Kesher: Jews for a Shared Future - Mission & Principles

An ancient olive tree in the Galilee (Miki Karni)

Kesher: Jews for a Shared Future seeks to serve as a principled, pluralistic and progressive Jewish network committed to justice, coexistence, and bridge-building. We believe in a shared future for all in Israel and Palestine and encourage compassionate and courageous action everywhere in support of such an outcome.

Mission Statement

We are Jews who are rooted in the ethos of tikkun halev (repair of the heart) and tikkun olam (repair of the world). We are committed to the equal rights of Jews, Palestinians, and all the diverse communities in Israel and Palestine. We stand together against all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism. We seek to promote a vision of the future in which all Israelis and Palestinians can live and thrive with security, equal rights, dignity and self-determination in their shared land.

Statement of Principles

1. Promotion of a Culture of Caring

We believe in the value of a culture of caring as a context for effective action and resilient long-term outcomes — a belief that guides both inward-facing and the outward-facing Kesher operations. We value respect, empathy, compassion, diversity and dialogue, and we do our best to abstain from blame, divisiveness and polarization. We acknowledge the role that hope plays as an antidote to suffering and despair and in facilitating resilience and action. We welcome self-care as well as collaboration and community building, and we recognize that efforts to change the world for the better often involve unpredictability, slowness, and imperfection. The concepts of complexity, nuance, interdependence and multiple simultaneous truths are as important to us as beauty, creativity, and joy.

"Although the wind / Blows terribly here / The moonlight also leaks / Between the roof planks / Of this ruined house." –Izumi Shikibu

2. Promotion of Human Rights

We affirm the universal application of human rights, including the right to freedom of movement, safety, and basic dignity — rights routinely denied to Palestinians living under occupation and blockade. Our belief is rooted in the Jewish values of b’tzelem elohim (בצלם אלוהים) — understood by both secular and religious Jews as a reference to the inherent dignity of all people — and tzedek (צֶדֶק), which calls for justice grounded in fairness and righteousness. In Jewish tradition, tzedek goes beyond legal justice, emphasizing the moral imperative to act justly toward the vulnerable. Upholding universal human rights for all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion, is essential to advocating for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” –14th Dalai Lama

3. Commitment to Co-Existence

We believe in the urgent need for peaceful co-existence between Palestinians and Jews, built on mutual recognition of each other’s right to self-determination, security, and dignity. True peace — the Hebrew word for peace, shalom (שָׁלוֹם), derives from ‘wholeness’ — demands an honest reckoning with the specific histories and the asymmetric distribution of power that have defined this conflict. Only by acknowledging these painful realities can we lay the groundwork for a just and enduring resolution.

"For if life had taught her anything, it was that healing and peace can begin only with acknowledgment of wrongs committed." –Susan Abulhawa (Mornings in Jenin)

4. Opposition to Violence

We oppose violence as a means to resolve conflict, guided by the Jewish principle of pikuakh nefesh (פיקוח נפש), the sanctity of human life, which teaches that respect for life is the most enduring path to reconciliation. While we recognize the right to self-defence when necessary, it must always be proportionate and aimed solely at protecting lives, not retaliation, which merely perpetuates the cycle of violence. In the long run, true peace can only be achieved through non-violent methods that honour the sanctity of life.

"To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." –Nelson Mandela

5. Opposition to Occupation

We oppose the ongoing military occupation and settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the inhumane conditions faced by civilians in Gaza, recognizing them as violations of international law and as systemic barriers to peace, justice, and Palestinian self-determination. Rooted in Jewish principles of derech eretz (דרך ארץ), ethical conduct or respectfulness as the proper “way of the land,” we believe that ending the occupation is essential to ensuring the dignity, security, and self-determination of both Israelis and Palestinians. Peace can only be achieved when the rights of all people in the land are upheld.

“Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters is the question of land. Land contains the languages, the stories and the histories of a people. It provides water, air, shelter and food. And land is home.” –Thomas King

6. Condemnation of Discrimination

We stand against all forms of bigotry and discrimination, rooted in the Jewish ethical teachings of ahavat ger (אהבת הגר), love for the stranger, and lo ta’amod al dam re’echa (לו תעמוד אל דם ריכה), the prohibition against bystanding at the suffering of one’s neighbour. We unequivocally oppose antisemitism in all its forms, recognizing it as a persistent and dangerous threat to Jews and Jewish communities worldwide. Similarly, we reject anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and all other forms of hatred, upholding the Jewish responsibility to act with justice and compassion toward all.

"The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference." –Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

This Passover, who reclines?

Only the dead, their cupped hands filling slowly

with the red wine of war. We are not free.

The blood on the doorposts does not protect anyone.

They say that other country over there

dim blue in the twilight

farther than the orange stars exploding over our roofs

is called peace.

The bread of affliction snaps in our hands like bones,

is dust in our mouths. This bitterness brings tears to our eyes.

The figs and apples are sour. We have many more

than four questions. We dip and dip,

salt stinging our fingers.

Unbearable griefs braided into a rope so tight

we can hardly breathe,

Whether we bless or curse,

this is captivity.

We would cross the water if we knew how.

Everyone blames everyone else for barring the way.

Listen, they say there is honey swelling in golden combs, over there,

dates as sweet and brown as lovers' cheekbones,

bread as fragrant as rest,

but the turbulent water will not part for us.

We've lost the trick of it.

Back then, one man's faith opened the way.

He stepped in, we were released, our enemies drowned.

This time we're tied at the ankles.

We cannot cross until we carry each other,

all of us refugees, all of us prophets.

No more taking turns on history's wheel,

trying to collect old debts no-one can pay.

The sea will not open that way.

This time that country

is what we promise each other,

our rage pressed cheek to cheek

until tears flood the space between,

until there are no enemies left,

because this time no one will be left to drown

and all of us must be chosen.

This time it's all of us or none.

—Aurora Levins Morales, “Red Sea” (2022)

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