The speech Progressive rabbis weren’t allowed to finish at Downing St demo

Co-heads of Progressive Judaism, rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy, were told to leave the stage after being drowned out by jeers. This is the speech they did not complete

On October 7, Hamas unleashed horror. They murdered, burned and kidnapped, shattering lives and shattering peace. The responsibility for this war, and for the agony it has brought, lies with them.

And still today, they hold fifty hostages, living and dead. They are not statistics, they are mothers and fathers, children and grandparents. They have names, faces, birthdays missed, embraces delayed and tragically funerals delayed too

They must come home. There is no higher priority.

This is why we stand here, as one united Jewish community, today – to demand the hostages are brought home.

We stand in solidarity against Hamas and all who wish to destroy Jews and the Jewish state.

Last night tens of thousands of Israeli Jews gathered on the streets to protest for the release of the hostages – they protested both against Hamas and against the policies and rhetoric of this Israeli Government.

We must be brave and honest enough to do so too.

Like thousands of Jews in Israel and around the world, as leaders of Progressive Judaism we express our fears about policy in Gaza and the Jewish extremist violence we see in the West Bank.

It is doing lasting damage to Israel, its standing in the world and the prospects of secure peace for all Israelis and Palestinians.

We call for an end to this war, through a deal that brings the hostages home, and the permanent restoration of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

And let us be clear about Palestinian statehood.

The idea of a Palestinian state is not the problem. The Palestinian people, like the Jewish people, have the right to self-determination.

What we reject is a methodology that tries to force this future through violence, terror, and the suffering of civilians. Statehood cannot be built on the blood of innocents, and peace will never grow from the soil of fear.

We say this because we affirm our common humanity.

We mourn for those murdered on October 7. For the soldiers who have since fallen. And for those innocent civilians in Gaza whose lives have been lost. Every life is precious.

As Jews in this country, we will not remain silent in the face of Israel’s external threats.

But neither should we remain silent when its own government pursues policies that endanger Israelis and endanger the hostages for whom we are gathered today. The UK Jewish community – committed to Jewish values, to the rule of law, to human dignity – must have the strength and honesty to speak with this brave voice.

Our task now is to rebuild: Rebuild trust between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rebuild the vision of two states for two peoples, each free, each secure.

Bend history toward peace, plant justice so it will grow.

As Pirkei Avot teaches, “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

We must keep building, brick by brick, heart by heart, until the rubble is gone and only hope remains.

We must build something worthy of the generations to come.

For that to happen, for the building to begin, the hostages must come home.