Reactions to Meretz USA's statement on the Gaza war

The Meretz USA statement issued at the start of the week has drawn some intense reaction. Most comments, including many from Israel, were extremely supportive - praising the statement's boldness, its willingness to remain a voice of reason, and its contribution of practical ideas for establishing a more stable cease-fire.

Some others, many from outside the Meretz USA circle, were less pleased. One or two, who seem to feel that Israel can do no right, argued that we were too harsh on Hamas. Conversely, several complained that we should have limited ourselves to criticizing Hamas, and that our statement did not sufficiently stress our feelings of solidarity with Israel.

Please continue to write us: We welcome all these comments, as together we seek to navigate an immensely complex Middle East situation that imperils Israel's future as a democratic and Jewish state.

As we approach the first Shabbat of this "First Gaza War" (as some have dubbed it), our hearts are indeed with the people of Israel at this difficult hour - especially those being terrorized by Hamas rockets. But while our hearts are troubled, despair is not an option, and we must continue to focus on helping Israel to disentangle from a conflict that has weighed it down far too much for far too many years.

Please find below links to some of the statements on the war made by other progressive American Jewish organizations, as well as a link to the statement by the Palestinian pro-two-state organization, the American Task Force on Palestine:

Brit Tzedek V'Shalom:
http://ga3.org/btvshalom/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=34933577

http://ga3.org/btvshalom/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=34978069

Israel Policy Forum:
http://www.israelpolicyforum.org/display.cfm?rid=2796

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38853018804

J Street:
http://action.jstreet.org/t/3251/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=508&tag=gaza-fp

http://www.jstreet.org/campaigns/statement-jeremy-ben-ami-executive-director-israeli-airstrikes-gaza

American Task Force on Palestine:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/1230699600

http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/1230354000

And here are some recent News and Editorial articles about the war:

Yossi Sarid - If you (or I) were Palestinian

David Grossman - Is Israel too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war?

Anshel Pfeffer - Right and Left, Diaspora Jews more critical of Israel than ever

Tom Segev - Trying to 'teach Hamas a lesson' is fundamentally wrong

Ari Shavit - Israelis who blame Israel are not helping the Palestinians

Haaretz editorial, December 31 - Time for diplomacy

Haaretz editorial, December 29 - Defend, don't invade