32 deputies sign counter-letter urging Board not to comment on Israeli election

It was written in response to another letter signed by some 50 deputies to the Board of Deputies last week

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies

Over 30 deputies have signed a letter at the weekend urging the Board of Deputies to refrain from commenting on the 9 April Israeli election.

The petition, which bears 32 signatures, reads: “It is the view of the undersigned that the Board of Deputies should not intervene or pass comment on any aspect of the Israeli elections.”

It comes as some 50 deputies sent a letter to Board of Deputies president Marie Van de Zyl last week, urging the group to make a statement condemning the far-right party Otzma Yehudit.

“It is imperative for the Board of Deputies to make a statement condemning this deal in order to provide moral leadership for our community,” it read.

Among the signatories are Gillian Moonman, Laurence Julius, Natalie Shaw, Gary Mond, Jacob Lyons and Johnathan Metliss.

Otzma Yehudit brokered a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just as Israel prepares to go to the polls next month. 

The deal would see the nationalist-religious Bayit Yehudi take in Otzma Yehudit ahead of April elections, provoking outrage and concern in the US and UK.

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