British Jewish body “must not be an extension of the Israeli embassy”, warns former official

A former official of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has insisted that the organisation “must not be an extension of the Israeli embassy”, at a fractious meeting on Sunday.

Arguments surfaced amongst members over the Board’s official condemnation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, described as a “disgrace” by its president Jonathan Arkush at a small protest rally in Westminster where the resolution was compared to the Holocaust.

Speaking on Sunday, Arkush lashed out at Yachad, a liberal Zionist advocacy group, for having publicly supported Resolution 2334, prompting others to claim it was not the place of the president to condemn member organisations for their legitimate political activities.

Lawrence Brass, former Board treasurer, attacked the actions of an “extremist Israeli government”, and claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “relies on the uncritical support of the diaspora to survive.” To both applause and boos, he urged a freeze in settlement activity.

Brass told the gathering that the Board’s stance on the UN resolution had caused “huge disappointment to many members of our community who love Israel, like I do, but aren’t prepared to sign blank cheques for whatever the Israeli govt does.”

Urging the Board to condemn illegal settlements, Brass added:“I’ve said before and I say again without apology, this Board must not be an extension of the Israeli embassy.”

Another deputy, Tal Ofer, told the meeting that he did not “understand why our statement sounds as if it was drafted by Netanyahu”, and claimed that the Board’s opposition to the resolution is purely “because of the settlements.”

Responding to critics, Board president Arkush said it was not “appropriate” for various groups to write to the government, and that they should simply write to him.