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Board of Deputies tries to silence Jewish critics of genocide, suspending members who spoke out

In April, 36 of the over 300 members of the Board of Deputies (BoD) of British Jews wrote a damning open letter criticising Israel’s genocidal crimes in Gaza. And the right-wing pro-Israel group has now responded by officially suspending five elected representatives who signed the letter.

BoD in “disrepute”

A two-month investigation determined that all 36 signatories had “breached the Board of Deputies’ code of conduct”. 31 received a “notice of criticism” from the BoD’s executive body, while the other five received a two-year suspension.

The letter’s signatories spoke out after Israel unilaterally decided to “break the ceasefire” in March rather than seeking a lasting peace deal. It was a final straw that meant they could no longer ignore or “remain silent” about the “loss of life and livelihoods” in occupied Gaza. They added that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we… fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to”.

Responding to the BoD’s decision to crack down on those who spoke out, hundreds of British Jews from over 65 synagogues wrote:

it is not their courageous letter in the Financial Times that poses a threat to the good name of the Board or to Jewish communal unity; rather, it is the Board’s disproportionate reaction that is likely to undermine freedom of speech and to bring the Board’s name into disrepute.

A poll previously showed that over half of British Jews “felt ashamed of Israel to some extent” and “nearly half felt that the IDF had not done enough to protect Gazan civilians”.

Gaza genocide has exposed the BoD once and for all

Jewish group Just Jews has previously criticised the BoD for “legitimising War Crimes“, calling it:

a principal player in the UK Israel Lobby

In 2013, then BoD president Jonathan Arkush wrote that the community around him “lobby unashamedly for Israel”. And that has long been entirely visible in the official stances and comments of the organisation, even during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. This adds to its reputation from the time of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party leadership, when it played a key role in smearing the veteran peace activist.

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership race, meanwhile, the BoD pushed candidates to back a highly controversial list of demands. Many Jewish left-wingers firmly opposed this divisive list – which, as a Jewish Canary editor at the time wrote, essentially asked Labour to “ignore socialist Jews” and “Jews who don’t support the actions of the Israeli state”.

The BoD has reportedly spoken to government officials about protecting Israeli military-industrial interests by suppressing the anti-genocide campaigners at Palestine Action. And it seems very happy about government attempts to silence the activists and their supporters:

Jewish diversity and resistance

The BoD leadership has long been openly hostile to left-wing Jewish voices. As UK Jewish movement Na’amod lamented earlier this month:

The Board of Deputies and Chief Rabbi once again offer uncritical support to a rogue state currently committing a genocide. In aligning with Israel’s far-right government, they enable apartheid, military aggression and mass civilian death.

It had previously insisted that:

The Board of Deputies leadership has engendered a reckless tolerance for Israel’s fanatical, genocidal politics – born from a support for occupation and apartheid that has created a moral crisis in our community.

It also offered its solidarity to the 36 letter signatories:

And referring to BoD president Phil Rosenberg’s critique of the signatories as “moral collapse”, it stressed:

The Board of Deputies cannot be reformed.

We must leave it behind.

By Ed Sykes

This post was originally published on Canary.