Israel/Palestine – why we spoke out.
I am a Zionist. I love Israel - the state, the land, and its people. But my Israel is the one conceived by Herzl and designed by Weizmann – a pluralist liberal democracy upholding Jewish ethical values. Sadly at present it has a government which instead runs by the Trump playbook: denigrating the country’s Judges, firing senior civil servants, attacking media outlets which express disagreement, and creating hate figures out of those who oppose it. It was Hitler’s playbook too.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
Philip Goldenberg
4/22/20251 min read
So I was one of the signatories of the open letter from 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (effectively the UK Jewish community’s Parliament) published by the Financial Times recently condemning the Israeli Government’s resumption of the war in Gaza.
I have not opposed the war from the beginning. Israel has a right to defend itself and, after the atrocities of October 7th, had to remove Hamas from power in Gaza. And much of the blame for the horrendous suffering in Gaza must be laid at the door of Hamas, who use its civilians as human shields and care not one bit about the loss of innocent Gazan lives.
However, the resumption of fighting last month was a cynical attempt to cling to power at the cost of bringing back a racist bigot into Government. Other options on the table could have resulted in all the hostages being returned. Instead, it seems as if they have been abandoned. And there was the framework of an agreement with Arab states to rebuild Gaza without Hamas.
The debate in much of the Western world is dispiriting and simplistic. If you speak out against the actions of the current Israeli government, you get called a 'self-hating Jew' or tarnished as an anti-Semite. And if you try to defend Israel's right to exist and to defend itself, you get called a baby-killer or other insults which are resonant of centuries of antisemitic abuse
Which is why I want to stress that I am a passionate Zionist AND opposed to this cynical resumption of military activity. I believe in Israel's right to defend itself AND I now want to see a diplomatic solution that brings the hostages home and moves towards a path for peace. That is why I joined other Jews in putting our heads above the parapet, and I have been heartened by the emails of gratitude arriving in my inbox from distinguished Jews and non-Jews alike.
Members of leading British Jewish body condemn Israel’s latest actions in Gaza | Gaza | The Guardian