Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks has attacked David Cameron's description of Gaza as a "prison camp".
Lord Sacks said many in the Jewish community felt "dismay" about the Prime Minister's remarks and urged him to show more "balance" when discussing the conflict in the Middle East.
He made the comments when he addressed the congregation in St John's Wood Synagogue last Shabbat.
Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris, author of Turbulent Times, an analysis of the Jewish community over the last 20 years, said: "The Chief Rabbi got very close with New Labour but I don't think these comments are based on sour grapes. He is a member of the House of Lords and a public figure and is entitled to say these kinds of things."