Letter to the Board of Deputies re: Amnesty International
This is the letter we are calling on British Jews to send to the Board of Deputies, in the wake of their attacks on Amnesty which misrepresent the Jewish community and undermine efforts to counter antisemitism. You can take part here: bit.ly/BoDAmnesty
Dear Marie van der Zyl,
The Board of Deputies claims to be “the voice of the UK Jewish community” and ran a campaign last year titled #WeStandForEveryBoDy. If you truly wish to fulfil that vision, the Board must urgently reverse its practice of defending the occupation and smearing human rights groups who criticise Israel. As a member of the community, I implore you to retract and apologise for your disgraceful smears of Amnesty International last week and to engage with the reality of life under occupation for Palestinian people.
There are reasonable disagreements to be had over the applicability of the term “apartheid” to Israel-Palestine, and with the framing of Amnesty’s report, however to claim that it is a “preposterous slur” and “an attack on the Jewish people” is baseless and reckless. Using insinuations of antisemitism to criticise Amnesty not only misrepresents the many British Jews who share Amnesty’s concerns about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians, it cheapens the meaning of the term ‘antisemitism’ and risks genuine claims of antisemitism not being taken seriously. This will make it much harder to identify, educate about and ultimately eradicate antisemitism across society. Your irresponsible, and inexcusable, choice of framing actively puts Jews at risk.
I am also appalled by some of the defences you have made of Israel in the wake of Amnesty’s report, particularly your suggestion that falling infant mortality in the West Bank since 1967 somehow excuses the litany of human rights violations that the Israeli government has perpetrated in the territory over the same period. Your description of Israel as a “vibrant democracy and a state for all its citizens” disingenuously ignores the occupation, which, for decades, has seen Palestinians and Israelis live in neighbouring towns and villages, all under Israeli control but subject to separate legal systems. Israeli settlements grow whilst Palestinian villages are denied planning permission and are subjected to regular home demolitions. Israelis travel freely whilst Palestinians are subjected to serious restrictions on their freedom of movement. Israelis always have the right to vote for the government that controls the territory, whether or not they live in it, while Palestinians do not. It is not hard to understand why some, including Israeli human rights groups such as B’tselem and Yesh Din, characterise this as apartheid.
The past month alone has seen: two elderly Palestinians killed in the West Bank, with the soldiers responsible facing no legal consequences; the eviction of a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem, in violation of international law; and escalating violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians and left-wing Jews. The Board has said absolutely nothing in condemnation of these incidents — despite the many British Jews, such as myself, who are appalled by them — yet you have the temerity to say that it is Amnesty International’s use of the term “apartheid” which is a threat to peace and coexistence in the region.
Your statements about Amnesty demonstrate that the Board is not only failing to represent the substantial sections of the community who oppose the occupation, but is tolerant of, and will defend, oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government. The minimum steps you can take to address this are apologising for your statements last week and making tangible public commitments to represent the many British Jews who will not turn a blind eye to the occupation or anti-Palestinian racism.
Yours faithfully,
If you would like to send this letter — or your own version — to the Board, you can do so at this link: bit.ly/BoDAmnesty
