The Board of Deputies has welcomed Israeli President Shimon Peres’s condemnation of rabbis who have told Jews they should not rent home to Arabs in Israel.

A number of prominent rabbis backed Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu’s declaration that it was forbidden to rent or sell land in Israel to non-Jews.

But the Board, which is a member of the task force on Arab Israelis, stated; “This call violates the basic principles of Israel's Declaration of Independence which guarantees equality to all citizens regardless of race religion or creed as well as contradicting the fundamental Jewish principle of respect for our neighbour.”