An open letter signed by over 250 British Jews condemned the Board of Deputies for declaring the Green Party racist, rejecting claims of institutional antisemitism directed at the party and its Jewish leader, Zack Polanski. The signatories argued that the Green conference motion arose from Palestinian experiences of dispossession, noting that the motion's primary proposer lost 56 extended family members in Gaza. Furthermore, the letter criticized the Board for endorsing the UK government's refusal to recognize the Gaza war as a genocide and for actively fighting limits on British arms export licences.
Key points
Signatories argued the Board abused antisemitism claims to politically insulate Israel fo…: Signatories argued the Board abused antisemitism claims to politically insulate Israel following the Green Party's conference motion on Zionism.
The open letter condemned the Board for dismissing apartheid assessments established by g…: The open letter condemned the Board for dismissing apartheid assessments established by groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The coalition explicitly rebuked the Board for opposing bans on settlement trade and the…: The coalition explicitly rebuked the Board for opposing bans on settlement trade and the partial suspension of British arms licences.
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Hundreds of British Jews have accused the Board of Deputies of British Jews of “genocide denial” in an open letter condemning its decision to declare the Green Party racist over its stance on Zionism.
The letter, released on Tuesday by Jews Against Genocide Denial, accuses the prominent Jewish representative organisation of shielding Israel from accountability and silencing criticism within its own ranks.
Historian Avi Shlaim, former South African MP and arms trade campaigner Andrew Feinstein, and human rights lawyer Margaret Owen are among the more than 250 signatories listed in the document.
The intervention follows the Board’s decision on 25 October to declare that the Green Party of England and Wales had become a racist party after adopting a conference motion treating Zionism as a form of racism.
The Board’s resolution, passed by 118 votes to one, argued that the Green policy stigmatised a connection to Israel that forms part of many British Jews’ religious, cultural and national identity.
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