40 Pittsburgh Jewish clergy pen open letter to Rep. Summer Lee
Israel at warRabbis and cantors take a stand

40 Pittsburgh Jewish clergy pen open letter to Rep. Summer Lee

"We call on Rep. Lee to exercise better leadership and join her colleagues in upholding the moral obligation for Israel to protect its citizens against Hamas."

Rep. Summer Lee (Photo courtesy of summerlee.house.gov)
Rep. Summer Lee (Photo courtesy of summerlee.house.gov)

Dozens of local rabbis and cantors, from every stream of Judaism, signed an open letter to Rep. Summer Lee “concerning her continuing inability to support Israel in its war against Hamas,” Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai said. “Rep. Lee continues to deliver troubling statements instead of helping Israel with the horrific attack of Oct. 7.”

“Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists, and we need a representative in congress who will recognize this fact and support Israel in its war against terror,” he added.

The letter follows.

An open letter to Representative Summer Lee

We, the undersigned rabbis and cantors of Pittsburgh, are joined in expressing our frustration and anger over the ongoing actions of our congresswoman, Representative Summer Lee (PA-12).

Rep. Lee is one of only 10 members of Congress who voted against a House Resolution expressing America’s solidarity with the State of Israel and the Israeli people in the aftermath of the October 7th wave of Hamas terror.

Worse yet, she is one of only 17 members of the House supporting a grotesque resolution which does not mention Hamas terrorism, denies Israel the right to defend itself by calling for an immediate ceasefire while Hamas still holds more than 200 hostages, and asserts a false equivalence between victims of savage terrorist butchery and the tragic deaths of those Palestinians whom Hamas uses as human shields while Israel exercises its responsibility to defend its citizens.

We call on Rep. Lee to exercise better leadership and join her colleagues in upholding the moral obligation for Israel to protect its citizens against Hamas, reflecting our nation’s strong and unwavering stance against terrorism. We welcome the opportunity to speak with Rep. Lee.

Rabbi Aaron Meyer
Rabbi Emily Meyer
Rabbi Alex Greenbaum
Rabbi Amy Greenbaum
Rabbi Jonathan Perlman
Rabbi Seth Adelson
Rabbi Daniel Fellman
Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman
Rabbi Howard Stein
Rabbi Jamie Gibson
Rabbi Mark Mahler
Rabbi Barbara Symons
Rabbi Andy Shugerman
Rabbi Kara Tav
Rabbi Sharyn Henry
Rabbi Aaron Bisno
Rabbi Eli Seidman
Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers
Rabbi Daniel Yolkut
Rabbi Eliezer Shusterman
Rabbi Yitzi Genack
Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld
Rabbi Yisroel Altein
Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum
Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum
Rabbi Moshe Meir Vogel
Rabbi Chezky Rosenfeld
Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld
Rabbi Yitzy Goldwasser
Rabbi Nissan Zaetz
Rabbi Zalman Raskin
Rabbi Zalman Gurevitch
Rabbi Jessica Locketz
Rabbi Ron Symons
Rabbi Sara Rae Perman
Rabbi Doris Dyen
Cantor Barbara Barnett
Cantor Stefanie Greene
Cantor Kalix Jacobson
Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer

Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PJC

Toby Tabachnnick

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