‘Jews Say No to Ethnic Cleansing’: Hundreds of rabbis and artists reject Trump’s Gaza plan

Some of the most well-known Jewish creatives, including actor Joaquin Phoenix, playwright Tony Kushner, and comedian Ilana Glazer, joined 350 rabbis on Thursday to call for an end to US President Donald Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

The group made the call on Thursday in a full-page ad in The New York Times entitled, “Jewish People Say No to Ethnic Cleansing!” 

As Jews for Shared Safety, we know our history demands that we take a stand against ethnic cleansing—wherever it happens. Trump wants to erase Palestinians from Gaza. We must be louder than ever.

350+ rabbis & Jewish figures are taking a stand in a historic NYT ad rejecting his… pic.twitter.com/onWoRIYIWH

— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) February 13, 2025

The move comes just over a week after Trump’s stunning announcement, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the US would expel Palestinians from Gaza, turn it into a beach resort, and not allow them to return. 

The decision has been roundly condemned by the vast majority of Democrats, allied governments, and international bodies. 

“Jewish leaders from across the political spectrum are outraged by the proposal and felt compelled to speak forcefully against it, even as some American and Israeli Jewish communal leaders endorse Trump’s plan,” a statement from Cody Edgerly, the director of the In Our Name campaign, said.

In Our Name is not affiliated with any other group, Edgerly explained to Middle East Eye.

“This action is unbranded and unaffiliated,” Edgerly said.

New polling by Data for Progress shows 64 percent of likely US voters disapprove of Trump’s plan for Gaza, while a survey by The Economist and YouGov showed that among Democrats, 35 percent now say they sympathise with Palestinians versus nine percent who say the same about Israelis. 

The rabbis who signed the ad include those from Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal and Kohenet movements working in congregations, campuses, hospitals, rabbinical seminaries, and community organisations around the world, Edgerly said. 

“Donald Trump – like Pharaoh in the Bible – seems to believe he is God with authority to rule, own, and dominate our country and the world. Jewish teaching is clear: Trump is not God and cannot take away Palestinians’ inherent dignity or steal their land for a real estate deal,” rabbi Yosef Berman of the New Synagogue Project in Washington, DC, said. 

“Trump’s desire to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza is morally abhorrent.”

Comedian and actor Glazer said it is imperative to stand with Palestinians. 

“We, Jews, and all of us who care about basic human rights must speak up and stand up to ensure Palestinians remain on their land so they can rebuild their homes and lives in Gaza after the genocidal destruction they have endured,” she said. “All of our safety is intertwined.”

At least one thousand additional leaders and members of the Jewish community from around the globe have signed the call since the ad was published on Thursday, Edgerly told MEE.

Peter Beinart, the author of the new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, indicated that still, far too many people have stayed silent. 

“It is utterly horrifying to see the degree to which people who enjoy great legitimacy and respect in our community are willing to support something that would be considered one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century,” he said, referring to the Israeli war on Gaza, which began in October 2023 after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that killed 1,139 people and saw over 200 taken back to Gaza as captives.

The United Nations and Amnesty International have said Israel is carrying out a “genocide” in Gaza.

At least 47,000 Palestinians are known to have been killed by the Israeli bombardment of the enclave, with thousands presumed dead under Gaza’s rubble.