Letter signed by 30 UK rabbis claims Labour’s approach to Israel the ‘correct’ one

A letter signed by 30 UK rabbis published by the Sunday Times has appeared to take issue with criticism of the new Labour government’s approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians made last weekend by Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg.

In an op-ed last Sunday, Rosenberg claimed “many British Jews find themselves with grave concerns about the new government’s foreign policy stance towards Israel.”

The Board president also suggested that Labour’s approach – which has included restoring UK funding to UNRWA and dropping objection to the jurisdiction of the ICC to seek arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders for possible war crimes – offered the impression that Keir Starmer’s government was jeopardizing its reputation on “national security.”

But in a Letter to the Editor published on Sunday, the 30 rabbis, mainly drawn from within the broad Progressive Judaism spectrum, wrote:”Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, rightly says that many British Jews have strong personal ties to Israel last week.

“We are rabbis from a variety of Jewish movements and, like others in our community, we hold deep concern for the wellbeing of Israel’s citizens, and in particular for the hostages still held in Gaza. 

“We also hold deep concern for the many Palestinians killed during the war and for the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

“The new Labour government has put respect for the rule of law at the heart of its approach to the conflict in the Middle East.

“While that may present difficult choices that some of us may find hard to accept, we believe that the government is correct to uphold an international rules-based order.”

Signatories included Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Rabbi Rebecca Birk, Rabbi Daisy Bogod, Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts, Rabbi Janet Burden, Rabbi Douglas Charing, Rabbi Janet Darley, Rabbi Paul Freedman, Rabbi Adam Frankenburg, Rabbi Margaret Jacobi, Rabbi Richard Jacobi and Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner.

“International law applies equally to all, and it is incumbent on us to listen and to reckon with what this means for our community’s relationship to Israel.” wrote the rabbis.

” We hold Israelis and Palestinians in our hearts, and pray for an end to the war, release of hostages, and for aid to be delivered to those in need.”

Jewish News previously revealed that senior Labour figures had outlined their decision to take a tougher approach around the need for international law to be respected in a meeting with some of the party’s most loyal Jewish stakeholders.

One communal figure told a senior Labour figure:”The politics of this are awful. Some of us have family members living in Israel, putting their lives at risk on the front line.”

Party chiefs, including new Attorney General Richard Hermer KC have also been awaiting the result of “complex” and “ongoing” legal advice on arms licenses to Israel, over fears, raised under the previous Tory government, that Israel’s military has breached rules around international law responding to Hamas in Gaza.

Alongside allies such as the United States, the new government has become increasingly frustrated with the failure of ceasefire negotiations between Netanyahu’s government and Hamas.

Despite the apparent shift towards together criticism about the loss of innocent lives in Gaza, and the increasingly hardline approach of Netanyahu, senior Labour figures have continued engagement with Israel at a senior level.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has met with both Netanyahu and president Isaac Herzog, while defence secretary John Healey met with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv last Friday.