DEAR EDITOR:

The World Jewish Congress has given its highest recognition, the Theodor Herzl Award, to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), primarily for his support for Israel. Fetterman, honored at the most recent award ceremony, declared:

“The proudest thing that I’ve done in my entire Senate career is to stand for Israel and with the Jewish community worldwide through this horrible Gaza war after the trauma of Oct. 7.”

Fetterman has further stated that his “devotion” to Israel is “becoming increasingly incompatible with being a proud Democrat.” But shouldn’t being a Democrat mean a commitment to universal human rights, rather than an allegiance to any particular nation?

Notably, compelling evidence confirms Israel’s role in impeding the delivery of critical food aid into Gaza. For example, in a January 13, 2024, press conference, Netanyahu remarked, “We provide minimal humanitarian aid…If we want to achieve our war goals, we give the minimal aid.”

And in the spring of 2024, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration provided an assessment to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which concluded that Israel was deliberately blocking deliveries of food and medical aid into Gaza.

Significantly, earlier this year Israel did not allow any humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip for 77 days, from March 2 until May 18. This was after Israel destroyed Gaza’s fields, orchards, greenhouses and water infrastructure.

This recent blockade is part of a much longer pattern: Israel’s restrictions on the movement of food into Gaza actually date back to 1991, well before Hamas came into power in 2006. Government documents reveal that, between 2007 and 2010, Israel deliberately reduced food imports into Gaza to what officials described as “minimal subsistence” levels.

In Peter Beinart’s powerful 2025 book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza,” he observes that sacred texts and memories of persecution have been weaponized to legitimize the destruction of another people.

Beinart also explains that Judaism teaches that every human being possesses infinite worth because all people are made in God’s image. He contends that many treat the state of Israel as more important than the value of the people living within it–including Palestinians — thus violating this core Jewish principle.

According to Beinart, when loyalty to a state is placed above human life, it becomes a form of idolatry, since only people, not states, are sacred in Jewish tradition.

Perhaps the highest devotion is to the principle that every human life has intrinsic value and is worthy of respect.

TERRY HANSEN

Grafton