the Jewish people Unlike other countries, Israel carries the responsibility not just of its citizens without regard to differences in religion or race, but it also shoulders the heavy onus for the future and security of the entire Jewish people The Jewish communities provide Israel not only a first line of support, they are a strategic asset This is at the foundation of Israel’s raison d’etre, which is expressed in conferring citizenship to all Jews Most Diaspora Jews, who are loyal to their countries and local communities, feel a special closeness and common destiny with the Jewish state They were involved in its establishment not only through political lobbying and financial support Many volunteered or encouraged their children to volunteer for the IDF and assisted in THE JEWISH PEOPLE POLICY INstITUTE 5 its wars of defense and survival A significant part of World Jewry feels that through the State of Israel they are partnering in the principle of Arevut Hadadit – Mutual Commitment among all Jews Over the years, there has been no small number of disagreements between Jews in Israel and throughout the world Such differences have occurred with respect to religion and the recognition of various religious streams; the question "Who is a Jew?"; on ideological issues around the Jewish character of the state; on questions of the treatment of minorities; and on political decisions regarding the contours of its borders The Six-Day War was a source of inspiration for many and led to a large increase in Jewish pride and Aliyah, but it has also led to some ideological distance regarding its rule over the lives of another people The eternal connection between Israel and all Jews demands constant dialogue This dialogue has been hampered in real and ongoing ways due to ingrained differences between the communities Israeli Jews live under a sovereign government based on a democratic majority and subject to political structure, while world Jewry is organized through voluntary frameworks in their countries or communities At times, this gap has led to communication difficulties, as well as to each side patronizing the other JPPI took upon itself a heavy and vital mission: to assist in structuring a dialogue and encouraging better mutual understanding of the aspirations, constraints, challenges and opportunities that stand before the communities and before Israel We try to contribute to deepening the connection and helping to bridge disagreements as they arise Many Diaspora Jews feel that Israeli decisions affect their lives in their own countries in many ways: from personal security, through issues of identity and religion, and their
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