JTA — Over 1,000 Diaspora Jews are petitioning President Isaac Herzog to intervene against settler violence in the West Bank, saying that the settlers are threatening Israeli security.

“Mr. President, the terror, death and destruction inflicted by Jewish-Israeli extremists against innocent Palestinians across the West Bank is an abomination,” says an open letter published Thursday. “It is not only morally shameful but a strategic threat to the future of Israel. It damages world Jewry and the relationship of future generations with Israel.”

The letter continues, “Sadly, based on events and on the statements of the most extreme coalition partners it can be concluded that the violence now engulfing the West Bank is not only condoned by the government but is in fact policy.”

The letter was organized by the The London Initiative, a liberal Zionist network founded earlier last year to “strengthen Israeli democracy, advance a fairer shared future for all citizens of Israel, revive hope in the prospects of achieving secure peace, and improve relations between all Israelis and world Jewry.”

It comes as violence against Palestinians in the West Bank — often unpunished by Israeli authorities — has reached new heights, with settlers allegedly killing seven Palestinians in the last month, including one on Thursday, and driving others from their homes.

The situation has grown so extreme that the Israeli army this week took the unprecedented step of diverting soldiers from Lebanon, where Israel is battling Hezbollah, to the West Bank. Both the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and the Central Command chief have warned in recent days that conditions in the West Bank are contributing to a dire manpower shortage in the army.

The issue has also ignited concern from the United States, and from Israel’s US ambassador, Rabbi Yechiel Leiter, who told Ynet that he believed the situation was deterring some in Washington from supporting Israel. He called on the rabbis of the West Bank to constrain their disciples.

“I’m so angry about the issue of Jewish riots in Judea and Samaria,” Leiter said. “It’s a handful of a few hundred people who are staining an entire enterprise — and everyone is silent.”

The new letter signed by Diaspora Jews calls on Herzog to advocate for change with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers who have not interceded to stop the violence. The signatories include prominent philanthropists including Charles Bronfman; liberal rabbis from multiple countries; and former British and Canadian ambassadors to Israel.

“Mr. President, Pesach is upon us. As we have for millennia, Jews everywhere will reflect on the promise of freedom and responsibilities of power,” the letter says. “We call on you to use your position to implore the government to put an end to the abomination of Jewish-extremist terror and the era of impunity for its perpetrators.”

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1 US said mulling ‘final blow’ options if Iran talks fail, including sending troops to seize key assets

2 9 injured as Iran fires 7 missile salvos at Israel within hours, many with cluster warheads

3 Trump, fearing slaughter, said to have rejected Netanyahu proposal to jointly call for Iranian uprising

4 Israel says IRGC Navy’s commander, other chiefs killed; Qalibaf said removed from hit list

5 Trump: Iran wants deal ‘so badly’; White House says campaign ‘very close’ to meeting goals

6 IDF soldier killed in Hezbollah gunfight; terror group fires rockets, drones at north

7 Anger mounts in northern communities as Netanyahu urges residents stay put

8 Hezbollah fires missiles at central Israel; 2 soldiers seriously hurt in Lebanon

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