Response To Events On 10 August

Many of you will have seen what happened on Sunday to the leaders of our Movement for Progressive Judaism. They were silenced. By fellow Jews who seek to suppress the voice of moral conviction in our community. They were unwilling to hear voices which were for peace. They were unwilling to hear voices which said Palestinian lives are as valuable as Jewish lives. They silenced those – other Jews – who disagreed with them. This silencing is against Jewish values.

Here is what you should have heard from Rabbis Josh and Charley before they were cut off: As Jews in this country, we will not remain silent in the face of Israel’s external threats, but neither should we remain silent when its own government pursues policies that endanger Israelis and endanger the hostages for whom we are gathered today.  The UK Jewish community – committed to Jewish values, to the rule of law, to human dignity – must have the strength and honesty to speak with this brave voice.

We call upon other leaders of the UK Jewish community who failed to act when it mattered, to speak out and condemn the way in which our Rabbis were treated. Perhaps they can also find it within themselves to speak with the same brave voice.

Our message for our fellow Progressive Jews: In the face of this silencing, we must not be cowed. We must speak what we believe to be true. Our Jewish values are just as legitimate as any which are held by others in the wider Jewish community and our Progressive voice is needed. A voice which says that the lives of Jews and Palestinians matter; that the way to honour those lives is to return the hostages and allow more humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza and that there is space in our hearts for a safe and secure Jewish state and a prosperous and peaceful Palestinian state., living alongside one another.

We end with a prayer for peace: Oseh Shalom bimromav… May the Maker of peace in the highest bring this peace upon us and upon all Israel and upon all the world.

To read in full the speech that Rabbis Josh and Charley intended to read, click here.

To read their response today, please click here.