Rosh H'Shanah Statement
European Jews for a Just Peace
Jewish New Year 5766

It is both tragic and shameful that, on the Eve of Rosh H'Shanah, the
Jewish New Year, the beginning of the High Holidays, the period of
remembrance, spiritual self-examination, and repentance by Jewish people
everywhere, destruction and new acts of terror were brought to the Gaza
Strip by the Israeli Army.

We remember that it was on the Eve of the High Holidays 2000 when Ariel
Sharon caused increased humiliation, oppression, and death for the
occupied Palestinian people. This memory has not paled, indeed it has
been intensified by the continual, new crimes carried out by the Sharon
Government.

The European Jews for a Just Peace wish to express their unreserved
condemnation of the inexcusable military air attacks on the Gaza Strip,
including innumerable sound attacks by F-16 fighter jets.

These unbearable sound explosions have terrifying effects, including
physical consequences, hearing problems, colics, trauma, etc., on the
entire population of the Gaza Strip, a population of approximately
1.300,000 Palestinians. They are of particular harm to babies, children,
and pregnant women. Many of these air attacks have been carried out at
night.

The Israeli Army is thus terrorising a largely unarmed population with
its military war machine. Many question the recent withdrawal of
settlers from the Gaza Strip, asking whether this was done to give the
Israeli Army a free hand in Gaza. Judging by the reprehensible acts of
the last days, this seems to be the case.

The European Jews for a Just Peace urgently call on the Government of
Israel to cease its targeted, extrajudicial killings, of which at least
11 have occurred in the last 10 days. There can be no justification for
the illegitimacy of these murders. Moreover, other than the illegality
of such criminal actions it should be obvious to the Government of
Israel, which claims to act in the interests of its people, and, indeed,
to any objective observer, that this will only result in an escalation
of violence, retaliation and pain for the civilian Israeli population.

The European Jews for a Just Peace also condemn the arrests of hundreds
of Palestinians on mere suspicion, which is in contravention of
international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The legitimation of
such arrests would mean that any Palestinian can be taken prisoner by
the Israeli Army on the grounds that he is a terrorist, without giving
any proof whatsoever of his guilt.

The European Jews for a Just Peace call on the international community,
the United Nations and the European Union, to finally accept their
responsibility and to put an end to the bloodshed in Palestine. We call
on all peace loving forces to act in every way possible against the
collective punishment meted out against the entire Palestinian
population of almost 4,000,000 people.

The injustice of the 38-year military occupation by Israel over East
Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is now largely being
annexed to Israel by its so-called "separation barrier", must end.
It is totally unacceptable that the United Nations Charter,
international law and innumerable United Nations resolutions and
agreements have been treated with disrespect and are being ignored by
the Israeli Government. Consequently, the international community, the
United Nations and the European Union are urgently requested, in defence
of international law, to take concrete action against the aggressive
policies of the Government of Israel.

On the Eve of Rosh H'Shanah, the Jewish New Year, The European Jews
for a Just Peace declare that the many dead and wounded victims,
destruction, hate and immeasurable pain of the last decades confirm that
peace can never be based on military power and occupation.

We hope that the New Year will give the international community and
above all, the people and Government of Israel the strength and wisdom
to take honest and confidence-building measures to achieve a just and
lasting peace for both peoples.

EJJP, 3 October 2005