We are Jews who believe wholeheartedly in the right of Israel to exist and flourish and the right of Palestinians to self-determination in a state of their own. We refuse to give up on the vision of Israel and a Palestinian state one day existing side-by-side, as this is the only long-term solution that will not involve untold bloodshed. We mourn the lives lost and the Israeli communities destroyed by Hamas terrorists on 7th October in the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, grieve for the bereaved, injured and missing, and call for the immediate release of the hostages taken by Hamas. We are anguished by the humanitarian crisis and catastrophic loss of life of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We are deeply concerned that our community is facing unprecedented levels of antisemitism in the UK and around the world.

As an expression of our faith and culture as Jews, with obligations to one another and to the wider world, and affirming Israel’s right and duty to defend itself, we believe the following principles should guide our response to the current moment:

1. Judaism places supreme value on the pursuit of peace which requires compromise and painful decisions.
2. Judaism believes we are all created in the image of God and that every life has value.
3. Our religion and history are steeped in a belief in the importance of law, including the laws of war.
4. This moment requires those of us in the UK not to speak in simple slogans, but to admit complexity.
5. We must do all we can to support the work of those at the heart of this conflict, Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians, working to ensure a safe future for both peoples.

We must work to ensure that out of this horror comes a commitment to a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live in mutual peace and security.

Thousands have signed including from Alyth to Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community, from Finchley United Synagogue to New London Synagogue, ​​Chabad West Essex to Oxford Jewish Congregation. A breadth of communities including Orthodox, Reform, Liberal, Non-Denominational and others

Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Co-Lead – Movement for Progressive Judaism
Rabbi Josh Levy, Co-Lead – Movement for Progressive Judaism
Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, New London Synagogue (Masorti)
Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director, HIAS+JCORE
Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Co-chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and Cantors of the UK
Rabbi Rebecca Birk, Co-Chair of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors and Finchley Progressive Synagogue
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi, Masorti Judaism
Lord Monroe Palmer OBE of Childs Hill
Mr Joel Rosen, Former President, Union of Jewish Students
Mr Vivian Wineman, Former President, Board of Deputies of British Jews
Ms Hannah Weisfeld, Executive Director, Yachad
Mr Danny Friedman KC
Mr David Davidi-Brown, Chief Executive, New Israel Fund
Mr Mike Katz, National Chair, Jewish Labour Movement
Mrs Noeleen Cohen, Chair, New Israel Fund
Mr Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds North West
Professor Victor Jeleniewski Seidler, Goldsmiths University of London
Rabbi Kath Vardi, MRJ
Rabbi René Pfertzel, Co-Chair of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors and Kingston Liberal Synagogue
Mr Gavin Stollar, Honorary Chair, Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel
Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, Leo Baeck College
Rabbi Mark Goldsmith, Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue
Rabbi Deborah Blausten, Finchley Reform Synagogue
Mr Amos Schonfield, Deputy Director of HIAS+JCORE, Board of Deputies representative for Masorti Judaism