TO: Fellow American Jews

CC: Jews Around the World

FROM: Jews for Humanity Now: A way forward by Jewish Political Strategists

DATE: August 3, 2025

RE: Jews Criticizing Israel Is Not Betrayal. It Is a Moral and Strategic Imperative.

Intro

We write to you not just as political strategists, but as Jews, concerned for the future of our people, our safety, and our moral standing in the world.

We helped lead presidential campaigns, shape national policy, and build movements. But this may be the most important campaign of our lives: the fight for Jewish moral clarity and long-term safety.

For millennia, Jews have been scapegoated, exiled, and persecuted, from ancient Egypt to pogroms to the Holocaust. We survived by fighting for our right to exist. But what once served as a survival instinct has, in many cases, hardened into a trauma response that no longer protects us. Instead, it is clouding our judgment and compromising our moral clarity.

Moral Clarity Is Not Betrayal

October 7th was horrifying. And very real threats to Jews persist in Israel, in America, and around the world.

But the response we’ve seen, overwhelming military force with no plan, no guardrails, the killing of children, starvation of civilians, and no path to peace, is not self-defense. It is simply, desperately wrong. We must be better than those who threaten our existence.

We were raised on the vow of Never Again. But what does Never Again mean if it applies only to us?

Are we enabling mass atrocity in Gaza in the name of Jewish survival? What kind of future will we leave our children if we stay silent? For Holocaust survivors to witness the Jewish state, created to be a refuge, compared credibly to its historical oppressors it is beyond tragic.

We understand that many people support Israel’s right to exist. But that does not mean blindly supporting this government or its policies.

A democracy cannot deny millions of people basic rights. If Palestinians lack freedom and political representation, we must ask: how can their voices be heard, through reform, equal rights, or a path to self-determination?

Nearly $20 billion in U.S. military aid has gone to Netanyahu’s government since October 7th. We have all seen the destruction it has funded. And we’ve seen how his government has tried to keep the truth from the world.

History shows that brute force and “search and destroy” strategies don’t bring peace. They breed radicalism. Just as ISIS rose from the ashes in Iraq, and al-Qaeda reemerged after Afghanistan, this path risks making the region, and the world, less safe for Jews.

The Myth of Unity and the Reality of Risk

Too often, any criticism of Israel is labeled antisemitic or disloyal. But dissent is not betrayal. Real leadership means speaking difficult truths, even to those we love.

When Jewish and Israeli human rights experts describe what’s happening in Gaza as genocide, we cannot look away. When young Jews disengage from our institutions, we must ask why, not accuse them of abandonment.

We must stop falling back on tired talking points like “Israel has the right to defend itself” as if they absolve all actions. We must stop blaming Hamas alone for the humanitarian crisis when credible reports show Israeli blockades are denying food, water, and medicine to civilians. We have an obligation to stand against that.

Pointing fingers at other Arab countries for not absorbing Palestinians is a distraction. So is saying we didn’t speak up during other atrocities. We should have. And that failure does not excuse silence now.

We Are Not Powerless

During the Holocaust, Jews were turned away from refuge, including by the U.S., and left to die. When Israel was founded in that shadow, Jews were fragile and desperate for a safe haven.

But that is no longer our reality.

Israel today is a nuclear-armed state with one of the world’s most powerful militaries, backed by the United States. While antisemitism is still a frightening part of our reality and lived experience, American Jews are not marginalized: we help lead in science, politics, law, and culture. We have not just survived, we have thrived.

We are no longer the underdogs of the past three thousand years.

With our strength comes responsibility. Silence is not safety. And blind loyalty is not protection. It is peril.

The Next Generation Is Trying to Lead. Let Them.

If we say that speaking up for Palestinians is antisemitic, or that loyalty to Israel means silence, we are pushing future Jewish leaders into isolation. We are telling them their values and their identity are incompatible.

That is not just false. It is self-destructive.

Young Jews will not blindly defend injustice in the name of loyalty. Nor should they have to choose between being Jewish and being moral.

Because if we lose them, we don’t just lose candidates, voters, and donors. We lose the future of our people.

To Those Hesitating to Act

We know how hard this is. Many of us have spoken out, risking jobs and relationships. We’ve endured painful arguments with loved ones and close friends. We’ve been accused of betrayal, and of justifying violence against Jews.

But we do not speak out to make people comfortable. We do it because we love our community. 

It’s okay to be proud of your Jewish identity and criticize this military operation. It’s okay to support a Jewish state and reject this government. It’s okay to demand a permanent ceasefire. It’s okay to say: not in our name.

Jewishness isn’t about borders or power. It’s about people, memory, and moral courage.

We don’t have to choose between being Jewish and being just. We can build a world where all people, regardless of their race, religion, color, or creed, have refuge—not just some. We can expand our circle of concern to include all people, not just “our” people. 

Jewish strength should be measured in our ability to live our values, especially when it’s hard.

What You Can Do Right Now

• Live the values of Respect, Empower, and Include. Be peaceful, principled, and respectful in how you show up.

• Speak up. In synagogues, family group chats, on social media, and with your elected officials—speak firmly, clearly, and from a place of love. Call people in, not just out. Use your voice. Share our message and image. Say clearly: Not in my name. Say boldly: Never again means never again—for anyone.

Additional actions:

• Demand conditional aid. Any future U.S. military assistance to Israel must come with conditions: transparency, accountability, and a path to peace.

• Call for a ceasefire. Support Jewish and Israeli voices of conscience calling for an end to the violence.

• Donate. Contribute to organizations providing urgent humanitarian relief in Gaza, including: Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen, ANERA, and The Sameer Project

• Use your leverage. If you’re a political donor or investor, make it clear: defending human rights is not antisemitic, it’s a moral obligation.

• Reconsider unconditional support for groups like AIPAC, the ADL, and others defending far-right Israeli policies. Make your support conditional on values and accountability.

• Support aligned organizations. Learn from established groups that have been working towards peace, dignity, and justice for all people, such as: IfNotNow, New Jewish Narrative, Standing Together, Jewish Voice for Peace. Or look into groups like J Street and T’ruah.

For a long time, American Jews have fought for civil rights and stood with the oppressed. Now is not the time to abandon that legacy. If we stay silent, we don’t just risk prolonging this losing campaign, we risk losing the moral foundation of Jewish life.

But it’s not too late.

We can still lead with integrity and compassion. We can still align Jewish values with Jewish survival.

With love and respect,

Jews for Humanity Now Founding Organizers