Help Stop Israel's Weapons Sales to Myanmar - American Jewish Leaders, It's Time to Act
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
American Jewish leaders have spoken out against Myanmar's genocide of the Rohingya people. Now, we ask them to raise their voices and use their influence to end Israel's weapons sales to Myanmar. If the organizations that comprise the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations fail to break their silence and stand up to the Israeli government by next Shabbat, we will stand up to them. Sign the petition to add your name to those demanding that our community use its influence to help end the genocide in Myanmar.
Sponsored by
To:
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,
Today, as the Myanmar military continues to ethnically cleanse thousands of Rohingya in a campaign of rape, pillage and mass killing, we are again reminded of our responsibility to leverage the power our community holds to resist another genocide. Many Jewish organizations have spoken out, and some have even joined a coalition of NGOs calling for states to “suspend military assistance and cooperation with Myanmar.”
But we can no longer turn a blind eye to Israel’s role in selling weapons to the Myanmar government. While Israel has gone to great lengths to keep the details of its weapon sales to Myanmar secret, Burmese generals have publicly bragged about receiving Israeli military equipment, including weapons used to carry out their campaign of slaughter.
In a post-Holocaust world, many Jewish organizations have adopted a policy of unconditional support of Israel. But it’s clear that this policy has curtailed the Jewish community's ability to fully respond to the suffering of others. As painful as it is to publicly confront Israel, we cannot afford to stand idly by. Israel is far from the only country implicated, but it's the only foreign country we, as American Jews, have a significant ability to pressure- and the only country that asserts to act in our name.
This is not the first time Israel has sold weapons to some of the world’s most cruel regimes. Israel - often in concert with the CIA - has supplied weapons to the genocidal Latin American military regimes of El Salvador and Guatemala, the Argentinian junta, the Chilean Pinochet dictatorship, and apartheid South Africa. The Jewish Establishment then similarly spoke out against these regimes in outraged tones--but like today, it was silent on the issue it had the most power to impact: Israel’s support of these regimes with lethal weapons.
Today, we call on you to prove your commitment to fighting the scourge of genocide wherever it appears upon this earth. As Jews we cannot stay silent as long as Israel refuses to join with the United States and other countries in an arms embargo against the Myanmar government. By the close of Shabbat next week, we ask that you:
1) Publicly demand Israel immediately cease arms sales to the Myanmar government; and
2) Postpone all meetings with Israeli officials until they have done so.
In the face of injustice, the Jewish community knows silence is never the answer. Should you, as our communal leadership refuse to stand for what is right, we will stand up to you too.
Respectfully,
IfNotNow & the undersigned