Rival rabbis face off over ethics of Gaza starvation

Two groups of Orthodox rabbis have gone head to head in fiery letters about the ethics of the Gaza war, setting the parameters for a values debate that may define Jewish responsibility in the modern world.

Eighty Orthodox rabbis from around the world last month issued “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis”. Among the signatories is Australian Rabbi Ralph Genende.

The universalism of this message caused immense fury from their Orthodox peers and was widely criticised on social media. The result was a reponse letter from a group calling itself the Coalition for Jewish Values. "A Rabbinic Response to a Misguided “Call for Moral Clarity"" was signed by 204 rabbis, including Rabbi Alexander Tsykin of Brighton Hebrew Congregation.

The first letter was spearheaded by Rabbi Yosef Blau, a longtime leading rabbi at Yeshiva University in New York who retired and moved to Israel this year.

It is based on evidence of acute malnutrition in Gaza, where a famine was officially declared by the UN food security body in August. The rabbis' letter references Israel's 78-day blockade of humanitarian aid and notes Israel's responsibility to do what it can to alleviate hunger.

“Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of Israel of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation," the rabbis write.