The Prophets Would Not Abide by Jewish Silence

One of the troubling realities of Jewish life in America since the atrocities of October 7 is that it has silenced many Jews and Jewish organizations from speaking out against the policies of this Israeli government. While this may be changing to some extent, until recently, major Jewish organizations in America have been sparse in their condemnation of Israel’s decision to withhold food and aid to Gazans. This policy, implemented most recently between March and May 2025, has triggered horrific famine conditions. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/gazans-say-no-humanitarian-aid-has-reached-them-day-after-trucks-entered-strip/ ) Additionally, there have been minimal vocal objections to the policies of Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have ignored settler violence against Palestinians on the West Bank (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/magazine/israel-west-bank-settler-violence-impunity.html ). This violence has spun out of control, most recently resulting in the murder of a Palestinian American (https://www.timesofisrael.com/families-of-palestinian-americans-killed-in-the-west-bank-lose-hope-for-justice/) and the Palestinian activist and creator of the Academy Award-winning film “No Other Land” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-activist-featured-in-oscar-winning-movie-shot-dead-during-clash-with-settlers/ ) as well as the burning of Palestinian homes.(https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-extremists-torch-several-homes-in-west-bank-village-idf-detains-suspects/)ects/) Similarly, there has been a lack of strong condemnation regarding Israel’s aggressive steps toward the annexation of the West Bank, including its approval of unprecedented settlement expansion (https://www.timesofisrael.com/security-cabinet-approves-13-west-bank-neighborhoods-to-become-independent-settlements/) and the Knesset’s passage of a non-binding resolution, just last week, which unabashedly approved annexation (https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-votes-71-13-for-non-binding-motion-calling-to-annex-west-bank/)

This silence is often justified as an act of solidarity in the face of the crimes of Hamas on October 7, Hamas continuing to hold Israeli hostages, and the ongoing war, putting aside whether the war, at this point, is serving a purpose beyond sustaining the reigning coalition of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

However, this general view—that Israel being mired in an external conflict with enemies compels the stifling of criticism– cuts against central teachings in the Jewish Tradition. The spiritual and moral force of the Prophets, one of the central parts of the Hebrew Bible, vests not just in the content of their message but in the context. Many of the most famous Prophets are known for railing against the kings and priests of ancient Israel. They assailed them not only for turning away from God and the commandments but also for their corruption and disregard for the stranger, widow, and orphan. But the Prophets’ critique of Israel’s spiritual and moral conduct assumes particular weight because it occurred at a time when the Israelite kingdoms were under threat or in outright conflict with hostile foreign powers.

Amos, Hosea, and Micah prophesied against the northern kingdom during the eighth century BCE, when the Assyrian Empire was emerging or had already emerged as an imminent threat to Samaria—the northern kingdom of Israel. The first part of Isaiah includes prophecies from the period after the Assyrian Empire had conquered Samaria and when the Babylonian Empire started to pose a threat to the southern kingdom of Judah.

Most dramatically, though, in the sixth century BCE, Ezekiel and Jeremiah condemned the behavior of Judah and its kings even as the Babylonian Empire attacked, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, and forcibly exiled Judah’s inhabitants to Babylon. Ezekiel, who began his prophecies after being expelled from Judah to Babylon in 593 BCE, declared, “Every one of the princes of Israel in your midst used his strength for the shedding of blood. Fathers and mothers have been humiliated within you; strangers have been cheated in your midst; orphans and widows have been wronged within you.” (Ezek 22:6-12)

At the same time, Jeremiah, prophesying in Jerusalem, condemned with equal force the pervasive injustice throughout Judah, suggesting that if one roams the streets of Jerusalem, there is “no one who acts justly”.(Jer. 5:1) Jeremiah prophesied that Israel can only stay in the land if they “execute justice” and do “not oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow” (Jer. 7:4-7) because God “delights” in “kindness, justice and equity.” (Jer. 9:22-23) Jeremiah also railed against the policies of the reigning Judean leader, King Zedekiah, for seeking foreign alliances to continue to battle against the Babylonian Empire.

While these Prophets criticized Israel during a time of war, they were not wide-eyed idealists who ignored the reality of Israel’s enemies. Jeremiah and Ezekiel condemned the Babylonian Empire, forecasting their fall as divine retribution for their role in Judah’s destruction. But the existence and condemnation of those enemies in no way silenced the Prophets from their primary spiritual and moral mission of criticizing Israel because it was its conduct that they saw leading to Israel’s eventual fall. The Prophets thus modeled the value and importance of turning inward and highlighting the nation’s failings even during a conflict.

The Prophets paid a steep price for their prophecies against the reigning ancient Israelite powers. Amos was exiled from Samaria, and Jeremiah was put on trial, imprisoned, and tortured at the hands of Judean kings. So, it is difficult to imagine that the Prophets would remain silent in the face of the policies of the current Israeli government, notwithstanding the ongoing war. They would have seen it as a spiritual imperative to speak out. So should we.