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7. Palestinians I believe that the Palestinians should have a state. So do the overwhelming majority of Israelis. I believe that they should have freedom and dignity; that their children should have a future; that there should be an end to the terrible suffering that has existed since 29 September 2000 because of the collapse of the peace process. Their fate has been a tragic one, and no one with the slightest humanitarian instincts could wish it to continue. Jews did not return home to deny others a home. That was neither the intent of the early settlers, nor the language of the Balfour Declaration or the United Nations resolution. The tragedy is that Israelis can understand the plight of the Palestinians better than any other people on earth. They know what it is to eat the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of suffering. They know that Jews are commanded to love the stranger. The Writings and Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks z"l www.alexisrael.org 5 The broad shape of a solution to the problem of Israel and the Palestinians has never been in doubt. It was implicit in the Balfour Declaration in 1917, explicit in the 1947 United Nations resolution on partition… two states for two peoples, a political solution to a political problem. As Shimon Peres said when someone asked him whether he could see light at the end of the tunnel: 'I can see the light. The problem is, there is no tunnel. The solution is clear. The question has always been how to get from here to there. … A fundamental falsehood permeates almost every discussion of the Israel-Palestine conflict, namely that it is a zero-sum game in which one side loses and the other side wins. That is precisely what it is not. From peace both sides gain. From violence both sides suffer. That is why not only Israelis, but also those who genuinely care for the Palestinians and for their children's right to a future, must give their support to peace. (pg.150-151)
https://torahinmotion.org/sites/default/files/programs/05%20State%20of%20Israel.pdf
For months before Yitzhak Rabin died the warning lights were flashing. The positions taken were growing more extreme. We began to hear the rhetoric of hate. And what was worst of all, some of those voices were religious voices, and what they said, and what they led to, make me hang my head in shame. As Chief Rabbi I solemnly say: the Judaism I love is not a religion that teaches people to hate one another, that excuses violence, that expresses disdain for the rule of law.
הרב זקס מגנה דתיים בישראל אשר גרמו לו להתבייש
https://rabbisacks.org/archive/memorial-tribute-prime-minister-yitzhak-rabin/
Never ever be embarrassed about being a Jew. Our people has survived so long and contributed so much, that you should see being Jewish as an honour and a responsibility.
Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism. They are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.
The righteous see the good in people; the self-righteous see the bad. The righteous make you feel bigger; the self-righteous make you feel small. The righteous praise; the self-righteous criticise. The righteous are generous; the self-righteous, grudging and judgmental.
Once you know the difference, keep far from the self-righteous, who come in all forms, right and left, religious and secular.
אבל
Tue 27 Aug 2002 02.14 BST
Britain's chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, today delivers an unprecedentedly strong warning to Israel, arguing that the country is adopting a stance "incompatible" with the deepest ideals of Judaism.
He goes on to speak of being "profoundly shocked" at the recent reports of smiling Israeli servicemen posing for a photograph with the corpse of a slain Palestinian.
He also admits that in 1967 he was "convinced that Israel had to give back all the [newly-gained] land for the sake of peace" - and he does not renounce that view now.
Immanuel Jakobovits condemned Israel for "lording it over" the Palestinians.
Sacks says he would even sit down with Sheikh Abu Hamza - who admits to sharing the views of Osama bin Laden. Yesterday the sheikh was quoted saying it was "OK" to kill non-Muslims, and equating Jews with Satan.
Nevertheless, Prof Sacks says a meeting between the two is "a thought worth pursuing. I absolutely don't rule it out."
The chief rabbi, 54, also reveals that he has already met one of Iran's highest-ranking clerics, Ayatollah Abdullah Javadi-Amoli. "We established within minutes a common language", says Prof Sacks, the "particular language believers share."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/aug/27/israel.religion
