The Board of Deputies imagines that it has drawn a line under the matter of “the 36”. These are the 36 deputies, members of the Board, who in April signed a letter publicly criticising the actions of the Israeli government and calling for an end to the “brutal” war in Gaza. Although the letter made no suggestion that the signatories represented the Board’s official position, the Board has now suspended five and criticised the other 31 with a warning of possible suspension in the future.
The Board claims that the disciplinary action against the 31 is justified by the presentation of the letter, which created a “misleading impression that this was an official document of the Board”. But there is no basis in fact for this claim: the letter itself made no such pretence, and extensive analysis of press coverage (https://pjjip.org/pjjips-evidence-about-the-allegations/) has showed that in only one case out of many was there a misleading headline, and even that was clearly corrected in the following article.
The truth is that the 36 are being punished for giving voice to the views of the many thousands of British Jews who are appalled at the conduct of the war in Gaza and at the brutal oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank. A letter circulated by PJJIP in support of the 36 gathered hundreds of signatures within a few days, from members of nearly 70 synagogues. The Board dismisses these voices and instead claims to represent a non-existent united communal voice that supports the criminal actions of the Israeli government.
This stance is deeply damaging to the Jewish community and to the Board itself. It puts the Board at odds with international law and basic humanitarian precepts, and contradicts the ethical foundations of Judaism. And it is unsustainable: to silence dissent instead of opening discussion serves only to defer and worsen the fracturing of the community.
Israel’s far-right government works to dismantle the country’s democratic institutions, prolongs the daily slaughter in Gaza, intensifies oppression in the West Bank, and has abandoned the remaining hostages in Gaza. It dismisses all criticism as motivated by antisemitism. When so many British Jews can no longer stay silent in the face of this moral disaster, the Board of Deputies should forgo silencing their voices, and instead begin to acknowledge the range of opinions in the community and to consider where Jewish values lie in this conflict.
8th July 2025