Jewish diasporas are not Israeli outposts

In the midst of the Passover festival, during which Jewish people celebrate freedom and liberation, a few dozen members of the UK’s Board of Deputies, the largest organization representing British Jews, took the liberty, in the best possible sense of the phrase, to express their dissent by stating that they can no longer “turn a blind eye or remain silent” about the war in Gaza.
The 36 signatories to the rather forthright letter, published in the Financial Times newspaper, were not naive enough to believe that their public criticism of Israel for breaking the ceasefire last month would not be greeted with criticism, or even hostility, from their organization’s leadership and many others among its more than 300 deputies, as well as the broader Jewish community.
Nevertheless, their brave letter, which I believe some of them would admit was long overdue, should do a world of good in promoting frank and honest future discussions within the community, and equally, if not more importantly, between Jewish diasporas and Israel.
The swift response to the letter by the Board of Deputies, which complained that “airing our grievances in public undermines the strength of our community,” was somewhere between bizarre and tyrannical, especially for an organization that claims to be a broad tent and a democratic one. It was even reported that the signatories to the letter were facing disciplinary action.
This represents an outdated approach that argues all disagreements should be conducted within the community, for the sake of avoiding any washing of dirty laundry in public. It also suggests that all representatives of Jewish communities are obliged to always support Israeli policies, at least in public, even if they go against what they believe is right for Israel and for their own communities.
Frankly speaking, the letter, as important as it was, was hardly a rabid attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. It was a measured and matter-of-fact critique of a government that has violated a ceasefire agreement and once again unleashed its military might, with little or no differentiation between Hamas militants and civilians.
There are hundreds of thousands of Israelis, if not more, who would have added their signatures to this letter given the opportunity. For the signatories to declare that “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,” was a show of courage in the face of the unabated killings and devastation that is being unleashed for the sake of Netanyahu’s ulterior motives, not for the good of the country and its people.
To argue that the reason for the return to war had more to do with maintaining Netanyahu’s coalition, as he caved in to the wishes of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the aim of facilitating his party’s return to the government is a legitimate opinion that many of us share with those who composed this letter. 

Israel cannot demand blind support, or indeed any support at all, if it behaves in violation of international law.

Yossi Mekelberg

Were its authors chastised by their organization because others within it do not agree with them, or out of fear that they will be seen as disunited? What should come first? A false show of unity? Or a statement by members of a pluralist community acknowledging that at least some of them are outraged that keeping Netanyahu in power comes at the expense of so many lives, and continues to deprive more than 2 million Palestinians of food, medical supplies, and fuel, while condemning more innocent people to death and suffering, including the Israeli hostages?
To argue, as the letter does, that 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,” is something on which there is an international consensus, which includes the UK government. And to air this statement in public, despite a lack of consensus within the Jewish community, reflects a healthy diversity of opinion. This makes the letter even more significant than its actual content.
Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies, said that “taking the legitimate and often painful debate within our community to the letters pages of national newspapers, and sowing confusion about the position of the community as a whole is a short-sighted and dangerous precedent.” This response reflects a very narrow-minded view of a community within a society, and the freedom to express an opinion without being silenced.
One of the many endearing characteristics of Jewish communities around the world is that they are inherently pluralistic and find it hard to agree about almost anything. Most of them love Israel, care for its safety and prosperity, and have been united in deep sadness and grief in face of the horrific Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas. In that moment of collective tragedy, all Jewish communities expressed their horror and were unequivocally supportive of Israel in its darkest hour of need.
But considering the conduct of Israel’s military in Gaza and the West Bank, which is both morally indefensible and, in the eyes of many, compromises and threatens Israel’s long-term survival, there are those within the community who are ready to stand up and be counted in friendly opposition.
They are ready to do that because Israel’s actions conflict with their own values and what they believe is good for both sides, but also because it affects Jewish communities in the diaspora.
Needless to say, no manifestation of antisemitism, nor of Islamophobia, can ever be even remotely justified or excused, and there are those mindless, so-called pro-Palestinian activists who are exploiting the war in Gaza to unleash their own hatred of Jews. When this happens, it is a matter for law-enforcement organizations to deal with. But equally it cannot be a reason within the Jewish communities to silence voices that are critical of Israel.
Seventy-seven years after the establishment of the Jewish state, its relations with Jewish communities across the world have evolved. Israel cannot demand blind support, or indeed any support at all, if it behaves in violation of international law and international humanitarian law or, as the letter from members of the British organization makes clear, in violation of Jewish values and morality.
The natural affinity between Israel and the Jewish communities of the diaspora is not in doubt. But it should not under any circumstances be confused with automatic acquiescence to the policies of Israeli governments. There is a Jewish existence in Israel and there is one outside of it, and neither is superior to the other.
An Israeli government that would like to enjoy the full support of all Jewish people worldwide has to earn it. The current government, in its attempts to demolish both the democratic system in Israel and any chance for peace and reconciliation with the Palestinians, has done nothing to merit that full support.

• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House.
X: @YMekelberg