Mourning individuals pray in front of the bodies of the victims from the Abu al-Rus family, who were killed during an Israeli strike on a tent shelter in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, during the funerals at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, on April 17, 2025. (Credit: Eyad Baba/AFP.)
About thirty representatives of the Jewish community in the UK have condemned the policy of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accused of acting contrary to "Jewish values" with the war in Gaza, about which they no longer want to remain "silent."
"The temptation to look away is strong because what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and speak," write 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest body representing the Jewish community in the UK, in an open letter.
This is the first time since the beginning of the war in Gaza that members of this body have publicly criticized the Israeli government.
"The soul of Israel is being torn apart," they write in the letter, published Wednesday in the Financial Times. Netanyahu government's policies and actions "go against our Jewish values."
"We oppose the war," they say. "We mourn the loss of Palestinian lives."
They condemn the resumption of the Israeli offensive in Gaza on March 18 after two months of truce. "We know in our hearts that we cannot ... remain silent in the face of new victims." Since the resumption of bombings, "no Israeli hostages" have been released, they lament.
The Israeli government, which they describe as "extremist," is also accused of "openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."
The Board of Ministers indicated that about 10% of its members had signed the open letter. "Others might potentially join," a spokesperson said. "Others would undoubtedly put more emphasis on Hamas's fundamental responsibility in this horrible situation and the need to ensure they are forever prevented from repeating the heinous crimes of October 7," he added.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Oct. 7, 2023, on Israeli soil, which resulted in 1,218 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 1,691 Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the Israeli offensive, bringing the number of people killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza to 51,065 since the beginning of the war.
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