Progressive Judaism leaders urge ‘careful judgement’ of UK government settlement sanctions

The co-leads of The Movement for Progressive Judaism have said the UK government’s anticipated action against Israeli settlements in the West Bank “must be judged carefully.”

But they warned that Israeli expansion of the controversial E1 project risks making a two-state solution impossible.

In a carefully worded statement, Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky acknowledged that the possibility of UK Government action against Israeli settlements raises difficult and important questions for British Jews, but noted there is “no single view” within the community.

Ahead of an expected announcement next week by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, they said: “We do not yet know what measures the Government will propose. They must be judged carefully.”

“Are they lawful, targeted and effective? Do they distinguish Israel from settlement activity and avoid unintended harm? Will they uphold international law and help preserve a credible path towards peace?”

Referring to Israel’s announcement of tenders for the E1 corridor — land of about 4.6 square miles within Area C, under full Israeli civil and security control — the rabbis stated: “E1 is not an isolated planning decision.”

“It is part of an explicit project, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, to establish permanent Israeli control and make a viable Palestinian state impossible,” they added.

“Settlement construction, administrative annexation and escalating violence are interconnected and incompatible with the justice, human dignity and peace we seek to uphold.”

Addressing the communal bodies already critical of the proposed sanctions, the statement asserts: “Those opposing meaningful action must offer an alternative.”

“After decades in which condemnation has achieved so little, how should E1 be stopped, Palestinians protected, and those enabling violence held accountable? If we support two states, what should the international community do while that possibility is systematically dismantled?”

Defending their own stance, they add: “Our Zionism is rooted in Jewish safety and national self-determination, and also in the Jewish pursuit of justice and peace. It does not fear accountability.

“It demands the courage to pursue an Israel that is secure, democratic and at peace alongside a Palestinian state, with freedom and dignity for both peoples.”

They continued: “Our Jewish values call us to hold together truths too often separated: the safety and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians; our attachment to Israel and our opposition to the expansion of settlements; Israel’s right to security and the Palestinian right to freedom, self-determination and a State of their own.”

The statement also notes that antisemitism is “real, urgent and always at risk of escalating into violence.”

The rabbinical co-leaders emphasised that protecting Jews is “a moral imperative, but it must not require closing down legitimate scrutiny of Israeli policy, nor should opposition to settlement expansion be treated as an attack upon Jews.”

“Our position is consistent,” they add.

“We defend Israel’s security, condemn Hamas and reject BDS, including attempts to introduce it by the back door. We also oppose occupation, Palestinian dispossession and settler violence. These commitments belong together.”

“Judaism teaches that every person is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God; that law matters; and that peace must be pursued, even when it demands difficult decisions.

“A Jewish commitment to Israel cannot require indifference to Palestinian suffering, just as support for Palestinian rights should not require hostility towards Israel or its people.”

On Sunday the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis also condemned an expected settlement trade ban, claiming the move could “further damage UK–Israel relations, encourage a wider boycott of Israel, and have harmful consequences for British Jews.”

Rabbi Mirvis claimed the move would be met with “deep dismay” by the community.