UK’s largest Jewish body condemns weaponisation of food in Gaza
Palestinians, driven to the brink of starvation under the Israeli army’s attacks and blockade, gather at an aid distribution point in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor on 30 July 2025
Middle East Eye reports on 30 July 2025:
The largest organisation representing Jews in the UK has warned against the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza and called for “a massive and sustained flow of aid” into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
At a special meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews discussed the organisation’s response to developments in the Middle East, including “the desperate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the latest UK announcement in relation to recognition of a Palestinian state”.
Earlier on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by then. The announcement followed France’s decision to officially recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Growing diplomatic pressure on Israel comes as more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in its war on Gaza. An increasing number of civilians, including many infants and children, have been starved to death in recent days due to an Israeli-imposed blockade on the strip.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli forces while trying to access food in Gaza at distribution centres managed by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the United Nations said last week.
In a statement issued after the deputies’ meeting, Phil Rosenberg, the board’s president, highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need for urgent action.
“The suffering we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip demands a response. The new measures announced by Israeli authorities to address the humanitarian crisis are essential if long overdue,” he said. His comments referenced the announcement on Friday that Israel would allow foreign governments to carry out aid drops to feed Palestinians.
Rosenberg asked for “a rapid, uninhibited, and sustained increase in aid through all available channels” and warned against the weaponisation of food.
“As we have been saying for months, food must not be used as a weapon of war, by any side in this conflict,” he said.
Stressing that the Board of Deputies’ “solidarity remains with the Israeli people”, its president condemned some statements and actions by Israeli leaders and settlers.
“It is clear that our community overwhelmingly rejects the appalling rhetoric and unacceptable proposals from some Israeli ministers, particularly in relation to the forced displacement of Gazans, as well as the intolerable violence perpetrated by extremist settlers in the West Bank, all of which are in complete contradiction to our values,” Rosenberg said.
Growing condemnations
The board’s statement comes a month after it suspended five of its elected representatives – including the vice-chair of its international division – for two years after they criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
In April, 36 members of the board signed a letter published in the Financial Times in which they strongly condemned Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave and its withholding of food and aid.