Published: 22 May 2025
Last updated: 27 May 2025
A statement circulating in the Australian Jewish community declares, “Australian Jews cannot remain silent about the war in Gaza”.
Positioning themselves firmly as Jews who “share a deep concern for Israel’s future” and want all the hostages home, the signatories express their concern for the suffering of Palestinians and their solidarity with the tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrating weekly against the Netanyahu government.
“We know that many in our community have been reluctant to publicly criticise Israel, hoping the war will end soon. But what is happening in Gaza is so catastrophic to Palestinians and Israeli hostages, that any constraint against open criticism is no longer tenable,” they write.
This statement, which is still collecting signatures, represents the position of an increasing number of Jews, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.
We have reached a tipping point where the devastation of Gaza is so widespread and the human suffering so disturbing that many Jews can no longer support the war.
We at The Jewish Independent came to the conclusion more than 12 months ago that it was time to stop. We published an editorial entitled “It’s time for the Israel-Hamas war to end" which argued Netanyahu’s stated aim of “total victory” is a delusion and that the cost of continuing the war, for both Gaza and Israel, is too high.
A year ago, this was a controversial position in the Jewish community. Many people believed that Israeli forces needed to continue to further remove Hamas’ presence in Gaza and that civilian casualties were a tragic but necessary adjunct of the campaign to protect Israel from terror.
There is far less support for the war now, within the international community, in Israel, or among Diaspora Jews.
Israel is itself damaged by the harm it is inflicting on Palestinians
International governments, including Australia, have expressed their deep concern about the humanitarian situation.
Prominent Israelis, including a former defence minister and chief of staff, have condemned the way the war is being conducted. There is strong evidence that a majority of Israelis oppose the current strategy. In a survey conducted earlier this month, 61% of respondents said ending the war and freeing remaining hostages should be the priority, rather than the government’s priority of destroying Hamas; and 54% said they believed the war had been expanded for political, rather than security, reasons.
There is no strategic or security imperative which justifies continuing military operations in Gaza and certainly not restricting the supply of much needed humanitarian aid.
What’s changed?
The war against Hamas in Gaza began as a justified response to an unprovoked attack by genocidal terrorists who killed, raped, and kidnapped thousands of Israelis. It was necessary for Israel to defend itself by destroying Hamas’ military capacity in Gaza to prevent a recurrence of the horrors of October 7.
The key realistic strategic aim of disabling Hamas has been met. Most of the hostages have returned home and an immediate ceasefire is the only hope for the remaining living hostages.
Israel’s two-month blockade of humanitarian aid has caused unjustified harm and this week’s decision by the Israeli government to allow a "basic amount of food" is inadequate.
If we leave criticism of the war to anti-Zionists, we risk losing much more than this battle
We oppose Israel’s continuation of the war because we care about Palestinians; because we want the killing to stop, the hungry fed and the injured treated.
And we oppose it because we care about Israelis; and we believe that the continuation of this war is harming the society that pursues it, damaging Israel’s standing in the world, and pushing the country further from the peace and security it wants.
These motivations are intrinsically intertwined. Israel is itself damaged by the harm it is inflicting on Palestinians.
Speaking up and shutting down
Jews who speak up against Israel’s actions are frequently silenced or maligned within a community understandably inclined to close ranks when it is under attack.
This week, the Australian Jewish News refused to publish a paid advertisement calling for an end to the war. Editor Gareth Narunsky told the organisers that he was “not comfortable with running it as is”.
The UK Jewish community recently suspended members of the Boards of Deputies executive after 36 members signed a letter to the Financial Times criticising the resumption of the war.
In France, high profile Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur has faced a torrent of abuse after criticising Israel’s denial of humanitarian aid. She wrote, “No pain is eased and no death is avenged by starving innocents or condemning children”.
Many Diaspora Jews are deeply torn between the need to speak out against the wrongs being perpetrated in Gaza and their attachment to Israel and understanding of the challenges it faces. The cognitive dissonance caused by this clash of values is deeply painful.
But Jewish tradition demands that we pursue justice. Indeed, the Talmud declares that when we fail to call out wrongdoing, we become liable for that transgression.
It is certainly true that there are many contexts in which criticism of Israel slides quickly into complete denial of the right of Jewish people to our own homeland – and beyond that often into the marginalisation and abuse of Jews that culminates in the growth in antisemitism that we have seen across the Diaspora since October 7.
But that is a reason to speak up – not to keep quiet. When Israel is wrong, we need criticism that is couched within belief in its fundamental rights, which does not allow the wrongs of the Netanyahu government to become what defines Israel. If we leave criticism of the war to anti-Zionists, we risk losing much more than this battle.
Jews who choose to speak out are not traitors and they are not “feeding antisemitism”. Belief in Israel as the Jewish homeland does not equate with support for its government, and care for Israelis does not preclude care for Palestinians.
Our tradition speaks to us clearly on this subject: צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף Justice, Justice, shall you pursue.
The statement can be signed here.
Comments13
Simon Krite26 May at 04:52 am
Guy,
You’re not being silenced. You’re just frustrated that the propaganda you helped bankroll didn’t get the platform you wanted.
Let’s not pretend the letter with “only 500 signatories” was some grassroots cry for peace. It came straight from your APAN’ collaborating, self appointed Jewish Council of Australia, the same group you support, the same group consistently undermining the Jewish mainstream while defending anti-Zionist activism with BS moral posturing.
You’re not speaking truth to power. You’re pushing a narrative that conveniently ignores the hostages still suffering in Gaza and the reality of who started this war.
Enough with the performance. We see the agenda.
Simon Krite25 May at 11:36 pm
To SFE and Jeff,
I read your replies carefully and I understand where they’re coming from. I understand the anguish. I understand the fury. And I absolutely agree that ideology isn’t dismantled with bombs. No child grows up freer, smarter, or more compassionate under rubble. But please, don’t mistake the horror of war for a choice. This isn’t a strategy anyone wanted. It’s a response forced upon us by the most calculated kind of cruelty, cruelty that hides behind the very civilians it claims to defend.
Israel didn’t start this war. Hamas did. And they did it deliberately, knowing exactly how the world would react once the cameras turned on. They committed the worst massacre of Jews in a generation and then immediately wrapped themselves in women and children, in schools and hospitals, daring Israel to respond. And now, like clockwork, the outrage has shifted away from the butchers and toward the ones trying to stop the next attack.
You say this isn’t about being Jewish or Zionist, but about decency. I would ask, where was that decency on October 7? Where was the global outcry when families were burned alive? When girls were raped so violently their pelvises shattered? When toddlers were taken into tunnels as human shields? I didn’t see mass statements then. I saw silence. Or worse, attempts to “contextualise” it.
And now we’re told that what’s happening is “ethnic cleansing,” “annihilation,” “contrary to Jewish law.” Forgive me, but that’s just wrong. It’s grotesque. Israel has begged for civilians to evacuate. It has dropped leaflets. It has opened aid corridors. The truth is, “we”Israel and now the West, are fighting a terror organisation that doesn’t just use civilians as cover – it needs them to die, because dead Palestinians are Hamas’ most powerful weapon.
Yes, hearts and minds matter. But hearts and minds won’t be won while Hamas rules Gaza. While they are free to run schools, preach hate, and spend foreign aid on rockets, there is no space for peace. And if Israel walks away now, if we stop before that ideology is crushed, then we are guaranteeing another war, another massacre and another generation lost.
This war is not about pride. It’s not about punishment. This war is about survival and rescuing hostages who are still rotting in tunnels while the world lectures us on restraint. It’s about doing the impossible and holding onto our humanity while being blamed for trying to prevent our own extermination.
If you truly want justice for Palestinians and Israelis alike, then don’t call for silence and dont dress surrender up as compassion. Call for something braver! Call for the end of Hamas, the truth about who funds them, and the rebuilding of a Palestinian society that values life more than death.
That’s the only future worth fighting for.
I will keep fighting for it with grief in my heart and eyes wide open.
Ian Light25 May at 06:26 am
Israel can remain in Gaza and allow food and medicines to flow in . Hamas is a death cult that glorifies atrocious barbarism but young children and non-combatant civilians deserve Humane supplies .
Rachel Sussman24 May at 11:58 am
While I agree that we as Jewish communities must speak up if we see inappropriate actions by Israel, it seems to me that we must also be careful not to get ‘carried away’ with the rest of the world and fall prey to the same lies, manipulations, musguided perceptions, and misinformation that feeds anti Jewish and anti Israel hate, lest like the rest of the world we will fall into a false self righousness… and this time against ourselves…
I will not sign such declaration!
Do the people in Gaza suffer? Yes of course they do, any people suffer in war… Does Israel starve the people of Gaza? No! I will not fall into such lies and I hope neither will the Jewish Independent or the Jewish community… the amount of food and humanitarian aid that entered Gaza is enough to feed and care for over 1.8million people, Israel let in far above the minimum required. More still, according with international laws if humanitarian aid is used by the enemy, it is lawful to hold it. Israel held aid for two months well knowing Hamas has stored food and supply…
I also suggest that as we show genuine concern about the people in Gaza and do what we can – if we can- to ease their discomfort, we must not fall into the same ‘self sacrifice’ and ‘self abandonment’ behaviour’ of past; and by this I mean not to become blind to forget that they – the people of Gaza- also have choices; that they certainly do not recipocate the concern and are not fighting for the humanitarian rights of the hostages; and that we must certainly not allow concern for the well being of the people of Gaza replace concern for the hostages or for our own future and the future of Israel.
Hence, yes, it is moral that we speak for Gazan’s rights, but we must equally remembet that no food, no aid, no hunanitarian contact, is made for the hostages (nor has been was made for nearly 600 days!)
Do we want the hostages home? Of course we do!
Do we want the war to end ? Of course we do!
But do we have a plan as to how to bring the hostages home and stop the war in a secure way? We should be aware from waving our rightous flags lest we will achieve nothing but fuel our enemies…
Hamas has been weakened but is still refusing to disarm and to let go of its power over Gaza and what right have we got to tell Israel to put its arms down?
And then what? Surrender to Hamas?
Di we want to fallvto the same ‘narative’’ that cintinuing the war is nothing for political gain (even if told by some section of the Israeli community!)
So I say again – while it is good to be willing to criticise Israel and to show concern for our enemy, even speak on its behalf, it is inconceivable to wave a rightous flag, to virtually ignore the complexity of the situation, and to join the rest of the world in misguided condemnation… there is a big difference between constructive criticism and misinformed condemnation whereby we fall prey to the lies and the hate and the propaganda… I will not sign such! Doing so will make me nothing but one of the ‘useful idiots’ ( and please excuse my expression), it will lead to further abandonment of Israel and this time by the Jewish people themselves, let us not become our own enemies!
Last week I welcomed the article that encouraged us to think and speak… this week I deplore the Jewish Independent call and encouragement of the Jewish community to take a steps that puts us in a place of misguided rightousness and translation of ‘human rights’ and position ourselves against Israel, and indeed against ourselves…
Laurance Splitter24 May at 05:08 am
As difficult as i may be for Zionists and all supporters of Israel’s “right to exist as a Jewish state”, to hear this familiar point, we surely know that simply halting the war – and it must be halted! – will not lead to any long-term solution, until and unless a sufficient number of Palestinians – inspired by a new leadership – come around to accepting that Israel does, indeed, have this right. Without such acceptance – and whatever follows by mutual agreement – the refugees will remain and their children will be taught that have a “right to return” to the land of Israel.
Matt23 May at 11:50 pm
I agree with the petition’s statement – but the organisation circulating it (Australian Jewish Democratic Society) are opaque, their website has zero information on the individuals running it, a big red flag. Frustrating, because per the editorial, I can no longer be silent.
Shira Sebban23 May at 02:09 pm
I would have signed the statement had it clearly stated that Palestinians are also suffering under the despotic rule of Hamas and not only due to the Netanyahu government’s actions.
Steve Holstein23 May at 07:03 am
We are all unfortunately too aware of the manner that antisemitism is “weaponised” by those perpetually and unconditionally opposed to Israel.
It is critical that we speak out for humanity and justice , just as Israel’s Democratic Party leader Major General (res) Yair Golan and so many others in Israel have done.
I would have liked to have seen the letter a little bolder in connecting to context and to the community that it is representing. Sometimes small changes in wording can make a big difference
The changes that I would have liked are as follows:
…
“Many of us have family and friends in Israel, and we care deeply for their safety and
wellbeing. Further, our Jewish and human values connect us deeply with the suffering of the Palestinian people. For decades, Palestinians have endured dispossession, occupation, and violence. Israel has imposed a decades long blockade of Gaza creating conditions of profound deprivation for most of the population, while at the same facilitating a flow of funds to its corrupt and terrorist designated Hamas government.
Since the brutal and shocking Hamas-led massacre in Israel, and the taking of 250 hostages on 7 October 2023, there has been over 18 months of horrific bombardment by Israel, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed in Gaza – adults and children, journalists, medics and aid workers.
The Netanyahu government has withheld food and aid as a weapon of war, fully knowing the disproportional impact on innocent civilians. International and Australian humanitarian agencies say Gaza is now facing a starvation crisis.”
…
Guy Abrahams23 May at 05:39 am
I agree with the sentiment of the open letter, and will sign it, but can’t help note the sad irony that the editor of the Jewish Independent refused to publish a similar, if more strongly worded open letter barely a month ago. The reason given was that the letter had insufficient (only 500!) signatories.
I am glad that the editor is now prepared to point out that “Jews who speak up against Israel’s actions are frequently silenced or maligned…” to the extent that some publications have even “refused to publish a paid advertisement calling for an end to the war… ”
It’s way past time to speak out.
SFE23 May at 04:50 am
Simon K, You write: “The real fight is not just with guns. It’s with the ideology that teaches children to hate. That’s the root. And if we stop now, before that root is torn out, it will only grow back. Stronger. More emboldened. And twice as deadly.”
I agree “the real fight is… with the ideology”. And I suggest that bombs and war and blocking food and aid are not effective ways of combating ideology and winning hearts and minds. On the contrary – they build the hate and ensure it’s longevity.
Jeff Loewenstein22 May at 12:50 pm
Whilst The Jewish Independent seems to now be congratulating itself for its editorial position, let’s be honest here! The paper has been mealy-mouthed in the past in its condemnation calling out Israel for what it has been doing – plain and simple annihilation of Gazans and Palestinians in the West Bank, ethnic cleansing, the destruction of Palestinian culture, the blocking off and denial of food and medicines getting into Gaza, et al. Where have the views and position of those in the Jewish community – not the usual suspects – been published? The shameful actions of Israel require nothing else but condemnation. It’s not even a case of being Jewish or pro or anti Israel or Zionism. It’s a simple matter of decency and being a humanitarian. Israel’s actions have been and continue to be totally contrary to Jewish law / lore and precepts.
Clifford F22 May at 12:21 pm
The sentiment behind this petition resonates deeply with me. I want to sign and I still might. However, I have a fundamental concern with the wording: it doesn’t clearly distinguish between civilian casualties in Gaza and those affiliated with terrorist groups. Additionally, I would feel more comfortable if I had transparency about the organisers and how the petition will ultimately be used.
Simon Krite22 May at 03:52 am
Deb – you are keeping me busy. It’s hard to work when I get your updated opinions. I guess that’s the objective
—
I’ve read this through slowly, more than once, and I don’t disagree with the deep pain behind the words. But I’m also stuck. Really stuck. In a place where every path forward feels broken.
Yes, the suffering in Gaza is horrific. No one can honestly deny the images, the starvation, the trauma of children, the devastation of families. And yes, as Jews, as humans, our hearts should break.
But here’s the impossible part. What if there is no good option anymore?
Do we stop the war now and risk watching Hamas rebuild under the exact same indoctrination and hate that led to October 7? Do we let the ideology that turned young men into rapists and murderers be given time and breath to return? Or do we continue, knowing full well that the price is unbearable, the civilian toll unfathomable, and our own moral clarity tested every single day?
I hate that this is the choice. I hate that we’ve been put in a situation where any action or inaction leads to more pain. But I will not pretend that this began in a vacuum. The cruelty Hamas unleashed wasn’t born last October. It was fed and bred over decades in textbooks, in mosques, in refugee camps where martyrdom was glorified and Jews were dehumanised.
So yes, Israel must defend itself. But somehow, we must also find a way to rid the region of this poisonous Muslim Brotherhood ideology. Not just through force, but through education, rebuilding, and truth. And that takes time. And leadership. And an international community brave enough to admit that this isn’t just about borders or aid trucks. It’s about ideas that kill.
So no, there is no comfort in this war. There is no pride. But the alternative is not peace. It’s a pause before the next massacre. That’s the tragic reality.
We should mourn every innocent life. We should deliver food and medicine. We should do everything in our power to end this faster and with less suffering. But let’s not lie to ourselves. The real fight is not just with guns. It’s with the ideology that teaches children to hate.
That’s the root. And if we stop now, before that root is torn out, it will only grow back. Stronger. More emboldened. And twice as deadly.
There is so much pain. So much loss. I wish there were better options. But right now, all I see are different forms of tragedy. And that’s the unbearable truth we face.