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PRESS
RELEASE
 RABBINICAL CONGRESS
FOR PEACE BRINGS 'NEW APPROACH' TO MIDEAST QUESTION
 (WASHINGTON,
JULY 14, 2004) A delegation of three prominent rabbis representing
the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a 1,200-member organization of
rabbis from Israel, Canada, and the United States, came to Washington
today to discuss a "new approach" to peace in Israel and
Palestine.
The delegation met with both Republican and Democratic Members of
Congress and spoke to journalists at the National Press Club.
The message they brought was the same regardless of audience:
"As rabbis we love peace and pray for global peace, especially
in Israel. Moreover, the teaching of the Torah obliges us to guide
our followers to pursue peace, but for a true and lasting peace, not
an artificial one. Silence on the part of rabbis in such an urgent
matter of life or death is considered highly irresponsible."
Speaking for the group, Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky said:
"We are here as rabbis who are also American constituents. We
are here specifically to share our concern about the adverse impact
by the proposed disengagement plan from Gaza and proposed PLO State
upon American values, security, and interests."
The delegation presented the Congressmen with a copy of the clear
Ruling in the Jewish Code of Law Chapter 329 that it is absolutely
forbidden to give up even one inch of land to non-Jews for it will
increase bloodshed as we have witnessed since the giving up of Sinai.
(Terrorists now use the territory they got back to build tunnels and
the facilitation of smuggling explosives and missiles, including Egyptian-made
missiles, and the intensification of terrorism, which destabilizes
the region) and the Oslo accord (1,400 Israelis murdered, which is
proportionately equal to 70,000 Americans).
When presented with this "new approach," Congressman Dan
Burton (R-Indiana) responded, "This is not new -- this is the
true approach that I embraced 10 and 20 years ago."
Concluded Rabbi Gerlitzky: "The Land of Israel is ours only because
G-d gave it to us as an eternal heritage. We do not lay claim to the
land because of our strength, our army, or our diplomacy. It is ours
solely because it was given to us by G-d, the Holy Land of the Jewish
People. Only such an approach will bring true peace and stability
to the region."
-30-
SOURCE: Rabbinical Congress for Peace
URL: http://www.rcp.org.il
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