Jewish faith leaders under investigation after criticising Israel
Three dozen Jewish faith leaders are under investigation by the Board of Deputies of British Jews after publishing an open letter criticising Israel's war in Gaza.
The letter published by the Financial Times last week, which was signed by 36 members of the board, rebuked Israel's military response to the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas.
The board, which is the UK's largest Jewish community organisation made up of more than 300 faith leaders, initially said its members represented the 'diverse constituencies' of British Jews.
But in a new statement on Tuesday, the board emphasised that the letter did not represent its view on the 18-month conflict and all signatories of the open letter now face a disciplinary process.
It said: 'Following the publication of the letter by 36 deputies in the Financial Times last week that was not representative of the board of deputies' policy on Israel, the board of deputies today (Tuesday) convened an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee to discuss the ramifications and consequences of this act.
'The board of deputies can now confirm following multiple complaints by deputies and the public, all 36 signatories of the letter to the Financial Times are now subject to a complaints procedure.
'All deputies and under-35 observers subject to complaints procedures have been informed of the complaints made against them and the process to be adopted.'
The board said that the investigation is likely to take at least four weeks.
Phil Rosenberg, the president of the board, added: 'We take alleged breaches of the code of conduct very seriously.
'I am grateful to the constitution committee for the speed with which they have reviewed the initial complaints, and it is right that they are now given the time and space to review the cases with due process and impartiality.
'The board of deputies is clear – only our democratically-elected honorary officers and authorised staff speak on behalf of the organisation.'
In the letter, which was published in the Financial Times last Wednesday, the 36 members of the board said they could not 'turn a blind eye' to Palestinian civilian casualties.
'We write as representatives of the British Jewish community, out of love for Israel and deep concern for its future,' they said.
'The inclination to avert our eyes is strong, as what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out.'
A fragile ceasefire established earlier this year came to a sudden end in March with targeted Israeli air strikes against senior Hamas military officials.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has said a lasting peace is only possible on the condition that Hamas is destroyed once and for all.
But the signatories to the letter insisted the most successful way to bring home the 59 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas was 'through diplomacy' rather than warfare.
They added: 'This most extremist of Israeli governments is openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, strangling the Palestinian economy and building more new settlements than ever.
'Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values.'
The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry has said that tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the past year-and-a-half of violence.
There have been questions about the reliability of the mortality data produced by the health ministry, and estimates vary as to how many people have been killed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
10 minutes ago
- News24
Pork and chicken are key to easing US trade tensions: Steenhuisen
South Africa, struggling to reset relations with the US, is willing to give way on so-called phytosanitary requirements for poultry-meat imports, but fears an impasse with its second-biggest trading partner over pork shipments. Washington's trade complaints against Pretoria — which have triggered a threat of a 30% tariff on imports from Africa's largest economy — span a range of industries from vehicles to citrus. The meat trade has also been a sticking point, with US producers viewing Pretoria's animal-health requirements as a constraint on doing business, according to Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. The health rules and excise duty charged on pork and chicken from the US 'are the two key focus areas' in easing trade tensions, he said in an interview at a meat conference in Somerset West near Cape Town on Thursday. Differences between the two nations extend beyond trade — President Donald Trump has spread the false conspiracy theory that white farmers have been subjected to a genocide in South Africa and the authorities have been seizing their land. There have been no official land seizures in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. The US has also criticized South Africa for taking Israel to an international court over its war with Hamas in Gaza and its relations with American foes, including Iran. To assuage concerns over its restrictions on poultry imports from countries that have avian influenza outbreaks, South Africa plans to allow the US to determine when it should halt and resume exports. 'What we've done is build a new system of self-ban, self-lift,' Steenhuisen said. 'We hope that this will be seen as a removal of what they've regarded as a trade barrier.' The minister considered it unlikely the two countries will resolve their difference over South Africa's requirements that glands be removed from pork meat prior to it being sold in the country — a measure intended to avoid the spread of the highly contagious porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome disease. 'They regard that as a trade barrier because they say that that process renders their meat uncompetitive,' Steenhuisen said. 'It's going to be one of those impasses because we cannot compromise our local pork sector.' South Africa is one of a handful of nations that are free of the disease, and if it were detected it would increase pork production costs as pigs would have to be vaccinated against it, said Peter Evans, the chief executive officer of the South African Pork Producers' Organisation. 'It's a disease we want to keep out of the country,' he said in an interview. The US is 'irked by it. They perceive it as a hindrance to large-scale exports.' The US also complains that tariffs of about 62% on poultry imports, along with the health requirements, have stopped it from filling its annual quotas of about 70,000 tons of chicken meat that it is permitted to ship into South Africa, according to the agriculture minister. That levy, along with those imposed on cars and farm equipment, are higher than those charged on products from the European Union, with which South Africa has a trade agreement. The US has, until recently, given a range of South African goods duty-free to its markets under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 'Their argument is that we are giving you AGOA and all of these things, but you are giving our competitors a better deal,' Steenhuisen said.
Miami Herald
29 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Iran Threatens to Attack U.S. Forces if Israel Strikes Nuclear Sites
Tehran has vowed to unleash an "unprecedented response" if Israel launches a military strike on its nuclear facilities, warning that any such action would engulf the region in war and drag U.S. forces into the line of fire. As tensions mount, Washington has begun evacuating embassy personnel in Baghdad and other regional countries, with President Donald Trump citing fears that the Middle East "could be a dangerous place." The statement, broadcast by Iranian state TV, comes as multiple Iranian officials issue escalating threats of retaliation amid indications that Israel is finalizing plans for an imminent attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The standoff between Israel and Iran has long simmered, but a confluence of military posturing, inconclusive nuclear talks, and open threats now suggests a turning point. If Israel strikes, Iran has indicated it will retaliate not only against Israeli targets but also U.S. bases across the region. The warning has increased the possibility of a broader regional war. Iran has warned it will unleash a massive regional response if Israel targets its nuclear facilities, with Defense Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh declaring, "In case of any conflict, the U.S. must leave the region because all its bases are within our range, and we will target all of them in the host countries regardless." Echoing the threat, Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami, said on Thursday, "If our hands are untied, we will win victories that will make the enemy regret its actions." Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, an Iranian official confirmed that Tehran has finalized a detailed retaliation plan modeled after its October 2024 missile barrage, when nearly 200 ballistic missiles were launched at Israel. The official said a future response would match or exceed that scale. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have also entered a state of high alert. A Houthi source told Newsweek they are "at the highest level of preparedness for any possible American escalation," adding that a broader conflict "will drag the entire region into the abyss of war." Diplomatic efforts continue in parallel. A sixth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. will take place in Muscat this Sunday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi confirmed. "I am pleased to confirm the 6th round of Iran US talks will be held in Muscat this Sunday the 15th," he wrote on X. U.S. President Donald Trump: "They can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simple – they can't have a nuclear weapon." Iranian Defense Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh: "If a conflict is imposed on us, all US bases are within our reach, and we will boldly target them in host countries." All eyes now turn to the sixth round of nuclear talks scheduled for this weekend in Oman. With the stakes rising and Tehran preparing a counterproposal after rejecting a U.S. offer, the outcome of the negotiations may determine whether the region steps back from the brink. Related Articles Iran Fails to Meet Nuclear Obligations for First Time in 20 YearsExclusive: Houthis Warn US and Israel of 'War' If Iran AttackedUS Embassy in Middle East Prepares to Evacuate After Warning From IranTrump Puts Iran Nuclear Deal in Doubt, Raising Risk of War 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Miami Herald
29 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Map Shows Iran's Adversaries in Key Nuclear Vote
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors has declared that Iran has not complied with its nuclear obligations in a vote following a resolution, backed by the United States and the E3 (Britain, France, and Germany). The resolution was passed with 19 votes in favor. Three countries voted against, 11 abstained and two countries did not vote, according to multiple media reports. Iran described it as a "politically motivated" resolution and said it will build a new uranium enrichment facility in a secure location, state media Press TV reported after the vote. Newsweek has contacted the IAEA for comment. The IAEA resolution could lead to the reimposition of sanctions on Iran under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Iran has warned this would trigger a strong response, including limiting IAEA cooperation, boosting uranium enrichment, or quitting the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Increased tensions raise the risk of military escalation between Iran and the United States-with prospects also rising for an Israeli strike-which could trigger a wider Middle East conflict involving regional allies. On Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors officially determined that Iran has failed to meet its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades, with 19 countries voting for the resolution, according to The Associated Press. The resolution said "Iran failed to provide credible explanations for nuclear material at three undeclared locations." The IAEA held a board session Wednesday on Iran's nuclear program, during which Britain, France, and Germany warned Iran that its escalating nuclear activities-such as 60 percent enrichment of uranium and expansion of centrifuge and stockpile limits-undermine the JCPOA, a 2015 deal with Iran, but did not call for immediate punitive steps. The resolution seeks to prompt Iran to resolve the issue without immediately referring its non-compliance to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions, giving Iran a window to address six years of outstanding requests, a Western diplomat told The Associated Press earlier in June. The push followed IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's reports uncovering undisclosed nuclear activities in Iran. Grossi said Iran had undermined the agency's ability to monitor Iran's JCPOA commitments and removed all related surveillance and monitoring equipment in 2022. Iran criticized the resolution and dismissed Grossi's report, warning of serious consequences if the U.N. Security Council imposes new sanctions, Iran's UN Ambassador Reza Najafi told the board, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Russia's envoy to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, supported Tehran's position, saying that "the United States and then the E3 deliberately sabotaged the implementation of the nuclear deal," he said, referring to the JCPOA." Gulf states and other Arab and Middle East countries have supported diplomatic efforts and mediated rapprochement with Iran, but remain cautious and neutral, mindful that regional security would be at serious risk if war erupts. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal which lifted sanctions in exchange for nuclear limits, was disrupted by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 and is set to fully expire in October 2025. U.S. President Donald trump told "Pod Force One" podcast on the nuclear deal: "I'm getting more and more less confident about it. They seem to be delaying, I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Reza Najafi, Iran's Permanent Ambassador to the UN office and international organizations in Vienna, as quoted by IRNA: "Since the E3 has seriously violated Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, they are neither in a moral nor legal position to activate the snapback mechanism. If such a scenario unfolds, Iran's options will be firm, and the United States and the E3 will bear full responsibility." France, Germany and the UK (E3) joint statement, published by the British government's website: "Iran must halt and reverse its nuclear escalation and refrain from making threats regarding a change of its nuclear doctrine, which are in themselves highly destabilising and not consistent with Iran's status as a state without nuclear weapons under the NPT." Washington and Tehran are scheduled to resume nuclear negotiations on Sunday in Oman amid key disagreements on enrichment and sanctions' relief. Related Articles Iran Threatens to Attack U.S. Forces if Israel Strikes Nuclear SitesIran Fails to Meet Nuclear Obligations for First Time in 20 YearsExclusive: Houthis Warn US and Israel of 'War' If Iran AttackedUS Embassy in Middle East Prepares to Evacuate After Warning From Iran 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
