Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.
Last week I addressed the accusation of “famine” in Gaza in a letter (HERE) signed by more than 80 Open Orthodox rabbis. This week, I want to look at the second charge in that same letter: so-called “settler violence.”
Last week I addressed the accusation of “famine” in Gaza in a letter (HERE) signed by more than 80 Open Orthodox rabbis. This week, I want to look at the second charge in that same letter: so-called “settler violence.”
To hear the rabbis tell it, extremist settlers are raining down bloody hell on “Palestinians.” But that is exactly false. Which suggests that the signatories have not at all done their due diligence before affixing their names to what stands as a very public condemnation of Israel at a time of extreme peril for the Jewish people.
If they had done the bare minimum research before signing their John Hancocks to that statement accusing Israel of not doing enough to combat “settler violence,” they would have discovered that only four months earlier, in April 2025, Israeli NGO Regavim had released a detailed report on this very subject, “False Flags and Real Agendas, The Making of a Modern Blood Libel: The ‘Settler Violence’ Narrative as a Weapon in the Battle to Delegitimize the Jewish Presence in Judea and Samaria and the State of Israel”
Regavim, which monitors land use and policy in Judea and Samaria, examined the UN database that is perpetually cited as proof of “settler violence.” What they found was that the numbers collapse under scrutiny, reduced to dust.
“The UN incident list we obtained distinguishes between 2,047 incidents of violence against Israelis and 6,285 incidents defined as violence against Palestinians… once one delves into the list of incidents, the clear conclusion is that the vast majority do not describe violence related to settlers, and certainly do not describe violence initiated by settlers against Palestinians. Among the 6,285 incidents… 1,361 were simply Jewish ascents to the Temple Mount, every one counted as ‘settler violence.’ Another 1,613 were general complaints, such as ‘entry onto land’ during tours or hikes, which do not involve assault or harm. Ninety-six involved legal infrastructure projects carried out by the State of Israel.”
This is the extent of the UN’s “evidence” of settler violence. Temple Mount visits. Land surveys. Legal infrastructure. In other words: ordinary life contorted into charges of violence. And when those distortions are stripped away, we are left with a big pile of nothing.
“After subtracting these cases, only 833 incidents remain, which the UN classified as settler violence against Palestinians in the Judea and Samaria, allegedly resulting in bodily harm and in some cases also property damage. This constitutes only ten percent of the original list, which sought to reflect alarming levels of severe violence by settlers against Palestinians in the Judea and Samaria. Not only did this review cut 90% of the events, undermining the foundation of the UN’s arguments and their consequences, but the remaining cases suffer not only from lack of credibility but also from a disgusting level of false accusation against the real victims.”
Ten percent. That’s all that survived the first cut. Yet these reports, too, are riddled with distortions. Almost half of the reported cases were clashes with both sides involved. Of the rest, some cases of "settler violence" were attributed to Israeli security forces, while others were Arab terror attacks against Jews—recast as ‘settler violence.' Blood libels dressed up as data.
As Regavim concludes:
“…examination of these cases revealed that in many of them, it is not settler violence of one kind or another, but rather the opposite: these are terror attacks by Arabs against settlers that ended with the injury or elimination of the attacker.”
Had the rabbis taken five minutes to investigate, they would have found this information—current, comprehensive, and devastating to their claim. Instead, they affixed their names to a letter built on entries in a database programmed to tell lies. Even the name of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik is invoked, as if to give the letter's distortions a veneer of authority. But the Rav, as he is known to those who revere him, would never have put his name on something so harmful to the Jewish people.
“…examination of these cases revealed that in many of them, it is not settler violence of one kind or another, but rather the opposite: these are terror attacks by Arabs against settlers that ended with the injury or elimination of the attacker.”
Had the rabbis taken five minutes to investigate, they would have found this information—current, comprehensive, and devastating to their claim. Instead, they affixed their names to a letter built on entries in a database programmed to tell lies. Even the name of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik is invoked, as if to give the letter's distortions a veneer of authority. But the Rav, as he is known to those who revere him, would never have put his name on something so harmful to the Jewish people.
Which brings us to the names of the rabbis, themselves.
As my friend Julie P. on seeing the list of names helpfully pointed out, "Not one is Sephardi or Mizrachi."
Look down the list of 80 signatories. It’s tragic really. You’ll see Schudrich, Greenberg, Yanklowitz, Dolinger, Chernick, Feigelson, Schlesinger—names that could have come straight from an early, 20th century Lower East Side synagogue membership roster.
The rabbis who signed this letter of betrayal may have meant no harm to their own, but intentions matter little here; the effect is the same. That letter was like piling logs onto a raging fire—then dousing it with gasoline.
History will not remember the rabbis' statement kindly. At best, the signatories will be judged naïve or misguided. Sad, but with tragic consequences for the Jewish people and in particular for Israel’s hostages and soldiers. The rabbis' missive jeopardizes Israel’s ability to free the hostages, by emboldening the enemy, who now see that even Jewish clergy can be turned into weapons against the Jewish state.
As my friend Julie P. on seeing the list of names helpfully pointed out, "Not one is Sephardi or Mizrachi."
Look down the list of 80 signatories. It’s tragic really. You’ll see Schudrich, Greenberg, Yanklowitz, Dolinger, Chernick, Feigelson, Schlesinger—names that could have come straight from an early, 20th century Lower East Side synagogue membership roster.
With one half-exception—a single hyphenated surname suggesting a mixed background—the entire coalition is Ashkenazi.
And this is telling. Sephardim, even those who are not religious in practice, are deeply respectful of rabbinic authority and tradition. Watching how they comport themselves in the presence of a sage is instructive. I have seen secular Sephardi women cover their arms and heads with a shawl when a rabbi entered the room. Nobody asked them to. They simply revere the rabbis who have guided their people according to the same traditions for generations. Perhaps it is that steadfastness that inoculates Sephardim against the hubris of lecturing Israel on “moral clarity” while parroting Hamas propaganda without looking deeper at the actual facts.
And this is telling. Sephardim, even those who are not religious in practice, are deeply respectful of rabbinic authority and tradition. Watching how they comport themselves in the presence of a sage is instructive. I have seen secular Sephardi women cover their arms and heads with a shawl when a rabbi entered the room. Nobody asked them to. They simply revere the rabbis who have guided their people according to the same traditions for generations. Perhaps it is that steadfastness that inoculates Sephardim against the hubris of lecturing Israel on “moral clarity” while parroting Hamas propaganda without looking deeper at the actual facts.
List of signatories
Rabbi Yosef Blau
Rabbi David Bigman
Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich
Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior
Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior
Rabbi Joav Melchior
Chief Rabbi David Rosen (former CR)
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg
Rabbi Hyim Shafner
Rabbi Daniel Landes
Rabbi Herzl Hefter
Rabbi Shua Mermelstein
Rabbi Yoni Zolty
Rabbanit Mindy Schwartz Zolty
Rabbi Frederick L Klein
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky
Rabbi Michael Whitman
Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah Unterman
Rabbi Barry Dolinger
Rabbi David Silber
Rabbi Yonatan Neril
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
Rabbi Isaac Landes
Rabbi David Polsky
Rabbi Baruch Plotkin
Rabbi Mikey Stein
Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz
Rabbi Ariel Goldberg
Rabbi Ben Birkeland
Rabbi Ralph Genende
Rabbi David Glicksman
Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman
Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin
Rabbi Dr. Pinchas Giller
Rabbi Avidan Freedman
Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein
Rabbi Dr. Shalom Schlagman
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Ross Goodman
Rabbi Aaron Levy
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller
Rabbi Dr. Mel Gottlieb
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Feigelson
Rabbi Jonah Winer
Rabbi Dr. Michael Chernick
Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger
Rabbi Elhanan Miller
Rabbi Joel Hecker
Rabbi Michael Gordan
R. Sofia Freudenstein
Rabbi David Levin-Kruss
Rabbanit Myriam Ackermann-Sommer
Rabba Ramie Smith
R. Shayna Abramson
Rabbi Zachary Truboff
Rabbi David A. Schwartz
Rabbi David Jaffe
Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer Seed
Rabbanit Rachel Keren
Rabbi Benyamin Vineburg
Rabba Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Rabbanit Leah Sarna
Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler
Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz
Rabbi Shimon Brand
Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez
R. Emily Goldberg Winer
R. Dr. Erin Leib Smokler
Rabba Adina Roth
R. Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy
Rabbi Drew Kaplan
Rabbi Dina Najman
Rabbi Emile Ackermann
Rabbi Daniel Geretz
Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz
Rabbanit Tali Schaum Broder
Rabbi Max Davis
Rabbi Tyson Herberger
Rabba Aliza Libman Baronofsky
At first, I wondered whether one surname on the list—Neril—might break the pattern. I had never heard that one before and thought perhaps it was Sephardi. But no. Rabbi Yonatan Neril is Ashkenazi, and best known for founding the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, an organization that promotes environmental action across faith communities. His presence on the list highlights the broader orientation of many of the signatories toward progressive and ecumenical causes, rather than toward Israel’s defense in its hour of need.
The rabbis who signed this letter of betrayal may have meant no harm to their own, but intentions matter little here; the effect is the same. That letter was like piling logs onto a raging fire—then dousing it with gasoline.
History will not remember the rabbis' statement kindly. At best, the signatories will be judged naïve or misguided. Sad, but with tragic consequences for the Jewish people and in particular for Israel’s hostages and soldiers. The rabbis' missive jeopardizes Israel’s ability to free the hostages, by emboldening the enemy, who now see that even Jewish clergy can be turned into weapons against the Jewish state.
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