Society for Humanistic Judaism Condemns Mosque Burning in Tuba-Zangaria

“Humanistic Jews believe that all people have the right to dignity and respect”
- SHJ Executive Director, Bonnie Cousens

Israeli policemen inspect a burnt mosque after it was torched in the Bedouin village of Tuba Zangaria (AFP/File, Menahem Kahana)

(FARMINGTON HILLS, Mi.) - The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) has issued a statement condemning the arson attack on a mosque in Tuba-Zangaria, Israel. The October 3, 2011, arson and vandalism of this mosque is just the latest in a string of similar attacks by a shadowy group of right wing religious extremists who constitute the “price tag” movement.

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Such attacks, which began in 2005, are acts of revenge for attacks, both real and perceived, against settlers. In what is a particularly bitter irony, Tuba-Zangaria, the only Bedouin village in the area, fought on the Jewish side of the 1948 War of Independence, side by side with the Palmach, and has lived relatively peaceably with the surrounding Jewish settlements.

“Humanistic Jews believe that all people have the right to dignity and respect,” said SHJ Executive Director, Bonnie Cousens. “Such terrorist acts violate the rights of all people to practice their religion, if any, and to express their beliefs free from threats or attacks.”  The statement “condemns the recent burning of a mosque in Tuba-Zangaria, Israel, and other acts of anti-Muslim violence, as well as any acts of violence against other religious organizations or their adherents based on the principles on which they choose to guide their lives.” (Read full text.)

Humanistic Judaism, one of the five branches of Judaism, combines the Jewish values of loving-kindness (Gemilut Chassadim), charity (Tzedaka), and making the world a better place (Tikkun Olam), with the recognition that the responsibility for putting them in practice lies in human hands. It is a nontheistic movement in which cultural Jews and their families can affirm, celebrate, and enrich their Jewish identity and values. The Society is the central body for the Humanistic Jewish movement in North America.

For more information about Humanistic Judaism, contact the Society for Humanistic Judaism, 28611 West 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48334, (248) 478-7610, info@shj.org, or visit their website www.shj.org.