Dear Mr Mayor: ‘Tell us how a ceasefire will bring about peace?’
Manchester Jewish community pens open letter to Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, following his calls for Israel to stand down in fight against Hamas
The council representing the Jewish communities of Greater Manchester has written an open letter to the city’s mayor following his calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Jewish Representative Council of Manchester penned the note to Andy Burnham, deputy mayor Kate Green and 10 other council leaders following their statement on Friday 27th October, which said: “We are deeply concerned about events in the Middle East and the anguish being experienced by people in Greater Manchester, most acutely in our Jewish and Muslim communities.”
They joined international calls for a ceasefire “by all sides” given the “humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza.
The responding letter from the JRC on Sunday 29th October is signed by its Chair, Mark Adlestone, JRC Chair and chief executive Marc Levy.
It says that calling for a ceasefire shows “a lack of understanding to the challenges currently being encountered by Israel” and that “a ceasefire implies that there are two enemies with similar but opposing objectives. Sadly, this is far from the case with Hamas and Israel.”
The letter outlines that a central component of Hamas’ Charter is the destruction of Israel and all Jews, “including those residing in the areas in which you have jurisdiction. It is impossible to reconcile these diametrically opposed ideological differences even without the added complication of 220 civilians who have been kidnapped.”
Photo credit: http://manchesterlieutenancy.org/
The JRC says whilst there was “much within the statement that resonated with the Jewish community”, it was important “that the signatories to the letter explain how their vision for a ceasefire would bring about peace. Asking a state that is acting in self-defence to agree to a ceasefire before its lawful defensive objectives have been met is in effect asking that state to stop defending itself. What would Hamas be asking for given the atrocities their fighters have committed in addition to their ideological aims and objectives to eliminate Israel. This would merely be a sticking plaster to the problem allowing Hamas to rearm themselves for future massacres.”
It continues: “Israel’s stated objective of the elimination of Hamas is not only proportionate but moral and necessary to the future of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. If the signatories do wish to wade into this geopolitical issue, then a call for Hamas to alter the objects of their charter would be extremely helpful. If this were to happen, all civilians living in Gaza would be permanently safe and secure.”
The letter closes with a note of thanks and gratitude to “government and the opposition for recognising the situation on the ground and for their united support for Israel. Their consistent solidarity has provided an immense amount of reassurance to our community. At this moment, community cohesion and interfaith dialogue are of the upmost importance and we believe this should be the primary focus of the GMCA and local authorities.”
The JRC letter was addressed to:Andy Burnham – Metro Mayor of Greater Manchester, Kate Green (deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester), Cllr Bev Craig (Manchester City Council), Cllr Paul Dennett (Salford City Council), Cllr Nick Peel (Bolton Council), Cllr Eamonn O’Brien (Bury Council), Cllr Arooj Shah (Oldham Council), Cllr Neil Emmott (Rochdale Council), Cllr Mark Hunter (Stockport Council), Cllr Gerald Cooney (Tameside Council), Cllr Tom Ross (Trafford Council) and Cllr Nazia Rehman (Wigan Council).
Andy Burnham is one of the latest senior Labour figures to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, alongside London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
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