At the invitation of more than 13 American Rabbis, including Rabbi Brian Walt of West Tisbury, MA and Brant Rosen of Evanston, IL, Brenna Cussen, Claire & Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, David Maciewski, of the Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker community in Worcester, MA are continuing to join a monthly fast Ta'anit Tzedek - Jewish Fast for Gaza.

"Initiated by Rabbis Brant Rosen and Brian Walt, Ta'anit Tzedek began with a commitment by a minyan ("quorum") of rabbis to engage in a fast in order to support relief efforts, to call for a lifting of Israel's blockade of Gaza and to support all efforts toward a substantive resolution to this dire humanitarian crisis."

The monthly fast is in support of the following goals:
1) To call for a lifting of the blockade that prevents the entry of civilian goods and service into Gaza;
2) To provide humanitarian and developmental aid to the people of Gaza;
3) To call upon Israel, the US, and the international community to engage in negotiations without pre-conditions with all relevant Palestinian parties “including Hamas” in order to end the blockade;
4) To encourage the American government to vigorously engage both Israelis and Palestinians toward a just and peaceful settlement of the conflict.

This month’s water-only fast will be held on Wednesday August 19 and marked in Worcester by a Jewish prayer service in front of Worcester’s City Hall at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome. Similar prayer services and vigils are being held around the United States, most of them led by rabbis. Fasters are encouraged to donate the money they save on food to the Milk for Preschoolers Campaign of the American Near Eastern Refugee Aid organization. As of August 18, 623 people have already committed to this fast, including more than 60 rabbis, 20 ministers, two imams, and as several Catholic sisters.

In their statement rabbis Walt and Rosen said: “Since Hamas’ electoral victory in January 2006, Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to an increasingly intolerable blockade that restricts Gaza’s ability to import food, fuel, and other essential materials, and to export finished products. The Talmud teaches, On three things the world stands: on justice, on truth, and on peace” (Mishnah Avot 1:18). From this we learn that justice, truth, and peace are irrevocably intertwined. Thus we cannot separate our call for justice in Gaza from the painful truth of this conflict and the ongoing tragedy of war in this tortured region. We condemn Hamas’ deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians. Out of the same ethical commitments we also condemn the use of much greater violence by the Israeli government, causing many more deaths of Palestinian civilians. In the Jewish tradition a communal fast is held in times of crisis both as an expression of mourning and a call to repentance. In this spirit, Ta'anit Tzedek - Jewish Fast For Gaza
is a collective act of conscience initiated by an ad hoc group of rabbis, Jews, people of faith, and all concerned with the ongoing crisis in Gaza.” See: http://fastforgaza.net/

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy and Brenna Cussen, members of a Catholic Worker Peace Team who attempted to personally deliver medical supplies and toys into Gaza in May, said, “As Catholics opposed to all violence, we are honored to join this company of compassionate and courageous American Jews appealing for an overwhelmingly Muslim civilian population suffering under a cruel siege.”