Letter to United States Congress Urging Support for the West Bank Violence Prevention Act

December 16, 2025 - The following letter was sent to members of Congress from Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, in response to increased settler violence in the West Bank and urging the passage of the West Bank Violence Prevention Act.

Dear Member of Congress,

On behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, the nation's largest and most diverse Jewish denomination, whose 825 congregations encompass more than 1.8 million Reform Jews across North America, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents over 2,000 Reform rabbis, I write to urge your steadfast support for the West Bank Violence Prevention Act (S. 2667/H.R. 3045), which would sanction individuals responsible for terrorism in the West Bank.

As the largest Zionist organization in the United States, Israel's security is of paramount concern to us. We also care about Palestinian human rights and national aspirations and believe their fulfillment are indispensable to enhancing prospects for peace and therefore essential for Israel's long-term security and safety. Now that the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023 has functionally halted, with encouraging prospects for a long-term agreement, the next chapter of Israel's history is being written. Through its vital relationship with Israel, the United States government must ensure it is written with a commitment to a two-state solution-one that guarantees a democratic, Jewish state capable of defending itself from attack, alongside a Palestinian state free from Hamas rule. That vision cannot survive when settler extremists attack and terrorize Palestinians with the intent of driving them out, while establishing and expanding illegal settlements in the West Bank that physically obstruct the path to comprehensive peace through a two-state solution. This violence undermines Israel's long-term security, regional stability, and betrays the moral imperative to "seek peace and pursue it" (Psalms 34:14).

The moment for the United States to act against settler violence has come. In October 2025 alone, there were 264 settler attacks on Palestinians. Many occurred during the annual olive harvest, when Palestinians gather yearly crops that are a key source of income and that have symbolized peace for centuries. In Jewish tradition, the olive tree also evokes God's promise of renewal to Noah after the flood. These assaults devastate families, destroy livelihoods, and desecrate the land itself.

These attacks are not random acts. They are coordinated assaults on the possibility of peace itself, seeking to make civilian life under constant threat unbearable and to drive Palestinians from their lands and villages. The West Bank Violence Prevention Act would sanction individuals and entities responsible for settler violence, sending an unmistakable message that the United States will not tolerate violence that undermines Israeli security, Palestinian fundamental rights, and American foreign policy objectives.

I urge you to support the West Bank Violence Prevention Act.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner (he/him)
Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism