Stopping the War is More Important than Communal Unity.

Things are moving. After a long period that saw a high degree of support for the war, both in Israel and the Jewish diaspora, real change seems to be afoot. Increasing numbers of Israelis want the war to end and support a ceasefire/hostage deal to achieve this. There are reports that reserve soldiers are now refusing to show up, with some suggestions that the reserves are only at 40% or 50% of their full capacity. The 2023 Israeli pro-democracy movement is becoming an anti-war movement. In Britain, it is some of the most Israel-connected people who are turning against the war. The clearest symbol of that was the Deputies’ letter, signed by 36 Deputies from Reform, Liberal and Masorti synagogues (the number deliberately echoing the idea of the lamed vovniks, the 36 anonymous righteous people on whom the world depends). This was followed by a mass letter of synagogue members in support of the Deputies, and a strong letter from 30 Progressive rabbis which called for ‘an end to the bombing; an end to the siege; and the safe release of the hostages’. It is the mainstream nature of most of these people that has made them impossible to dismiss. We radical Jews have written countless open letters over the years. It’s done little good. We need the people the mainstream finds impossible to write off, so they are forced to write tedious op-eds about communal unity rather than instantly dismissing their critics out of hand.