Board of Deputies appeal panel upholds sanctions on FT letter Deputies
36 Deputies signed a letter published by the Financial Times strongly criticising the Israeli government; many incorrectly thought this represented the Board's official stance
A Board of Deputies Appeal Panel has upheld the decision reached by the organisation’s constitution committee earlier this summer to impose sanctions on 36 of its Deputies, in what it has described as a “final” ruling in the case of an open letter they had signed published by the Financial Times six months ago.
In a statement from the Board today, the organisation said that following “a review of all the original materials and the responses submitted by the signatories of the letter” an independent panel had upheld the decision to send warning letters to 31 Deputies. It also said that the appeal panel had “upheld the findings that five Deputies exacerbated the breach of the Code of Conduct with additional steps that promoted the letter.”
In mid-April, 36 Deputies signed a letter published by the Financial Times, which strongly criticised the Israeli government, claiming that rather than continuing to engage in diplomacy, it had chosen to “break the ceasefire and return to war in Gaza”.
The letter said that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to,” the letter said. “Silence is seen as support for policies and actions that run contrary to our Jewish values.”
The Board subsequently received widespread criticism from people within the Jewish community who assumed that the letter had been endorsed and supported by the organisation itself. Other Jewish people, both in the UK and Israel, supported the letter and would criticise the Board for its attempts to make it clear that the wording expressed did not represent the official stance of the organisation.
The Board of Deputies faced significant criticism from within the Jewish community as a result, with many incorrectly assuming the organisation had endorsed and supported the letter. Some within the Jewish community, however, both in the UK and Israel, supported the letter, and subsequently condemned the Board for distancing itself from it.
While originally the judgement handed out to five Deputies was to suspend them for two years, that time has been shortened to eighteen months – which in the case of four Deputies can be reduced to six months if the Deputies in question make a suitable apology to the organisation by the end of October. One of those four Deputies has since left the Board.
The five Deputies who received more stringent penalties were Harriett Goldenberg, who had been serving as vice chair of the Board’s International Division. The other four are Philip Goldenberg, a lawyer and longstanding Liberal Democrat councillor, Baron Frankel – chief executive of the Portland Trust, Robert Stone and Rebecca Singerman-Knight.
The Appeal Panel also upheld the original judgement’s verdict that the five would be subject to “removal where applicable from additional elected positions within the Board.” Apart from Harriett Goldenberg, others of the five had also been members of the organisation’s International Division, with those seats now confirmed to have been vacated.
As with the original ruling in June, the Board has stressed that the sanctions have not been imposed due to what the Deputies said, but how they said it – believed to refer to how not enough was done to make it clear to the wider public that this was not the official view of the Board.
“In line with the original panel, the Appeal Panel emphasised that Deputies have the right to represent their individual views and those of their communities freely”, the Board’s statement said.
“The breaches of the Code of Conduct did not refer to content of the letter but the way the signatories promoted it. “
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
