Envoys support Brass in Israel criticism row
A GROUP of former Israeli diplomats and politicians have sprung to the defence of Board of Deputies treasurer Laurence Brass over his outspoken comments about the situation of Palestinians on the West Bank.
Mr Brass has been under fire for expressing shock after a recent visit to the area with British campaign group Yachad.
In a letter to the JC this week, his Israeli supporters praised his “willingness to see the grim reality on the ground in the West Bank” and to highlight his concerns.
They added: “What a shame that there are not more leaders of the Anglo-Jewish community willing to tackle these troubling issues.”
The letter was signed by four former Israeli ambassadors, including Aron Liel, as well as former Consul-General in New York Colette Avital, former Attorney General Michael Benyair, New Israel Fund President and former Knesset Deputy Speaker Naomi Chazan, and former Education Minister Yossi Sarid.
Mr Brass, who said that he had gone with Yachad in a private capacity, spoke out at the “miserable” conditions of Palestinian villagers and their fears of attacks by settlers.
His one-day trip to Susiya on the West Bank was led by a guide from anti-occupation Israeli army veterans’ group Breaking the Silence.
But other deputies have objected to him making his views public, with former Board vice-president Eric Moonman saying that Mr Brass should apologise or face calls for his resignation.
Criticism also came this week from the head of a group which scrutinises anti-Israel activity abroad, Professor Gerald Steinberg, the president of NGO Monitor. Responding to the pro-Brass letter, he said that Breaking the Silence, Ms Chazan and Mr Liel were “certainly not the people to be providing ethical grades to diaspora Jewish leaders”. Whata shame more Anglo-Jewish leaders are not tackling these troubling issues
He added that it was a problem when the leader of an unbrella organisation like the Board “takes a radical position based on what he is told and sees through the lens of a very narrow Israeli constituency”.
Yoaz Hendel, chairman of the Institute for Zionist Strategies and a former communications director for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “If someone comes to Israel and… hears the point of view of only one side, and is not aware of the efforts made by the state of Israel and the IDF on behalf of Palestinian citizens in the area… he should ask himself about his continued service as a leader of the Jewish community.”
Mr Brass said this week that the letter of support had been “reassuring”. Yachad director Hannah Weisfeld said the group had no intention of ending its association with Breaking the Silence.
We commend Laurence Brass, the treasurer of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, for his willingness to see the grim reality on the ground in the West Bank and to speak openly and highlight his concerns.
Those who accuse him of “falling for anti-Jewish-settler propaganda” do no justice to Israel and its future as a Jewish and democratic state by blindly attacking an important friend who dares speak the hard truth.
We, a group of Israelis who are deeply concerned for the future of our country, invite the critics of Mr Brass, to visit and see the reality for themselves. What a shame that there are not more leaders of the AngloJewish community willing to tackle these troubling issues. To our friends in the UK Jewish community: we ask you to speak louder and more boldly, for it is your voice Israel needs now, more than ever. Ilan Baruch Former Ambassador to South Africa ilan.baruch2011@gmail.com Alon Liel Former Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Former Ambassador to South Africa Yossi Sarid Former Minister of Education Former Minister of the Environment Naomi Chazan Former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset President of the New Israel Fund Michael Benyair Former Attorney General of the State of Israel Colette Avital Former Consul General in New York Former MP, Labour Party Avi Primor Former Ambassador to the European Union Former Ambassador to Germany Eli Bar Navie Former Ambassador to France Professor of history Tel Aviv University to mention that Haber, a right-wing German nationalist who converted to Christianity, not only played a leading part in the production of poison gas for use on the battlefield, but also by a terrible irony, invented Zyklon-B which was used in the gas chambers of the death camps.
In Amos Elon’s history of German Jewry, The Pity of it all, Haber is described as having helped to make barbarism “scientific”. Lord Jeremy Beecham The Drive, Gosforth Newcastle on Tyne