The Board of Deputies has distanced itself from Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim Israel is "not a country of all its citizens", after 50 deputies signed an open letter rebuking it for not condemning his alliance with an ultra-nationalist party.

Mr Netanyahu provoked widespread criticism – including from President Reuven Rivlin – for making the claim Instagram on and then saying the country was "the nation-state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people.”

On Monday, the Board responded, breaking the silence on the Israeli elections it maintained when Mr Netanyahu allied with an ultra-nationalist party last month, despite the shock it caused among diaspora Jews.

The Board’s Senior Vice President Sheila Gewolb said: “The Board of Deputies is committed to supporting the ‘complete equality of social and political rights’ for all Israeli citizens, regardless of characteristics such as religion, race or sex, as envisioned in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.”

The Board’s statement followed reports of an as-yet unpublished letter, signed by 50 deputies, condemning the electoral pact between Mr Netanyahu’s Likud and the “racist… extremist” Otzma Yehudit - or “Jewish Power” - a far-right Kahanist political party.

Signatories told the JC it read: “We, the undersigned deputies condemn legitimising the views and policies of Otzma Yehudit party.

“The Board of Deputies is committed to the core values of Israel’s democratic and Jewish character and committed to supporting the complete equality of social and political rights for all Israeli citizens, regardless of characteristics such as religion, race or sex, as envisioned in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

“Otzma Yehudit’s racist and extremist ideology contradicts Israel’s declaration of independence and do not represent Judaism.

“It is imperative for the Board of Deputies to make a statement condemning this deal in order to provide moral leadership for our community.”