Dear Prime Minister, 

We are members of Jewish communities around the world who passionately support the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. Our solidarity is always with Israel and Israel’s citizens, never more so than since Hamas unleashed its barbaric attack of October 7.   

We are under no illusions about the actions and intentions of Hamas, other extremist forces and the states that support them, and we acknowledge the painful dilemmas any Israeli government would face in addressing these threats. Yet we also cannot escape  the fact that the policies and rhetoric of the government you lead are doing lasting damage to Israel, its standing in the world and the prospects of secure peace for all Israelis and Palestinians. This has severe consequences for Israel but also for the wellbeing, security and unity of Jewish communities around the world.

 We therefore call on you to:

1. Permanently restore and enable the provision of food and humanitarian aid to the Gazan population. Impeding aid when you took the decision to resume fighting in March was a moral and strategic disaster. It is not protesting that policy and its outcomes that hands a propaganda victory to Hamas but the policy itself. We do not deny the despicable role of Hamas in stealing aid and preventing its distribution, but nor can we reject the evidence of our eyes and ears as to the extent of the human suffering and the role of your government’s policies in it. As President Trump recently said about starvation in Gaza, “you can’t fake that.”
   
   
2. End the war. Bring the hostages home in a single deal and prioritize their release. Given the inhuman conditions facing the hostages and the cruelty of their Hamas captors the urgency cannot be overstated. The process of negotiating with a depraved terrorist organization is of course complex and fraught. But any opportunity to release all the hostages must be seized, and prioritized above appeasing extremist members of your coalition. Provide assurances also that Israel will not seek to resettle Gaza or pursue or advocate any policy of expulsion of Palestinian civilians under any guise.
   
   
3. Enforce the law in the West Bank, where the frequency and intensity of deadly violence by Jewish extremists is unprecedented. If Israel’s military, when given the bold order by you, can send a missile through a window in Tehran to take out an Iranian general with unerring accuracy it surely has the ability to maintain order in the West Bank, prevent Jewish extremist violence, protect Palestinian civilians and apply the law. That it does not suggests a lack of will. We therefore urge you to prevent attacks by settlers and their supporters and ensure arrests and prosecutions of those responsible.
   
   
4. Commit that neither you nor any member of your government will again advocate policies of starvation or expulsion as weapons of war. Members of your government have used language of racism, hatred and incitement without censure. For example, Heritage Minister, Amichai Eliyahu, recently boasted that “the government is racing toward erasing Gaza…Thank God we are erasing this evil…All of Gaza will be Jewish.” Such statements are a moral abomination and a chilul hashem – a desecration of Jewish values and Israel’s founding principles. In addition, it hemorrhages international support for Israel at a time when it is most needed. As a result, Israel now faces a diplomatic tsunami, including from democratic allies who stood with it in the aftermath of October 7 and in facing down the Iranian threat.  Members of your government who use the language of incitement are eroding the standing of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people and undermining Jewish communities as we face a surge in antisemitic, antizionist hate. They undermine all our efforts to strengthen the connection to Israel of future generations of Jews. Yet they seemingly do so with impunity.

As past, present and future leaders of Jewish communities we do not remain silent in the face of Israel’s external threats, but nor will we remain silent when we believe the policies of Israel’s own government are wrong, and endangering the resilience, security and sustainability of both Israel and world Jewry.

We will increasingly speak out and urge others in our communities, including the leaders of major organizations, to do the same. This will include urging the communities and agencies with which we are associated to treat members and coalition parties who use language like that cited above as persona non grata within our communities. We reject actions and language that are an affront to our history, values and traditions, to Israel’s own Declaration of Independence and to the rule of law.

We will continue to stand in solidarity with the citizens of Israel, who overwhelmingly wish to see an end to this war and the return of the 50 hostages, living and dead, still held by Hamas. Recent data also suggest that a majority of Israelis are willing to pursue secure peace with the Palestinians as part of a regional normalization process and we are ready to support any Israeli efforts to that effect.

Yours sincerely,