Jewish Groups Strive to Cool Debate on Peace : America: Fifty leaders, organizations sign statement to end ‘verbal violence.’

In the nearly two years since Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization agreed to embark on a search for peace, the bitterness of the debate among American Jewish leaders over the wisdom of the peace process has steadily escalated.

Those opposed to the process have called supporters “traitors” and “murderers” with “blood on their hands.” Supporters of the talks label their opponents “ayatollahs,” “fascists” and “enemies of peace.”

In June, an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn, N.Y., said it was acceptable under Jewish law to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin because of his willingness to trade Jewish land for peace. The rabbi’s remarks unleashed a torrent of angry statements that pitted Orthodox Jews against the non-Orthodox, and those on the political right against those on the left.

In an attempt to cool the rhetoric, 50 leading American Jewish religious and community organizations have issued an unprecedented joint statement designed to end the “verbal violence” and restore a level of public civility to the dialogue.

It comes at a time when many Jewish leaders feel the debate could become even more contentious as Israel faces up to gut-level decisions on the future of Jerusalem and its settlements in the West Bank.

“There are very strong emotions here because these are real issues that have real consequences in the near term,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “But the rhetoric had gone too far on both sides. This statement makes clear that the organized Jewish community won’t accept extreme language. As we said in our statement, ‘public statements have consequences.’ ”

The four-paragraph declaration notes that past unity among American Jews played a key role in both the creation and the continued existence of Israel.

It was signed by groups across the Jewish theological spectrum, including Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox Rabbinic and synagogue organizations; the Anti-Defamation League; the American Jewish Committee; the American Jewish Congress, and the Council of Jewish Federations.

Groups from opposite ends of the Jewish political spectrum also endorsed the statement, including the left-wing Americans for Peace Now and the right-wing Zionist Organization of America.

No reliable statistics exist to gauge the level of support for the peace process among the more than 5 million Jews in the United States, but Jewish leaders assume a majority still supports the process. That margin has probably diminished as Palestinian terrorist attacks continue to claim Israeli Jewish lives.

Orthodox and politically right-wing leaders have steadily hardened in their opposition to any plan that would require Israel to relinquish control over parts of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Religious and political liberals, meanwhile, are holding fast to their belief that the peace process is too far along to halt and that trading land for peace remains Israel’s best hope for a future free of continuous conflict.

Given those positions, gaining agreement for the “statement on civil discourse” required deft wording that pointed the finger at everyone, and at no one in particular, Hoenlein said.