UK’s largest Jewish group calls Israeli aid to Gaza ‘long overdue,’ months after disciplining members for criticizing Israel
The group’s stance marks a rare criticism of the Israeli government’s conduct during the war in Gaza
The then-British Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaking during a vigil outside Downing Street, central London, for victims and hostages of Hamas’ attack on Israel, organized by The Board of Deputies of British Jews, Oct. 9, 2023. Photo by Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images
(JTA) — The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest Jewish organization in the United Kingdom, called for a rapid increase in Gaza aid this week, adding that the Israeli government’s new measures are “essential if long overdue.”
The statement comes months after the group disciplined dozens of its members for signing an open letter condemning the war in Gaza in April, in a sign of how much discourse has shifted since then.
Now, amid a global outcry over claims of widespread starvation in Gaza as a result of limited aid entering the enclave, some Jewish groups and leaders that previously expressed staunch support for Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza have shifted their positions, even if not all are calling for an end to the war.
“The suffering we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip demands a response,” said a statement by Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies. “The new measures announced by Israeli authorities to address the humanitarian crisis are essential if long overdue.”
His statement continued, “We need to see a rapid, uninhibited, and sustained increase in aid through all available channels, and we need to see all agencies cooperating in this endeavour. As we have been saying for months, food must not be used as a weapon of war, by any side in this conflict.”
The statement last week came the same day as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement that Britain will join France in recognizing a Palestinian state this fall if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, citing the “catastrophic failure of aid” in the region. He also said he would not go through with the recognition if Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it took when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Rosenberg wrote that the Board of Deputies supports a “negotiated two-state solution that ensures a secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian State” and criticized Starmer’s announcement, saying that the U.K. must avoid “empowering or rewarding Hamas.”
He said his group is “seeking clarification that the UK Government will not recognise a Palestinian State while Hamas fails to meet UK demands, including accepting a ceasefire and releasing the hostages.”
Rosenberg also wrote that the Board of Deputies “overwhelmingly rejects the appalling rhetoric and unacceptable proposals from some Israeli ministers,” citing the recent suggestions by some Israeli ministers to displace Palestinians in Gaza and take full control of the Gaza Strip.
This week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asked the Israeli military to present a plan for destroying Gaza city and taking control of the enclave, according to the Times of Israel. Last month, Israel’s science and technology minister posted an AI-generated video of a redeveloped Gaza and called for the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously voiced support for promoting the voluntary emigration of Palestinians as a condition to end the war in Gaza.
Last Friday, the former president of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, also critiqued the lack of sufficient aid reaching Palestinians in an op-ed published in Jewish News, writing that, “hunger and human suffering, on this scale, are incompatible with the core values of our faith.”
The Board of Deputies’ statement comes as 1,200 rabbis around the world have signed a letter calling for an end to the ongoing aid crisis in Gaza that was authored by three prominent rabbis including one, Jonathan Wittenberg, who leads a London synagogue with more than 3,000 members.
