British Jewish leaders condemn Netanyahu's Gaza offensive
Source: The Times
Dozens of Jewish leaders in Britain have broken their silence to condemn the Israeli government’s renewed offensive in Gaza.
In an open letter, 36 elected members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest representative body in the country, warned that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out” by Binyamin Netanyahu’s government.
-snip-
The letter marks the first public show of opposition to Israel’s 18-month war against Hamas in Gaza from members of the board. It highlighted a growing division among Britain’s Jewish community over Netanyahu’s hardline policies.
-snip-
The signatories asked the board, which has more than 300 elected deputies, to release a statement condemning the move, but it was unwilling to publicly criticise the Israeli government. In the open letter, they said: “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.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/britains-largest-jewish-body-condemn-gaza-offensive-netanyahu-06lc3hnp0
Important reminder that criticism of Netanyahu and his policies does not equate with antisemitism.
It's also important to note that the signatories are so far a minority.
The article mentions as well that last week 18 former Israeli officials - including 3 former heads of Mossad, 4 former heads of Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security service), 6 former heads of military intelligence and a former Israeli prime minister - accused Netanyahu of leading Israel to catastrophe and a dictatorship.
Haaretz op-ed this week on the opposition to Netanyahu from veterans of Israel's intelligence agencies and military:
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-04-15/ty-article/.premium/why-mossad-and-shin-bet-veterans-are-now-calling-to-end-the-war-in-gaza/00000196-359f-dc0f-adb6-bddf5ade0000
Archived: https://archive.ph/GTwh1
= new reply since forum marked as read
