Bibi’s hard-right lurch sparks row at Board
DIVISIONS WITHIN the Board of Deputies have been exposed as 32 representatives signed a letter calling for the organisation to refrain from commenting on Israeli domestic politics.
The letter came a day after another 50 had submitted a letter demanding the Board break its silence on Benjamin Netanyau’s electoral pact, announced three weeks ago, with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
Last week Mr Netanyahu again provoked criticism — including from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin — for making the claim on Instagram and then saying the country was “the nation-state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people”.
Amid the furore, the Board’s Senior Vice President Sheila Gewolb said on Monday: “The Board of Deputies is committed to supporting the ‘complete equality of social and political rights’ for all Israeli citizens, regardless of characteristics such as religion, race or sex, as envisioned in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.”
The Board’s statement followed the submission of the letter signed by 50 deputies condemning the electoral pact between Mr Netanyahu’s Likud and the “racist… extremist” Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) — an ultranationalist Kahanist party.
Signatories told the JC it read: “We, the undersigned deputies condemn legitimising the views and policies of Otzma Yehudit party.
“The Board of Deputies is committed to the core values of Israel’s democratic and Jewish character and committed to supporting the complete equality of social and Rivlin (left) and Gewolb political rights for all Israeli citizens… Otzma Yehudit’s racist and extremist ideology contradicts Israel’s declaration of independence and do not represent Judaism.
“It is imperative for the Board of Deputies to make a statement condemning this deal.”
The second letter — coordinated by Gary Mond, the deputy for the Jewish National Fund (JNF) UK — affirmed the belief of its signatories that “the Board of Deputies should not intervene or pass comment on any aspect of the Israeli elections”.
Mr Mond told the JC that “none of the signatories would condone Otzma Yehudit”, but supported the letter “simply out of principle”.
He said: “The Board shouldn’t get involved in Israeli politics. The internal machinations of the Israeli elections are not a matter for it to comment on.”
AFTER mixing up some clams and spaghetti, Mary Berry took a kosher turn in the opening episode of her new BBC2 series Quick Cooking when she popped into the Boccione Bakery in Rome’s Jewish Quarter.
Sampling one of its treats, pizza ebraica, a sweet version of the Italian dish with raisins, candied fruit and almonds, she explained it was reputedly brought by Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. “Every cake is a little piece of history,” she said, enthusing over the 300 year-old family recipes in “one of Rome’s hidden gems”.
She is not the first TV chef with a soft spot for Italian Jewish cooking. A Nigella Lawson favourite is Venetian orange cake. Official Secrets,