Thirty-three Board of Deputies members have signed a letter demanding the organisation’s honorary officers condemn Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
Among the letter’s signatories are Sir Ivan Lawrence, the former Conservative MP and ex-chair of the parliamentary group Conservatives Friends of Israel; Ella Rose, the former director of the Jewish Labour Movement, Tal Ofer; and Yachad’s former chair, Gideon Smith.
Tal Ofer, the deputy for Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue, who has been vocal on the issue said: “Our letter shows there is a cross-communal support on the need for the Board of Deputies to speak up on the proposed annexation.
“We remember that previously the Board refused speaking on [the far-right party] Otzma Yehudit but then reversed its decision. It is still not late for the Board of Deputies to do the right thing and express the grave concerns of British Jews on the proposed annexation.”
