President Isaac Herzog has been urged to condemn settler violence in a letter from 1,000 diaspora members.
The intervention comes amid a wave of violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Iran war.
One human rights group, Yesh Din, documented 257 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the war’s first 25 days.
The letter, facilitated by the London Initiative (TLI) – a pro-Israel, pro-democracy network – asks the Israeli president to condemn the “terror, death and destruction inflicted by Jewish-Israeli extremists against innocent Palestinians across the West”.
It goes on: “We call on you to use your position to implore the government to put an end to the abomination of Jewish-extremist terror and the era of impunity for its perpetrators.”
Signed by prominent UK figures including chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, Keith Black, JC columnist Lord Daniel Finkelstein, UJIA president Sir Trevor Chinn, and senior Masorti Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, the letter states that the situation in the West Bank “is not only morally shameful but a strategic threat to the future of Israel”.
It claims that settler violence has become a de facto policy of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government: “Sadly, based on events and on the statements of the most extreme coalition partners it can be concluded that the violence now engulfing the West Bank is not only condoned by the government but is in fact policy.”
Affirming their “unwavering” support for Israel, “as the national home of the Jewish People,” the letter continues: “Our commitment… is grounded in the Jewish and democratic values enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of Independence – values of mature liberal democracy, fairness for all citizens, and a striving to live in secure peace with Israel’s neighbours, including the Palestinian people.”
Addressing Herzog directly, the authors write: “You have consistently affirmed our conviction that as diaspora Jews it is both our right and obligation to speak up and speak out. In this regard we will continue to support citizens of Israel of all backgrounds working courageously to protect the safety, dignity and freedom of innocent Palestinians and uphold the rule of law.
“We note with deep regret the absence of such a commitment from this government and call on you to share our profound concerns as here set out with the prime minister, members of the government, its ambassadors and members of the Knesset.”
Referencing forthcoming Pesach celebrations, the letter concludes: “As we have for millennia, Jews everywhere will reflect on the promise of freedom and responsibilities of power. We call on you to use your position to implore the government to put an end to the abomination of Jewish-extremist terror and the era of impunity for its perpetrators.
“Should this scourge remain unchecked it will undermine the promise of the Jewish people’s freedom, security and sovereignty.”
Many of the signatories had previously written via TLI to Netanyahu in August last year urging him to “prevent attacks by settlers and their supporters and ensure arrests and prosecutions of those responsible”.
“Since then”, the new letter claims, “the situation has only deteriorated, reaching a new nadir during the war with Iran.”
In Britain, several members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews are understood to share the concerns expressed by TLI, with appeals made to Board president, Phil Rosenberg, to speak out more forcefully against West Bank violence.
At a meeting at JW3 in January, Rosenberg received applause when he said: “We need an immediate end to the extremist settler violence we see in the West Bank.”
One shul representative who was previously part of the group of 36 deputies who wrote to the Financial Times with concerns about Israel’s conduct in Gaza, told the JC: “There are dozens of us – a significant minority – who want the Board to speak out against the violence in the West Bank in a more headline-grabbing manner.”
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