A Deputy has resigned from the Board at its latest plenary meeting, after describing its position on Gaza as “untenable and morally bankrupt” and accusing the organisation’s leadership of “failing to act ethically”.
Daniel Grossman, a Deputy for the Union of Jewish Students, was one of the 36 Deputies who signed a letter to the Financial Times last month criticising the actions of the Israeli government. He was also a member of the organisation’s International division and was a co-chair of its two-state solution working group.
At this week’s plenary meeting, Grossman told his fellow Deputies that “The Israeli government has been starving Gaza for over 11 weeks.
“Figures in our community are speaking out, the British government is finally taking action and even Yair Golan and Ehud Olmert are publicly recognising the atrocities being committed.
“The Board, however, continues to meet with the figures overseeing these crimes…this is both untenable and morally bankrupt.
“I have no confidence in the leadership of the Board. It has both failed to act ethically and, also, to represent the increasing diversity of opinion within our community.
“While I hope it can become a moral and representative body again, I will be resigning following this meeting in protest.”
Phil Rosenberg, the President of the Board, responded expressing his regret that Grossman was leaving, saying: “I’m sorry to hear that you’re leaving. Goodbye. Or hopefully, LeHitraot. You’ll hopefully come back at some point soon.”
Grossman, a history student at the University of Bristol, is a former Vice President of the university’s Jsoc and a former Deputy Head Boy of JFS. He was unsuccessful in his bid last year to be elected President of UJS.
Grossman stood to become President of the Union of Jewish Students last year
Earlier this month Grossman described the British Government’s decision to suspend free trade agreement talks with Israel as “a welcome step, albeit too late” and called for the UK to “suspend all arms sales now, there must be no delay.”
He also shared criticism, by a former Deputy, of “British Jewish institutions” who “have more to say on Gary Lineker sharing an Insta post he shouldn’t have than on the Israeli govt decision to cleanse Gaza & abandon the hostages. That they’re more animated by mild & moral criticism (eg FT letter) than 1000s killed.”
The Board is still considering the case of the 36 Deputies, including the Vice Chair of its International Division, who signed last month’s letter to the Financial Times. The letter strongly condemned the actions of the Netanyahu government in both Gaza and the West Bank, stating that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to.”
Two days after the letter was published, the President of the Board of Deputies published a picture of himself meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, alongside a short statement which included the comment: “Unity is strength. Division serves only our enemies.”
Phil Rosenberg meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Saar, two days after 36 Deputies had their letter published in the FT
Last year Grossman wrote for the Jewish News about disillusionment among Jewish students at the reluctance of communal organisations to criticise the Israeli government.
“The need for strong, responsible diaspora leadership is urgent”, he wrote.
“Echoing the majority opinion is not enough; our leaders must be bold in defending the values that we believe in as a community. Failing to do so risks deepening the divide within our community, fostering polarisation, and alienating voices from within our communities.”
