Members of the British Jewish community have warned that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out” by the genocidal military campaign in Gaza, an onslaught they say that is fundamentally at odds with Jewish values and is causing immense suffering while failing to achieve its stated goal of returning Israeli captives, reports the Middle East Monitor.
In a powerful open letter published in the Financial Times, 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, a historically pro-Israel body, broke ranks with the prevailing stance of Western Jewish Zionist institutions, which have largely continued to back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition.
The signatories, writing “as representatives of the British Jewish community,” state: “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.”
The letter strikes at one of the central narratives advanced by Israel and its backers in justifying the ongoing massacre of Palestinians: that the killing in Gaza must continue to secure the release of captives. The authors point to the reality that more hostages have been freed through negotiations than military action, stating: “By the end of the first phase of the second ceasefire and hostage release deal, 135 hostages had been released through negotiation, just eight by military action, with at least three tragically killed by the Israel Defence Forces.”
This admission reinforces what many independent observers have argued for months and undermines claims by Israeli officials and their Western supporters that military escalation is the only viable path to recovering hostages. Israel unilaterally pulled out of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement, which had guaranteed the release of all remaining captives in exchange for the withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza.
Instead, the letter reveals, the Netanyahu government resumed bombing in what was described as the “Itamar offensive”, referring to the far-right member of Netanyahu’s coalition. The move, the letter argues, is driven by domestic political interests rather than concern for captives.
“The Israeli government… chose to break the ceasefire and return to war in Gaza with the ‘Itamar offensive’, so-called as it was Itamar Ben-Gvir’s condition for returning to the coalition… Since then, no hostages have returned.”
The damning admission that Israel’s war on Gaza is not being waged to secure the release of captives represents a powerful denunciation, not just of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, but also of the Zionist organisations across the West that have backed his campaign unquestioningly.
Critics have long argued that the assault on Gaza was never truly about freeing captives, but rather about executing a war of annihilation, one that has placed the captives themselves in greater danger, as the letter admits in its acknowledgement that “at least three” were killed by Israeli bombings. This fact is further reinforced by the fact that Hamas had offered to release all captives over a year ago in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal, an offer Netanyahu rejected.
The letter casts serious doubt on the stated rationale for the genocide in Gaza and appears to supports the view expressed by most critics of the military offensive that the true objective of Israel is the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, as increasingly noted by genocide scholars, human rights experts, and legal observers.
Israel faces a formal investigation by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide, and several legal and genocide scholars have already concluded that Israel’s conduct likely meets the legal threshold for genocide under international law.
The signatories, many of whom have longstanding ties to Israel, decry not only the conduct of the war but also the political direction of the Israeli state.
“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.”
They also condemn what they call the internal threats to Israeli democracy, noting the erosion of judicial independence, the militarisation of police forces and divisive, populist laws. In this environment speaking out has become a moral necessity, not a political gesture, they argue.
“Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values,” the group says in the letter.
While the letter arrives 18 months into what has been described as the “deadliest conflict in 21st century”, it represents a profound shift in public position of Zionist organisations, who until now have backed the genocide. The authors have joined the growing chorus of Jewish voices worldwide calling for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, a return to diplomacy and a recommitment to values of justice and humanity.
“We stand with them. We stand against the war. We acknowledge and mourn the loss of Palestinian life… It is our duty, as Jews, to speak out.”
