Ex-leader of UK Jews criticised for saying Gaza war ‘incompatible with Judaism’

Members of the British Jewish community are taking former Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl to task over her statement that the war against Hamas in Gaza is “incompatible with the core values” of Judaism.

The controversy surrounding van der Zyl’s July 25 op-ed in the Jewish News is unfolding amid broader tensions dividing Diaspora communities over the situation in Gaza, where many media outlets claim there are cases of starvation.

Van der Zyl, who was succeeded as president of the Board of Deputies in May 2024 and is currently chair of the West London Synagogue, the oldest Reform Synagogue in Britain, wrote: “I believe we must now lend our voices to calls for increased humanitarian access and urgent action to alleviate the conditions affecting civilians in Gaza” through “practical steps that can facilitate the delivery of aid where it is needed.”

Her op-ed invoked Jewish concepts such as pikuach nefesh—a phrase meant to elevate the sanctity of life—as well as the Hebrew-language words for justice and mercy. “These values are not abstract ideals; they are practical imperatives,” van der Zyl wrote.

While she wrote that her op-ed dealt with “humanitarian issues, not political ones” and emphasised that she continues “to stand in full solidarity with the victims of terror and with the families of the hostages,” critics nonetheless accused her of playing politics.

“Marie van der Zyl is being disingenuous when she seeks to divorce the ethical issues surrounding the alleged famine in Gaza from the political realities of the current war,” said Gary Mond, chair of the National Jewish Assembly.

“The entire horrendous situation can be brought to an end by Hamas releasing all of the hostages, laying down its arms and arranging for its leaders to leave Gaza. Anyone who genuinely wants to bring this apparent catastrophe to an end should devote their efforts to campaigning for that,” Mond wrote in an open letter to van der Zyl.

The NJA was established in 2022 amid complaints that the Board of Deputies was insufficiently representative of British Jewry.

The current president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Phil Rosenberg, would not comment on the matter, but last month published a statement that echoed the sentiments expressed by his predecessor.

“The suffering we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip demands a response,” he wrote, adding, “The new measures announced by Israeli authorities to address the humanitarian crisis are essential if long overdue.”

Rosenberg’s statement also condemned the “appalling rhetoric” of some Israeli politicians—a probable reference to Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Lance Forman, a Jewish businessman from London and a former member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, rejected van der Zyl’s reasoning both on Judaism and on the situation in Gaza.

“She’s got things wrong, and she’s cherry-picking Jewish scripture to justify a political position that does not faithfully represent her community’s mainstream,” Forman told JNS.

Van der Zyl ignores the Talmudic saying: “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate,” said Forman, which “highlights a “potential consequence of misplaced mercy.”

He noted that at a pro-Israel rally in London last week, a crowd of thousands had booed off stage two Progressive rabbis who called for recognising a Palestinian state. This, he said, “gives you an idea of the popular sentiment among British Israel supporters right now.”

Van der Zyl’s op-ed received praise from some readers, and Andrea Samuels, a Jewish Telegraph columnist, wrote on Facebook that van der Zyl “tackles a difficult issue that many of us would rather not address, but as she states, silence is not an option.”

Yet many others criticised van der Zyl, including Daniel Berke, director of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), who wrote on the same platform that van der Zyl had failed to acknowledge Hamas’s responsibility for the situation she described. “It is a superficial article, which misses all the difficult points. I also think it dismisses all those who don’t agree with her as heartless,” he added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among the European leaders who have spoken out against what they called starvation in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphasised that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly dismissed reports of widespread famine in Gaza, saying last month that “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

Also last month, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Britain intended to recognise Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly next month unless Israel meets a series of conditions, including allowing humanitarian relief into Gaza, committing to a ceasefire, and affirming support for a two-state solution.

Netanyahu accused Starmer of “rewarding terrorism” and warned that a Palestinian state would be a threat not only to Israel but to Britain itself.

“Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims. A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen,” Netanyahu said on July 29.

This exchange followed growing tension between Israel and the United Kingdom, among other European countries, over Gaza. The United Kingdom imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel last year and has said it would arrest Netanyahu and Israeli former defence minister Yoav Gallant if they came to the country, as per an arrest warrant issued for the two men by the International Criminal Court for disputed war crimes charges.