Liberal rabbis denounce Israeli annexation plans

The religious leaders of Liberal Judaism have strongly condemned Israeli plans to annex the  Jordan Valley in the West Bank, warning of the damage to the peace process and the negative imact on Israeli-diaspora relations.

In a statement on behalf of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors, its chairman Rabbi Aaron Goldstein said, "We cannot remain silent as the new Israeli government appears to be leading the country into unilateral annexation of sections of the West Bank."

Calling on Israel to halt its planned unilateral action, he said it "tramples on the idea expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence that the country must be developed for the benefit of all its inhabitants."

It would "severely damage the possibility of long-term peace with the Palestinians and Israel’s relationship with Jewish diaspora communities. Israel will be forced to become either a binational and non-Jewish state, or a state in which Palestinians are ruled by Israel but are denied equal rights and freedom," he said.