As we prepare to welcome the Jewish new year, we find ourselves facing a moment of deep moral concern. The atrocities of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a horrific assault involving mass murder, kidnapping, and terror directed at civilians in Israel, triggered a devastating and ongoing war in Gaza.
Concurrently, we are experiencing an unprecedented resurgence of antisemitism across universities, media, and political institutions in the West. These levels of Jew hate have not been seen in such intensity since the Holocaust.
It is in this context that several Western European governments plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly on September 22.
Designated terrorists
Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by much of the world, remains in power in Gaza and continues to openly declare its genocidal intent to destroy the State of Israel and to target the Jewish people. Its leadership celebrates violence, glorifies martyrdom, and makes no secret of its rejection of peaceful coexistence. Its decisions have brought nothing but death and destruction to Gaza, and since October 7 it have systemically stolen humanitarian aid meant for Palestinian civilians.
In the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas has now clung to power for 20 years of what was supposed to be a four-year term.
The PA is less destructive than Hamas, at times cooperating with Israel to contain terrorists who threaten its power over the Palestinians. Yet its policies include the notorious “pay-for-slay” program, which financially rewards terrorists who murder Jews – with payments increasing according to the severity of the crime.
Despite the PA announcing reforms in February 2025, it is unclear what, if anything, has changed about this grotesque system of rewarding terrorism against Israel and Jews.
The PA also systemically promotes hatred and violence against Israel through schools and media, while diverting foreign aid to enrich itself at the expense of its people.
Moreover, it’s no secret that Hamas and the PA remain in conflict with each other. So the question must be asked: Who would actually run a new Palestinian state?
Would it be Hamas, whose hands are still stained with the blood of October 7, or a fractured and increasingly weak PA that has lost legitimacy among its own people? Or worse: Would the state be split, effectively institutionalizing a violent division?
Unprecedented Arab League move
Recognizing a Palestinian state under these conditions is not only premature, it is perilous. To their credit, some European and Arab leaders have called on Hamas to give up power and lay down its arms, and urged reforms to the PA. In the case of the Arab League, this was an unprecedented and welcome change in rhetoric.
However, actions speak louder than words.
According to two veteran Palestinian negotiators, “the Palestinians’ readiness to take the negotiating path to its logical conclusions was restrained by a perception that they were winning the moral and psychological high ground. The paradoxical effect was to make it harder to progress toward an agreement with Israel because it seemed that other influential parties might do the job.”
The international community should not reward Palestinian leaders for rejecting peace deals, massacring Israelis, promoting hate, stealing international aid, and doing nothing to prepare their people for coexistence with Israel.
If they can do all that damage and still have the UK, France, and others recognize their state, what incentive will they have to change course, let alone make peace?
It is no surprise that Hamas celebrated and claimed credit. The choice to advance such recognition on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, a sacred moment of reflection and renewal for the Jewish people, adds insult to injury.
European leaders have said that their moves are a response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and violence in the West Bank, aimed at pressuring the Israeli government and giving the Palestinian people hope for the future amid their suffering. Israel is subject to criticism and accountability like any democracy. That includes from within, as Israelis struggle with impossible dilemmas in the aftermath of October 7.
The key is ending Hamas
Yet the key to a better future for Palestinians, where they can govern themselves and build thriving communities alongside Israel, is ending Hamas’ reign of terror and, at a minimum, dramatically reforming the PA. No matter what statements they make, Western leaders are unwilling and unable to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.
As long as they remain in control, recognizing Palestinian statehood will strengthen the very extremists who are obstructing peace. In practice, this will not help Israelis or Palestinians, and may make a terrible situation even worse.
As rabbis, we approach this moment with both moral urgency and deep historical awareness. To recognize a Palestinian state with Hamas still entrenched in Gaza – and with the PA promoting violence through its “pay-for-slay” program – is to turn a blind eye to truth and to justice. It would be to sanctify corruption, to reward terror, and to abandon the very principles of peace that the world claims to uphold.
Our tradition teaches us to “Choose life,” to affirm paths that protect the innocent and cultivate dignity for all.
Premature recognition of a Palestinian state does the opposite: It empowers those who glorify death.
We call on the nations of the world to show moral clarity, to reject political expediency, and to stand instead with integrity, truth, and the possibility of genuine peace.
The writer is executive director of RabbisUnited, and a member of its advisory board. It’s a non-denominational and non-political division of StandWithUs, supporting rabbis who care about Israel and fight antisemitism. Learn more at https://rabbisunited.com.