Antisemitism

I expect they realised that, but despite that they courageously still signed. The others who agreed with the content of the letters , but didn’t sign, knew what was coming.

I applaud their bravery.

I feel like it is an evil act by itself to intentionally lump criticism of Israel’s actions in with antisemitism in general. There is nothing innocent or benevolent in trying to silence critics by shouting them down with false accusations of antisemitism. There are even Orthodox Jews being vocally critical of Israel’s treatment and slaughter of Palestinians. It’s about decency and humanity. Conflating the criticism with antisemitism is just another form of dehumanizing the Palestinian people. The idea that you cannot speak put against their plight implies they are less human and deserve to be exterminated, therefore you must hate all Jews if you don’t agree that the Palestinians don’t deserve what’s happening to them.

From The Jewish Chronicle-

The Board of Deputies is clear: only our democratically-elected honorary officers and authorised staff speak on behalf of the organisation."

It comes amid concern at the Board about a split in the community on Israel and Gaza, with a divide between Orthodox and Progressive synagogues.

Most of the 36 signatories of the FT letter belong to Reform, Liberal or Masorti communities, and none belonged to the United Synagogue, the largest communal denomination.

I think those who signed were not speaking on behalf of the BoD but as themselves, as people living in a democracy are supposed to be able to do.
As for the backlash no one will be surprised.

Once again I 👏 them.

they were not speaking for themselves silverlining you
said they said

Quote silverlining48 Sun 27-Apr-25 16:03:08
I expect they realised that, but despite that they courageously still signed. The others who agreed with the content of the letters , but didn’t sign, knew what was coming.

I applaud their bravery.

I think this needs to be put into context.

I believe the sentiment expressed in the letter is not the main issue here. The issue is very much as expressed in the quote that appeared in the Jewish Chronicle as shown in Annie's post.

Honorary officers and delegated staff are those authorised to speak on behalf of the Board of Deputies. Those Deputies who are not Honorary Officers do not have that authority.

So it was not necessarily WHAT was expressed, it was HOW it was expressed.

Deputies are elected to speak on behalf of the Jewish Community - which consists of more than just synagogues. To my knowledge the Jewish Community in toto have not been canvassed for their personal views.

Thus members of the Jewish Community may have taken issue that the letter would be taken as a true reflection of their views when in fact, their views had not be solicited.

Thank you ferry . I have not the foggiest what Jews in this country or the Israeli people think, I do not know , if Netanyahu is pushed from office I would accept this but not what newspapers or links to individuals claim .

Unfortunately Annie, the contention in the Middle East stems from so many quarters. You have racial and religious prejudices mixed in with land ownership, the need for power from many directions, historical and cultural aspects, economic priorities - the list is endless.

It's a divisive subject and generally, people will actively look for evidence that supports their own personal view and then use that as a hook to say "look I'm right - see all these people who think as I do" . Those with opposing views will do exactly the same.

Then you have someone who comes along and says that even Miriam Margoyles who is actually JEWISH doesn't like the behaviour of the Israeli government (the well known, outspoken, non-observant Miriam Margoyles that is) so what they're doing must be wrong - is hardly going to sway anyone's views - in fact it may do the opposite!

Agree ferry,posting what a Rabi says is not the opinions/ thoughts of the people of Israel. Last year there was a post declaring Netanyahu was not a Jew ,criticism of him was not
antisemitic so was a acceptable ! I pray peace will come soon for Israel and Palestine

Anniebach

Thank you ferry . I have not the foggiest what Jews in this country or the Israeli people think, I do not know , if Netanyahu is pushed from office I would accept this but not what newspapers or links to individuals claim .

What you have to remember is that before the Hamas attack, there was an election in Israel and it wasn't definite that Netanyahu would remain because his party didn't win as many seats as they'd hoped for. They did not have an absolute majority, so had to go into coalition with right-wing parties. There was criticism at the time, so he wasn't universally popular by any means. I'm not sure of the details, but he was also about to be indicted on some fraud or other (can't remember exactly).

The way he has handled the post-arrack situation isn't universally popular either. That has nothing to do with anti-semiticism, but an electorate which isn't happy with the way its country is being run. There will be some Israelis who still support him, but many who don't.

Where is your primary evidence on this growstuff?

‘Some support him, many who don’t ‘ , surely this can be said of every PM in every country, read threads on Starmer on this
forum

ferry23

Where is your primary evidence on this growstuff?

Daily reading a variety of media. It was all reported at the time (and still is).

Anniebach

‘Some support him, many who don’t ‘ , surely this can be said of every PM in every country, read threads on Starmer on this
forum

Exactly!

Of course not every Israeli supports him, just as any PM in times gone by, in Israel and elsewhere isn’t universally applauded.
And Jews living in other countries are just as diverse in their politics and opinions as anybody else.

To say ‘some support many who don’t’ , is not fact ,

I think its quite straightforward in one way - 36 people with standing in their community (ie deputies on the board) wrote a letter with their POV, as individuals, they didn't claim it represented the board of deputies. It was strightforward and undramatic unlike the Miriam Gargoyles interventions.

I'm supposing problems arise if people conflate criticism of Netanyahu with anti-semitism and it's quite possible some Jewish people fear that as a result of the letter or the letter will be used as that.

Seems the 36 out of over 300 didn’t keep to the rules , antisemitism has nothing to with it , did they have a right to claim to speak for those who didn’t write ?

Best wait for the findings?

Well, allegedly didn't keep to the rules, that is what the complaints are, but of course you are right thats what they are investigating, and it can take 4 weeks.

bod.org.uk/bod-news/statement-from-the-executive-of-the-board-of-deputies-of-british-jews/

Yet you support the choice to speak out. Do you support posts
which are removed from this forum because they do not comply with the rules?

Nothing so complex or intention to argue Annie.

I was glad they spoke up when they did at the time because its good to have different POV on Netanyahu,

but if the Board decides they didn't have the right to speak as Deputies as they did then thats different.

Thank you Wyllow honest, they support your views/opinions

Wyllow3

I think its quite straightforward in one way - 36 people with standing in their community (ie deputies on the board) wrote a letter with their POV, as individuals, they didn't claim it represented the board of deputies. It was strightforward and undramatic unlike the Miriam Gargoyles interventions.

I'm supposing problems arise if people conflate criticism of Netanyahu with anti-semitism and it's quite possible some Jewish people fear that as a result of the letter or the letter will be used as that.

I'm not sure it is that straightforward.

They start the letter with

We write as representatives of the British Jewish community, out of love for Israel and deep concern for its future.

OK, they are representatives of the community but they cannot possibly be speaking on behalf of the community because they haven't canvassed the community - a slightly nuanced and easily misinterpreted opening sentence.

Later, they say

...we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to.

Again this could be misinterpreted and this I think, is where the issue lies.

I do see both sides - the Deputies wanted to add some gravitas to the letter in order to demonstrate their standing in the community and their commitment to Israel and it's people.

The Executive Board needed to emphasise this was not an official BOD letter and that Deputies do not have the authority to speak on behalf of the organisation.

I would guess (and yes, I am just guessing but I think it's an educated guess) that an overwhelming majority of Jews have every sympathy with all the innocents pulled into this dreadful war. Jews don't want to see innocent people of any faith, or race or creed brutally murdered or tortured or made homeless or lose their livelihoods and be uprooted from their homes.

It's such an emotive and sensitive issue that anyone wanting to express their view walks a tightrope of eggshells. Someone will always take it the wrong way, be offended or upset or be angry however diplomatically those views are put across.

Anniebach

To say ‘some support many who don’t’ , is not fact ,

How do you support that? It is not fact that every Israeli or Jew supports Netanyahu. Some may support some of his actions, but not others. What I do know for an absolute fact is that in the last Israeli elections Netanyahu's party did not achieve an absolute majority and there was some doubt about whether he would be able to form a government. That was before the Hamas attacks.

Some may support, some may not support