12th May 2025
Dear Maurice and fellow signatories,
Thank you for taking the time to write.
I want to start by reassuring you that the code of conduct process now underway does not relate to the 36 signatories’ personal views on Israel.
Deputies are entitled, and frequently do, express their varied views on the subject in other contexts and we continually work to create the space for a diversity of views to be heard within the community.
This code of conduct process relates particularly to the questions of whether the Deputies writing in the FT on 16 April did or did not misrepresent their views as the views of the Board of Deputies, and to whether or not by their actions they brought the Board of Deputies into disrepute.
These and related questions are now being considered by an independent panel which will take four or more weeks to report. It is right that they are given the time and space to review the cases with due process and impartiality.
You may find of interest the Code of Conduct and information about the process:
https://bod.org.uk/deputies-code-of-conduct/
I am sure that you will share my dismay at the tone of some in our community, and beyond it, towards the 36 signatories, our staff, and our Honorary Officers.
We as a community need to do better, and we will be working hard to ensure that we lead the way on this, balancing diversity of opinion with a clarity on who speaks on behalf of our organisation.
For while there is a diversity of views in our community on Israel, there is a broad consensus on many of the key points, as expressed in the Board Plan we brought to Deputies in September.
STAND UP FOR PEACE AND SECURITY IN ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
- Campaign vociferously, and at every level, until all hostages are released.
- Counter anti-Israel bias in the UN, media, social media, educational settings, and elsewhere.
- Strengthen our work with different communal organisations, grassroots groups and allies from different faiths who support our shared goals.
- Highlight the menace posed by Iran, and its role in the current Middle East crisis in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
- Secure the proscription of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the PFLP, and other Iranian proxies.
- Promote expansion of the Abraham Accords and peace with the Palestinians based on the elusive two-state solution, leading to a secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.
- Deepen our community’s relations with Israel and ensure that every part of our community can feel a strong bond with the precious Jewish and Democratic State, a state for all its citizens, and a Jewish state that caters to all streams of Judaism.
On these and other key points, we will continue to advocate towards our shared interests.
Wishing you all a Shavua Tov – a good week ahead,
Phil