To the leadership of the Board of Deputies of British Jews,
We are writing following the extremely concerning events in the Israeli Knesset last Wednesday, in which, by a significant majority, the Knesset voted to firmly oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Throughout the course of the debate members of the government made a number of inflammatory and extremist statements, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said “there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation” and Minister of Communications MK Shlomo Karhi who referenced the biblical story of King Sihon stating that “God told Moses to destroy Sihon and his entire nation, so that all the nations in the Land of Israel will know that whoever messes with Israel, his blood shall be on his own head.”
This extremist rhetoric and the outcome of the vote send a message to the world about the character of the leadership of Israel and its lack of commitment to peace with its neighbours, and condemns millions of Israelis and Palestinians to live in perpetual conflict.
Meanwhile, recent polling shows the majority of the Israeli public believe that Israel should enter into a political arrangement with the wider Arab world, in which the creation of a Palestinian state would form part of a comprehensive deal that would include the normalisation of relationships with Israel. The Knesset vote does not represent the Israeli public.
The Board of Deputies has consistently made it clear that its long-standing position is in support of a two-state solution, reflecting the views of the overwhelming majority of British Jews who have polled consistently in support of a two-state solution.
Our expectation therefore, is that the Board of Deputies will seek to make it clear, as the representative voice of the British Jewish community, that the overwhelming majority of Jews in the UK stand in opposition to the outcome of the vote in the Knesset.
We look forward to seeing a clear rejection of the vote and a reaffirmation of our community’s commitment to a political resolution to the conflict.
This letter has been signed by over 600 people including the following, who have consented for their names to be made public:
Aaron Jones
Abi Cohen
Adam Dyson
Adam Friedman
Adam Kessler
Adam Squires
Adam Wilson
Adele Moss
Akiva Markus
Alan Ereira
Alan Murray
Alan Sheppard
Alex Davids
Alex Kaye
Alex Steen
Alex Wright
Alexander Massey
Alice Krieger
Alison Noyes
Alison Rees
Alistaire Hayman
Amelia B. Kyazze
Amir Friedman
Amos Schonfield
Amy Racs
Ana Waissbein
Andrea Collett
Andrew Levy
Andrew Manasse
Angela Donnelly
Angela West
Ann Antrich
Ann Benson
Ann David
Anne-Marie Manners
Annie Marcuson
Anthony Fraser
Anthony Isaacs
Anthony Metzer KC
Anya Metzer
Archie Baron
Arieh Paul Silverman
Arlene Hellens
asher winchester
Asi Sharabi
Astrid Schmetterling
Asya Sonnichsen
Atara Fridler
Avi Bram
Avi Mayorcas
Ayari Tudor-Jones
Ayelet Spiro
Ayelet Yaari
Barbara Levy
Barbara Saalfeld Edwards
Barbara Winston
Barry Mordsley
Barry Spivack
Ben Freedman
Ben Heath
Ben Lewis
Ben Pollard
Ben Rettinger
Ben Weisfeld
Benjamin Margolis
Benny Fibeesh
Beren Aldridge
Berl Goldbart
Bernard Bloom
Bernice Huelin
Bonnie Alter
Bradley Tapper
Brenda Goldstein
Brian Humphreys
Brian Levy
Brian Ratner
C Wilk
Carol Hudson
Carolyn Barkin
Carolyn Burchell
Carolyn Emanuel
Carolyn Marcus
Carolyn Simon
Carrie Supple
Cassy Sachar
Catherine Ashley
Charlotte D’Alton Eldridge
Cheryl Brodie
Christina Shafran
Claire Jackson
Clive Belman
Clive Marcus
Conor Earnshaw
D Silverman
Dalia Blass
Dan Rickman
Dan Rosenberg
Dani Abrams
Daniel Cigman
Daniel Cohen
Daniel Ehrlich
Daniel Fitzpatrick
Daniel Grossman
Daniel Jay
Daniel Mautner
Daniel Power
Daniel Randall
Daniel Revach
Danielle Bett
Danielle Cohen
David Aviram
David Ball
David Evans
David Frankal
David Graham
David Hulbert
David J Heinemannn
David Lanning
David Lubin
David Plaut
David Roberts
David Spalter
David Tillson
Debbie Nissenbaum
Debi Alper
Deborah Crewe
Deborah Friedman
Deborah Hofman
Debra Gold
Debra Hauer
Debra Kroll
Dee Eimer
Denis Raeburn
Diana Dolev
Diane Langleben
Dina Leifer
Don Eldridge
Don Shenker
Douglas Cohen
Dylan Grossman
Eddie Powell
Edgar Santos
Edie Friedman
Edori Fertig
Edward Caplin
Edward Szekely
Elaine Barton
Elana Friedman
Elinor Milne
Ella Tirosh
Ella Vardi
Ellen Miller
Ellen Schmidt
Ellie Miller
Eloise Bishop
Emma Davies
Eric Shaw
Erica Levy
Esra Beyaz
Esther Kersley
Ethan Silverstone
Eve Drewery
Evelyn Silver
Felicity Weisfeld
Fran Ryba
Frances Khalastchi
G Fineman
Gal Kronenberg
Gary Ogin
Gavriella Epstein-Lightman
Geraldine Harris
Gershon Lipshen
Gidon Cohen
Gill Solnick
Gillian Brasse
Gillian Gholam
Gordon Smith
Grahame Gross
Hannah Ehrlich
Hannah Weisfeld
Harold Paisner
Harriet Hodes
Harriet Oppenheimer
Harris Kersh
Helen Leek
Helen Mayer
Helena Goldwater
Hilary Jacobs
HM Altorf
Hodaya Mason
Holly Kal-Weiss
Howard Saffer
Ian Morley
Ian Nissenbaum
Ian Rawson
Ian Simons
Ilan Bass
Ilana Ledermann
Inbar Amit
Irving Goldin
Jack Frohlich
Jack Mayorcas
Jackie Alexander
Jackie Elliman
Jackie Rosenberg
Jacqueline Lewis
Jake Altmann
James Paden
Janet Kentridge
Janine Marmot
Jeanna Cumber
Jeffrey Graham
Jeffrey Kallen
Jenny Goodman
Jenny May Morgan
Jeremy Silver
Jeremy Solnick
Jeremy Taylor
Jess Blackstone
Jessica Baker
Jessica Winterstein
Joan Fogel
Joanna Sadie
Jodi Myers
Joe Millis
Joel Hart
Johanna Marx
John Cohen
John Gilbert
John Lynes
John Read
Jon Freedman
Jon Lansman
Jon Rawson
Jonathan Black
Jonathan Kalisch
Jonathan Metzer
Jonathan Smith
Jonny Leader
Joseph Ellison
Joseph is Lewis
Joseph Rebak
Josh Freedman
Joshua Lander
Judith Brown
Judith Ellenbogen
Judith Fantozzi
Judith Lieber
Judith Stavrakakis
Judith Stratton
Judith Usiskin MBE
Judy Smith
Judy Woolfe
Julia Hicks
Juliet Albert
Juliet Singer
June Wainwright
Justin Hoffman
Kamran Ahmed
Karen Ackerman
Karen Butler
Karen Hardman
Karin Schamroth
Kathy Hirst
Katie Clarke
Katie Felstein
Katie Jay
Keren Durant
Kurt Ryz
Laila Syme
Larry Finlay
Laura Mansberger
Laurie Coppersmith
Laurie Morgen
Lawrence Radley
Lea Jagendorf
Leah Goldkorn
Leonard Weinreich
Lesley Urbach
Lianna Etkind
Lila Turner
Linda Samuels
Lindy Temple-Harris
Linnet Farshi-Kaymer
Lisa Barry
Lisa Neidich
Lisa Swerling
Liz Green
Liz Silman
Louise Gellman
Lucille Cohen
Lynn Levy
Lynne Booker
Madeline R. Young
Magen Inon
Maggie Bergman
Mandy Ross
Marc Frank
Margaret Conrad
Marilyn Grossman
Marilyn Hall
Mark Attan
Mark Friend
Mark Goldberg
Marlena Schmool
Martin Hofman
Martin Read
Martin Saville
Martin Vegoda
Martyn Meacham
Marvin Lewis
Matthew Demby
Matthew Kentridge
Maxine Klein
Maya Aviram
Meir Vardi
Melanie Goldberg
Mia Hasenson-Gross
Mia Singer
Michael Charvonia
Michael Hahn
Michael Jacobs
Michael Levy
Michael Levy
Michael Rosenberg
Michaela Bax-Leaney
Michal Ish-Horowicz
Michal Rockman-Pollard
Michele Benn
Mike Fenster
Miranda Pinch
Miriam Green
Miriam Ish-Horowicz
Miriam Jackson
Miriam Usiskin
Miriam Vickers
Moische Czarny
Myrna Lazarus
Naomi Diamond
Neil Nerva
Neil Weisfeld
Noah Grose
Noeleen Cohen
Ofra Magidor
Oliver Chapman
Ondine Sherwood
Oren Ezuz
Orna Hadary
Pamela Mayorcas
Pamela Wiseman Davis
Patsy Cunningham
Paul Barnett
paul brown
Paul Craven
Paul Davies
Pennina Barnett
Peter Carson
Peter Farrell
Peter Hurst
Peter Lewy
Peter Speyer
Peter Zahemszky
Phil Hearn
Philip Brodie
Philip Ross
Prof Robert Reiner
Prof. Alan Salama
Prof. Bryan Cheyette
Prof. Daniel Monk
Prof. David Simon
Prof. David Singerman
Prof. Gillian Raab
Prof. Joanna Benjamin
Prof. John Strawson
Prof. Judith Suissa
Prof. Ken Singer
Prof. Louise Sylvester
Prof. Pauline Kollontai
Prof. Peter Crome
Prof. Philip Wadler
Prof. Stephen Frosh
Prof. Stephen Miller
Rabbi Colin Eimer
Rabbi David Freeman
Rabbi David Mason
Rabbi Douglas Charing
Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah
Rabbi Fabian Sborovsky
Rabbi Janet Burden
Rabbi Janet Darley
Rabbi Kath Vardi
Rabbi Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Rabbi Margaret Jacobi
Rabbi Naomi Goldman
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Rachel Heller
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Ray Woolfe
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Rebecca Swift
Regine Lemberger
Revital Dagan-Walters
Richard Canin
Richard Levy
Richard Miron
Richard Schmidt
Rivka Gottlieb
Robert Hurst
Robert Lazarus
Robert Levy
Robert Rosenthal
Roisin Jacobson
Ronni Gurwicz
Ronnie Landau
Ros Edwards
Rosalind Adler
Rosalind Clayton
Rosalind Ereira
Rosemary Taylor
Rosie Phipps
Roslyn Rawson
Rotem Perry
Rozelle Bentheim
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Russell Mishcon
Ruth Cormacain
Ruth Friedlaender
Ruth Friedman
Ruth Herbert
Ruth Lukeman
Ruth Mayorcas
Ruth Rosenthal
Ruth Segal
Ruvi Ziegler
S Anello
Sadie Gellman
Sally Davies
Sally Gold
Sam Huelin
Sam Rodin
Samantha Orenstein
Sandar Warshal
Sandra Fayle
Sandra Oelbaum
Sandra Rose Jacobs
Sandy Paul
Sara Dibb
Sara Emanuel
Sara Higginson
Sara Stone
Sarah Cotton
Sarah Ereira
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Sarah Sigal
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Seth Weisz
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Sheila Freedman
Sheila King Lassman
Sheira Neumann
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Shirley Rose
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Simon Morris
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Spencer Hagard
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Stephen Marcus
Steve Druce
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Sue Berelowitz
Sue Colbert
Sue Harris
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