Senior rabbis warn Cleverly not to treat Israel visit as ‘business as usual’
Foreign secretary James Cleverly has flown to Israel for meeting with senior officials including Benjamin Netanyahu, but a letter signed by numerous rabbis and communal leaders urges him to raise concerns over the direction of the Israeli government
Senior UK rabbis and other leading communal figures have written to James Cleverly ahead of this week’s visit to Israel urging him not to treat it as “business as usual.”
The foreign secretary will meet with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian premier Mohammad Shtayyeh on the visit.
Speaking ahead of the trip, the foreign secretary said: “The UK and Israel work closely together to keep our people safe. I’ll be using my first visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as Foreign Secretary to renew our close security partnership, in the face of unacceptable threats from the Iranian regime.”
But in a letter, whose signatories include Masorti Judaism senior rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Liberal Judaism rabbi and Charley Baglinsky and Reform Judaism rabbi Josh Levy, Cleverly is reminded that Israel is facing “unprecedented turmoil as its current government attempts to remove all checks and balances on power.”
He is informed that the government plan has provoked a crisis, “not just for Israel and Israelis, but the Jewish people worldwide.”
The letter continues: “We appeal to you not to treat this trip as business as usual. We ask that you make it clear on your visit that Britain’s relationship with Israel is contingent on both countries’ adherence to democratic norms and also make it known that British Jews will not stand by as Israel’s future is imperiled.”
It is appears to signify a significant shift from senior representatives of the community here on how they expect politicians to deal with the most hard-right Israel government in history.
Other signatories include rabbis from dozens of progressive synagogues, Noleen Cohen, chair of the New Israel Fund, Mike Katz, national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, Simon Sadie, chair of Yachad, and leaders from Jewish youth movement groups including LJY-Netzer and Habonim Dror UK.
The foreign office has confirmed that Cleverly will use his visit to both Israel and the OPTs to reaffirm the long-stalled peace vision of founding a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the only path forward, although it faces challenges on the ground.
ON Tuesday, Cleverly will use a conference speech to condemn Iran for “enabling terrorism” in Israel through its support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
He will commit to working with Israelis and Palestinians to counter Tehran’s destabilising activity and visit Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
As if usual for visits from foreign dignitaries, Cleverly will visit Yad Vashem and lay a wreath in memory of the six million who died in the Holocaust.
He will also visit the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank.
The meeting with Netanyahu comes as his plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system reached critical point, with the Supreme Court on Tuesday beginning its hearing on the legality of the judicial overhaul which has sparked mass protests and international concerns.
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