On Sunday afternoon I went to the Israeli Democracy rally in Trafalgar Square. Over the years, I’ve been to many events in Trafalgar Square in support of Israel where thousands of British Jews stood in solidarity with Israel. This event was much smaller and whilst I saw many British friends and communal colleagues, the attendance was primarily members of the Israeli expat community. The speeches were excellent, from the brilliant Yuval Harari through to Edward Isaacs, the new President of UJS, and many others.

They spoke of the critical importance of the rule of law, of the Jewish imperative to look after minorities, of the consequences of hate speech, of rising extremism, of fundamentalism and above all, of the need for consensus in constitutional change. They expressed a genuine fear that the consequences of the current government’s policies will be to erode civil rights and will create an Israel that is far from the vision of its declaration of independence to ‘bring the blessings of progress to all its inhabitants’. They spoke, most solemnly, of the negative impact on the relationship between Israel and the diaspora. Dark forebodings indeed.

For those who follow Israeli politics closely, we have heard this message now for nearly nine months. We have heard, with great discomfort, some of the unforgivable rhetoric from some members of the current coalition and we have read of impending legislation with great dread.

I can understand why many people are reluctant to get involved in this internal Israeli conflict. We are not citizens of the country, we don’t fight its physical battles, we don’t vote for its government, so the argument goes why should we fight this constitutional battle? Of course, some may be unaware of the challenges, some may even support the changes, and there will be those who feel concerned but also feel powerless. I have written in the past that we have a role to play. This is not a left-wing/right-wing issue that is only cared about by the progressive sector of our community. Israel is not some far-away foreign land. Israel is the first Jewish homeland for 2000 years, a country that we admire and love and care for. For us this should not be a matter of left versus right, or of religious versus non-religious; this is a matter of common sense.

We live, as British Jews, in a liberal democracy. Our unwritten constitution has evolved in finely graduated steps for close to a thousand years. We know from our British history and from European history that sudden and sharp unheralded movements in any direction can lead to calamity – we should not sit idly by. We should transmit that message to the leaders and citizens of Israel. Reform is always needed, the status quo should always be challenged, but change by consensus, slowly and gradually.

That is why I joined Sunday’s rally. When 500,000 Israelis are protesting in the streets, something is dreadfully amiss and I will not stand by and watch the Israel I care for descend into a country I do not recognise. As we gather to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, let us all continue this fight to ensure that Israel continues to be a society of justice, of compassion for minorities, and an exemplar of Jewish values.