‘Deep concern’: British Jews plead for Israel’s democratic future in open letter

British Jews protesting the Israeli government’s judicial coup in London, March 2023

Jonathan Shamir reports in Haaretz on 27 July 2023:

Around 100 leading British Jewish figures – including rabbis and communal leaders – wrote an open letter urging the Israeli government to “reconsider” its judicial overhaul.

The letter, initiated by the grassroots movement Defend Israeli Democracy U.K., begins by airing “deep concern for the future of Israel’s democracy,” amid “threats to the values and institutions that form the bedrock of the Jewish nation.”

The letter comes in a watershed week in the battle over Israel’s judiciary – and by extension the nature of the regime itself – after the government pushed through a flagship law of the program to prevent the High Court of Justice from blocking government decisions it deemed unreasonable.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government held the vote despite mass demonstrations and strikes, a boycott of the Knesset session by opposition parties, and growing insubordination among IDF reservists.

“While we acknowledge the government’s prerogative to propose ways to improve the judicial system, we urge extreme caution in undertaking any changes that might compromise the delicate balance of power and erode the foundations of Israel’s democracy,” the letter continued.

“Our history has taught us the dangers of tyranny, oppression, and the erosion of democratic norms. As Jews, we carry the collective memory of countless struggles for freedom and justice. We have seen the devastating consequences of societies divided and polarized, where voices are silenced and dissent is stifled. We must not allow this to happen to our beloved Israel.”

“We firmly believe that a united Israel, founded upon democratic values, is the best hope for its future. As you know, a democracy is judged not only on the principles of majority rule, but also on the principle that the fundamental rights of the minorities are respected and protected,” the letter went on to say.

Among the signatories were the heads of three Jewish denominations in the U.K.: Liberal Judaism’s Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Reform’s Rabbi Josh Levy and Masorti’s Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg. The list also included the former chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council Mick Davis, former President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Vivian Wineman, and several current deputies from the organization.

The letter drew support from the representatives of the Union of Jewish of Students, United Jewish Israel Appeal, the New Israel Fund, pro-peace group Yachad, as well as from Labour Friends of Israel and the Jewish Labour Movement.

When asked about the lack of Orthodox representation in the letter, Sharon Shohat of Defend Israeli Democracy U.K. said that she was “in touch with a few Orthodox rabbis as well as the Chief Rabbi’s office. Those I spoke with were truly supportive, and I know that the entire community is concerned”

She added that “The Chief Rabbi [Ephraim Mirvis] has a policy to not sign joint letters, which given the sensitivities of the role is understandable. In my view it could impact other Orthodox Rabbis’ decision on whether to sign.”

A demonstration in London in March 2023 against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul

The Chief Rabbi’s Office confirmed this position to Haaretz, and pointed to his recent reflections on the situation in Israel on Twitter. He wrote of the 75 “miraculous years of accomplishment” Israel has so far experienced, but said “the deep polarization and political animosity on display today, leaves many of the most passionate supporters of Medinat Yisrael feeling the great pain of unprecedented division.”

Other groups criticized the letter for presenting a whitewashed version of Israeli democracy.  Yachad, which signed the letter, told Haaretz that “The judicial reform and the occupation are not two distinct issues,” pointing out that “this government aims to intensify settlement expansion and control of the Occupied Territories to the point of complete annexation.”  The statement added that “We felt compelled to support Israelis” and that “This doesn’t prevent us from continuing to support Palestinian rights.”

British anti-occupation group Na’amod, not a signatory of the letter, criticized it on Twitter for using “baseless hasbara tropes about Israel being a beacon of democracy,” noting that “subjecting millions of Palestinians to a military dictatorship for decades is the exact opposite.”

Earlier in the week, two major communal organizations, the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, issued a joint statement that said they were “deeply disappointed” that compromise talks had failed, and pleaded with leaders “to return urgently to dialogue and to prevent the deepening of a constitutional crisis which will do tremendous damage” to Israeli society.

Emulating the blacked-out pages of Israeli print media after the passage of the law to scrap the ‘reasonableness standard,’ The Jewish News ran a black front page on Thursday with the sole word “Demockracy,” a tribute to the defining Hebrew chant of the protest movement.

“When former heads of the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet and the police accuse you of ‘promoting legislation while completely ignoring its damage to Israeli democracy’… you’d imagine it would give pause for thought,” the editorial began.

On the occasion of Tisha B’Av, a fast day that mourns the destruction of the Jewish temples and other catastrophes that befell the Jewish people, the newspaper also ran another op-ed by four leading British Jewish rabbis entitled ‘We cannot avoid painful parallels of the loss of Jewish sovereignty in Israel.’

“Israel’s future is imperiled by dangers from within, which threaten to undermine the foundational values of the State as expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence: liberty, justice, peace, and the commitment, as taught by the Hebrew Prophets, to uphold ‘the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex’. In the name of these very values, we feel compelled to speak for the sake of Israel’s future,” wrote Masorti Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Liberal Rabbi Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Reform Rabbi Rabbi Josh Levy, and Rabbi Lea Muhlstein of the Arzenu movement.

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