Harriet Sherwood
The Guardian / April 16, 2025
Signatories from Board of Deputies say in open letter that ‘Israel’s soul is being ripped out’ and they ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ to loss of life.
Members of the Board of Deputies, the largest body representing British Jews, have said they can no longer “turn a blind eye or remain silent” over the war in Gaza.
In a significant break with the board’s customary support for the Israeli government, the 36 signatories to an open letter published in the FT [SEE BELOW] say “Israel’s soul is being ripped out”.
Since the war began after the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas against Israelis on 7 October 2023, statements by the Board of Deputies of British Jews have been broadly supportive of the Israeli government.
But the letter, signed by about one in eight of the board’s members, is highly critical of recent actions by the Israeli government.
It says: “The inclination to avert our eyes is strong, as what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out.”
Last month, after a pause in fighting during which dozens of Israelis held hostage in Gaza were released, the Israeli government “chose to break the ceasefire and return to war in Gaza … Since then, no hostages have returned. Hundreds and hundreds more Palestinians have been killed; food, fuel and medical supplies have once again been blocked from entering Gaza; and we are back in a brutal war where the killing of 15 paramedics and their burial in a mass grave is again possible and risks being normal.
“Such incidents are too painful and shocking to take in, but we know in our hearts we cannot turn a blind eye or remain silent at this renewed loss of life and livelihoods, with hopes dwindling for a peaceful reconciliation and the return of the hostages.
“This most extremist of Israeli governments is openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, strangling the Palestinian economy and building more new settlements than ever … Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to.”
The letter adds: “Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values. Led by the families of the hostages, hundreds of thousands of Israelis are demonstrating on the streets against the return to war by an Israeli government that has not prioritised the return of the hostages. We stand with them. We stand against the war … It is our duty, as Jews, to speak out.”
One of the signatories, Philip Goldenberg, a lawyer, said the Israeli government had “absolutely adopted the Trump playbook”, including demonising those who disagreed with it. “That is not what Israel is about,” he told the BBC’s The World at One.
There was a “whole range of views” among British Jews, “and there are those who think we should not have done this”, he said. There were others who shared the views expressed in the letter but “don’t want to put their heads above the parapet”.
What was happening in Gaza was “a total breach of Jewish ethical values”, he added. “More damage is being done to the Zionist project by Netanyahu than Hamas could ever achieve.”
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said other members would “no doubt put more emphasis on the fundamental responsibility of Hamas for this ghastly situation and the need to ensure that they are prevented from ever repeating the heinous crimes of 7 October”.
Within the diversity of views among British Jews, “however, there is much unity”, the spokesperson added. The UK Jewish community wanted to see Hamas release the remaining hostages, aid flowing in to Gaza and “definitive progress towards lasting peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East”.
Harriet Sherwood writes for The Guardian; she was previously Jerusalem correspondent
__________
[‘out of love for Israel and deep concern for its future’; now, after 19 months of genocidal warfare, ‘Jewish ethical values’ are invoked; eds.]
Letter: As British Jews we can no longer stay silent on the war in Gaza
Harriett Goldenberg, Baron Frankal, Sophie Hasenson, Robert Stone and others
Financial Times / April 16, 2025
We write as representatives of the British Jewish community, out of love for Israel and deep concern for its future.
The inclination to avert our eyes is strong, as what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out.
This is what we see: the last 18 months of heartbreaking war have shown us that the most successful way of bringing the hostages home and creating a lasting peace is through diplomacy. By the end of the first phase of the second ceasefire and hostage release deal, 135 hostages had been released through negotiation, just eight by military action, with at least three tragically killed by the Israel Defense Forces.
America, Qatar and Egypt again stood as guarantors of the release of all remaining hostages in the second phase of this deal, in return for Israel withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. A strong plan for the reconstruction of Gaza was approved and supported by the international community, to be managed by a Palestinian leadership, which would be a viable alternative to Hamas, financed by the Arab League.
At that moment, the Israeli government instead chose to break the ceasefire and return to war in Gaza with the “Itamar offensive”, so-called as it was Itamar Ben-Gvir’s condition for returning to the coalition, thus enabling the Israeli government’s budget to be passed within the tight deadline needed to avoid an election. Since then, no hostages have returned. Hundreds and hundreds more Palestinians have been killed; food, fuel and medical supplies have once again been blocked from entering Gaza; and we are back in a brutal war where the killing of 15 paramedics and their burial in a mass grave is again possible and risks being normal. Such incidents are too painful and shocking to take in, but we know in our hearts we cannot turn a blind eye or remain silent at this renewed loss of life and livelihoods, with hopes dwindling for a peaceful reconciliation and the return of the hostages.
This most extremist of Israeli governments is openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, strangling the Palestinian economy and building more new settlements than ever.
This extremism also targets Israeli democracy, with the independence of the judicial system again under fierce attack, the police increasingly resembling a militia and repressive laws are being advanced as provocative partisan populism is bitterly dividing Israeli society. Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to.
Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values. Led by the families of the hostages, hundreds of thousands of Israelis are demonstrating on the streets against the return to war by an Israeli government that has not prioritised the return of the hostages.
We stand with them. We stand against the war. We acknowledge and mourn the loss of Palestinian life. We yearn for the “day after” this conflict when reconciliation can start. As we mark the festival of freedom with so many hostages still in captivity, it is our duty, as Jews, to speak out.
Harriett Goldenberg Baron Frankal Sophie Hasenson Robert Stone Deborah Barnett Lottie Blankstone Eddie Cawston Noemi Csogor Annabelle Daiches Leigh Dworkin Zac Bates-Fisher Ido Ben-Shaul Jane Ginsborg Philip Goldenberg Daniel Grossman Ben Heath Daniel Howard-Schiff Nat Kunin Harry Lampert Eva Lawrence Daniel Mautner Katie Marks Karen Maxwell Mike Mendoza Tessa Milligan Toby Millis Elinor Milne Nina Morris-Evans Janvier Palmer Bailey Prevezer Emma Prinsley Lawrence Ray Tom Rich Rebecca Singerman-Knight Tommer Spence Karen Worth Members, The Board of Deputies of British Jews, London, UK
