More than 20 members of the Board of Deputies have signed a letter in support of the Conservative MP Robert Halfon after he criticised the communal organisation for pursuing a "left of centre political agenda."
 
The group, who describe themselves as of "mixed political leanings and electoral voting histories" state that Mr Halfon, "one of the most senior Jewish figures in Parliament, articulated sentiments that many of us and our constituents have felt for a long time."
 
In the letter, the signatories say that they are "uniformly troubled that the Board is, as Mr Halfon rightly observes, intent on pursuing a left of centre political agenda and has a partisan bias."
 
Backing the Harlow MP’s claims to the JC, that the Board’s Community Briefing email which is circulated amongst politicians and communal leaders, for the week ending April 23rd "read like a press release for the Labour Party", the letter suggests there has "long been cause for concern" over the "imbalanced partisan leanings" of senior Board officials.
 
They write: "While nobody would question the dedication of the Board's staff, the effect of their imbalanced partisan leanings – the Board is led by a former Labour minister and its political work by a recent Labour councillor – is obvious and has long been cause for concern.
 
"To give one example, even during the Corbyn era the speakers at the Board's annual dinners have been heavily skewed toward Labour figures.
 
"The influence of unelected officials over Board policy is compounded by the exclusion of ordinary deputies from decision-making processes at the Board."
 
The signatories say they "welcome constructive meetings with the new Labour leadership held in private" but are critical of what they allege is the Board’s "rush to publicise these meetings and normalise relations" with the party.
 
They are particularly critical of the "scandalous" response to the Board’s meeting with Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy and accuse the communal organisation of attempting to "whitewash" the Labour MP’s "endorsement of the so-called 'right-of-return' – a policy tantamount to and designed to eradicate Israel as a Jewish state."
 
The letter writers, whose names have been provided to the JC on the agreement that we protect their anonymity, also slam "the Board's hysterical response to Mr Halfon's intervention."
 
A Board spokesperson yesterday called Mr Halfon's comments "ignorant...disingenuous and outright false" and questioned the “courage and integrity”  of the MP.
 
In the letter, the signatories state: "Instead of moving quickly to repair relations with the party of Government, which has stood by our community as we watched anti-Jewish racism take hold in Labour, the Board has poured fuel on the fire.
 
"The Board must immediately retract this shocking statement and explain to deputies how it came to be released."
 
On Monday a Board spokesperson said its president, Marie van der Zyl, and Mr Halfon had held a call to discuss the weekend’s coverage.
 
Following the call, the pair said: “We deeply regret this weekend’s exchange. Going forward, we will endeavour to share any concerns in private first.
 
"We discussed our shared agenda around issues like antisemitism, Israel and Jewish schools - issues on which we recognise each other’s valuable work - and will be focusing our future conversations on these matters for the good of the community.”

This is the full text of the letter:

The recent attack on the Board of Deputies by Robert Halfon, a leading Conservative MP and one of the most senior Jewish figures in Parliament, articulated sentiments that many of us and our constituents have felt for a long time.

We are a group of deputies of mixed political leanings and electoral voting histories (and we represent diverse communities across the country), but we are uniformly troubled that the Board is, as Mr Halfon rightly observes, intent on pursuing a left of centre political agenda and has a partisan bias.

While nobody would question the dedication of the Board's staff, the effect of their imbalanced partisan leanings – the Board is led by a former Labour minister and its political work by a recent Labour councillor – is obvious and has long been cause for concern. To give one example, even during the Corbyn era the speakers at the Board's annual dinners have been heavily skewed toward Labour figures. The influence of unelected officials over Board policy is compounded by the exclusion of ordinary deputies from decision-making processes at the Board.

Following last week's communal briefing, which read like a press release for the Labour Party, it is hardly surprising that Mr Halfon has been moved to reveal his party's distrust of this organisation. This must be a wake up call.

While we welcome constructive meetings with the new Labour leadership held in private, the rush to publicise these meetings and normalise relations with the Labour Party – even while it has yet to fulfil the Board's own antisemitism tests – is emblematic of the priorities of those in positions of authority.

Particularly scandalous was the Board's extraordinary attempt last week to whitewash Lisa Nandy's endorsement of the so-called 'right-of-return' – a policy tantamount to and designed to eradicate Israel as a Jewish state.

The final outrage was the Board's hysterical response to Mr Halfon's intervention. Instead of moving quickly to repair relations with the party of Government, which has stood by our community as we watched anti-Jewish racism take hold in Labour, the Board has poured fuel on the fire. The Board must immediately retract this shocking statement and explain to deputies how it came to be released.

It is right that the Board engages with Labour, acting in good faith, to try to resolve its institutional antisemitism, but the Board will not win back the support of the community by nakedly pursuing a particular political agenda and partisan favouritism.