VATICAN - Religious leaders and civil society representatives in North America have spoken out against a plan by U.S. President Trump to forcibly relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to create land for real estate development. Rabbi David Rosen, speaking to Vatican media, stated: "Forced displacement is immoral and violates the Geneva Convention."

Roberto Paglialonga - Vatican

This news caused a stir. An entire page of The New York Times, with a white background and a large black box in the center, featured several words that are significant to us: "Trump called for the expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jews say no to ethnic cleansing!" This strong statement, signed by over 350 rabbis, activists, and other figures in North American Jewish culture, condemns the U.S. president's proposal to "relocate Palestinians from the Strip" to create a valuable real estate area. The plan, which would involve relocating approximately 2 million people who have survived the conflict between Israel and Hamas to Arab countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, was announced by Trump last week at the end of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among the civil society representatives who signed the statement are playwright Tony Kushner, actress Ilana Glazer, Canadian writer and activist Naomi Klein, and actor Joaquin Phoenix.

Trump's plan is "devious"

Cody Edgerly, director of the "In Our Name" campaign and one of the main organizers of the advertisement, stated in a report in The Guardian that "it is encouraging to see such a rapid influx of support across the religious and political spectrum." The idea, which for many evokes the Nakba of 1948, was described by one of the signatories, Rabbi Tobia Spitzer of the Doshei Tzedek congregation in Newton, Massachusetts, as a "devious plan" against which it is "vitally important" to stand. "We Jews know better than anyone what kind of violence such fantasies can lead to," he added, recalling the massacres of the Jewish people carried out by Hitler. Rabbi Yosef Berman of the New Synagogue Project in Washington, D.C., who is also on the list of signatories, stated that "Jewish teaching is clear: Trump is not God and cannot take away the natural dignity of Palestinians or steal their land for real estate deals. Trump's desire to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians is morally repugnant."

Rabbi Rosen: It violates the Geneva Convention

Rabbi David Rosen, former director of international interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and currently a special interreligious advisor at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, emphasized the importance of this initiative in an interview with Vatican media, stating that it is useful to ensure that "the world knows as much as possible" that Trump's idea, "as it is and as it was understood, is unacceptable." However, he also stated that he does not believe that "this statement will change anything, precisely because it comes from that part of the political spectrum that is in opposition" to the current U.S. leader, "and therefore has no interest in paying attention." "The forced displacement of a population is a violation of the Geneva Convention," he concluded, "but what is more important is that it is immoral. When people choose to move voluntarily, that is a different matter." But any "forced displacement is morally unacceptable from an ethical point of view."

Precedents

American rabbis are no strangers to taking strong public stances against US policy and in support of the Palestinian cause. In January 2024, thirty-six of them disrupted a United Nations General Assembly session with chants and banners, demanding that then-President Joe Biden stop vetoing resolutions in the Security Council and take urgent action to support an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

vaticannews.va / gnews.cz-jav