Letter: As British Jews we can no longer stay silent on the war in Gaza

 

 

Letter: As British Jews we can no longer stay silent on the war in Gaza

From Harriett Goldenberg, Baron Frankal, Sophie Hasenson, Robert Stone and others

Demonstrators light up smoke flares and hold up signs during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in central Tel Aviv © Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

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16-04-2025

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

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