An Answer to the Modern Ortodox Rabbis who called for "Moral Clarity" in Gaza

by Avi Abelow

To say that this headline infuriates me is an understatement. This is an embarrassment for the Jewish people and the whole freedom loving world.

I want to speak honestly but gently, not out of anger, but out of deep sorrow.

Recently, a group of rabbis signed a letter criticizing the conduct of Israel's war in Gaza. The letter calls for more humanitarian restraint and suggests Israel is responsible for a moral failing in the war’s execution. On the surface, it speaks in the language of Jewish values, compassion, justice, and dignity.

But with all due respect, and with a heavy heart, I must say: this letter is a painful and dangerous mistake.

If they weren’t Rabbis, my response would be much more forceful.

It causes real damage, not just to Israel’s image, but to Am Yisrael itself, especially as we remain in the middle of a multi-front war for our survival.

Let’s be clear: this war is not over. Not even close.

Gaza is only one front.

- In the north, Hezbollah continues to exist as an Iranian proxy to infiltrate Israel and massacre more Jews.

- In Judea and Samaria, armed attacks on Jews are a weekly reality, that Jews have to defend themselves from then erroneously called “settler violence” by anti-Israel voices

- Globally, Jews are under siege, on college campuses, in the streets, even in synagogues.

- Iran is watching and preparing for its moment to attack again

- And Hamas still holds Israeli hostages , torturing and starving them underground, in inhumane conditions.

And into this painful and urgent moment, a group of rabbis, many or all of whom were raised or educated in the Diaspora, issued a public letter that parrots the exact accusations used by those who seek to delegitimize and destroy Israel.

They repeat phrases like “collective punishment,” and “blockaded aid,” without any reference to the reality of the enemy we are fighting, or the context of a war forced upon us by genocidal terrorists that we have to win to protect 10 million Israeli citizens.

Moreover, their inclusion of 'settler violence' in their letter underscores a deeply flawed perspective, one that reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of our reality and a troubling inability to discern truth from the falsehoods promoted by the anti-Israel agenda, that they as well believe.

It reflects a mindset deeply shaped by Galut (exile) thinking, a psychological residue of Jewish life in the Diaspora. A life where we survived by keeping our heads down, by appeasing those around us, by proving over and over again how moral we were, often at the cost of our own ability to defend ourselves. That might have helped us survive in exile. But it’s dangerous now, when we are defending Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael, as the frontline for Jews work wide and the freedom-loving world.

But it goes deeper.

These rabbis speak of justice and ethics, yet completely ignore the origins of this conflict.

They ignore the fact that we experienced an Oct 7th massacre in Hebron 1929, when the term “Palestinians” referred to Jews; they ignore the Palestinian national identity itself was then manufactured in the 1960s by the Soviet Union, further weaponizing Islamic jihad as a political weapon to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and cloak terrorism in the language of “liberation.” It was never about building a nation, it was always about destroying ours.

They ignore how this conflict is not just political, it's ideological. It's religious.

Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are all part of a 1,400+ year religious movement rooted in conquest and domination. They see Israel as an outpost to be removed, not because of settlements or borders, but because of what we are: a sovereign Jewish state in the heart of the Middle East.

And we see the consequences of this every day. At anti-Israel protests in the West, people chant: “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahud” — a chilling reference to the massacre of Jews in the 7th century by Muhammad’s army in Khaybar.

This is not about justice. This is not about human rights. This is about celebrating Jewish bloodshed, and too many turn a blind eye, including these Modern Oftgodox Rabbis who prefer to virtue signal with this letter.

And yet these rabbis, in their letter, say nothing of this. Nothing of the enemy’s goals. Nothing of the ideological war we’re in.

Nothing of Egypt’s responsibility in forcing Gazans to remain in Gaza instead of abiding by international asylum law to allow them to escape a dangerous war zone, forcing Israel to act as no other in a war, and provide aid to an enemy population.

Nothing.

They speak as though this is merely another political conflict, revealing their personal discomfort with confronting Jewish power acting to protect global Jewry in a morally complex reality, made harder with deadly libelous media campaigns.

As if both sides just need to be more careful.

As if this is a time for “balance.”

But this isn’t balance. This is blindness.

It ignores the reality of this war and who started this war.

It ignores what our enemies say, in Arabic, in Persian, and on the streets of Europe and America.

And it ignores the devastating consequences this kind of letter has, not just morally, but practically.

Because when spiritual leaders issue public rebukes of Israel in the middle of a war, they embolden the very people trying to destroy us.

They validate the lies being told about us.

They embolden our allies. And they demoralize our own people, soldiers, survivors, and families of hostages, who so desperately need strength, not sermons.

Some of the signatories have said, “If you’re hurt by the letter, it wasn’t meant for you.”

But that’s not how it works.

When you speak in the name of Torah and Jewish morality, every Jew is your audience.

And when your words bring confusion, division, and grief to your own people, it’s not “divisive” to push back. It’s a moral responsibility.

Once again, I write this with deep sorrow.

Because I believe these rabbis are sincere, while very wrong and doing tremendous damage and a true chillul Hashem.

But sincerity is not enough when the result of your words weakens and endangers your own people, at our most vulnerable hour.

We need leaders who understand that compassion begins with our own nation.

We need leaders who see through the fog of propaganda and remember the real roots of this conflict.

We need leaders who speak from strength, not guilt. From truth, not fear.

We are still in the fire. This war is not over.

Now is the time for clarity. For courage. And for a return to leadership that doesn’t speak from exile, but from Totah, not an exile mentality.

May we all merit the strength to stand with our people, unapologetically, and to rise above the confusion of our times, with truth, unity, and unshakable love for Am Yisrael.

How disappointing that instead of using their Rabbinic voices to strengthen Am Yisrael all over the world in this multi-front war, they preferred legitimizing the uncomfortable feelings of Jews uncomfortable with us doing what we have to do against a barbaric enemy. We will overcome this internal weakness as well.

Am Yisrael Chai!!!