Three dozen Jewish faith leaders are under investigation by the Board of Deputies of British Jews after publishing an open letter criticising Israel’s war in Gaza.
The letter published by the Financial Times last week, which was signed by 36 members of the board, rebuked Israel’s military response to the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas.
The board, which is the UK’s largest Jewish community organisation made up of more than 300 faith leaders, initially said its members represented the “diverse constituencies” of British Jews.
But in a new statement on Tuesday, the board emphasised that the letter did not represent its view on the 18-month conflict and all signatories of the open letter now face a disciplinary process.
It said: “Following the publication of the letter by 36 deputies in the Financial Times last week that was not representative of the board of deputies’ policy on Israel, the board of deputies today (Tuesday) convened an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee to discuss the ramifications and consequences of this act.
“The board of deputies can now confirm following multiple complaints by deputies and the public, all 36 signatories of the letter to the Financial Times are now subject to a complaints procedure.
“All deputies and under-35 observers subject to complaints procedures have been informed of the complaints made against them and the process to be adopted.”
The board said that the investigation is likely to take at least four weeks.
Phil Rosenberg, the president of the board, added: “We take alleged breaches of the code of conduct very seriously.
“I am grateful to the constitution committee for the speed with which they have reviewed the initial complaints, and it is right that they are now given the time and space to review the cases with due process and impartiality.
“The board of deputies is clear – only our democratically-elected honorary officers and authorised staff speak on behalf of the organisation.”
In the letter, which was published in the Financial Times last Wednesday, the 36 members of the board said they could not “turn a blind eye” to Palestinian civilian casualties.
“We write as representatives of the British Jewish community, out of love for Israel and deep concern for its future,” they said.
‘Stand up and speak out’
“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.”
A fragile ceasefire established earlier this year came to a sudden end in March with targeted Israeli air strikes against senior Hamas military officials.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has said a lasting peace is only possible on the condition that Hamas is destroyed once and for all.
But the signatories to the letter insisted the most successful way to bring home the 59 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas was “through diplomacy” rather than warfare.
They added: “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.
“Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values.”
The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry has said that tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the past year-and-a-half of violence.
There have been questions about the reliability of the mortality data produced by the health ministry, and estimates vary as to how many people have been killed.
