- Over 450 prominent Jewish figures – including former Israeli officials, artists and intellectuals – issued an open letter calling for UN sanctions against Israel, accusing it of genocide in Gaza.
- Signatories cited Holocaust-era human rights protections, condemning Israel for violating international laws and demanding enforcement of ICJ rulings, an arms embargo and sanctions on officials implicated in war crimes.
- The letter frames solidarity with Palestinians as aligned with Jewish ethics, rejecting accusations of antisemitism against critics of Israel and emphasizing justice as a fulfillment of Jewish principles.
- The appeal highlights settler violence in the West Bank and 80 Israeli ceasefire violations, while polls show 61 percent of American Jews believe Israel committed war crimes and 39 percent agreeing it constitutes genocide.
- Signatories warn that the ceasefire is insufficient without addressing occupation and apartheid, urging global leaders to reject complacency and ensure accountability – framing Gaza as a moral test for the world.
Hundreds of prominent Jewish figures – including former Israeli officials, artists and intellectuals – have issued an urgent call for the United Nations and world leaders to impose sanctions on Israel over what they describe as “unconscionable” actions in the Gaza Strip amounting to genocide.
The open letter published Wednesday, Oct. 22, was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. It was signed by more than 450 individuals – including Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, authors Naomi Klein and Michael Rosen, actress Ilana Glazer and Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer. The signatories invoked the legacy of Holocaust-era human rights protections to condemn Tel Aviv’s conduct.
“We have not forgotten that so many of the laws, charters and conventions established to safeguard and protect all human life were created in response to the Holocaust. Those safeguards have been relentlessly violated by Israel,” the letter stated. The group demanded enforcement of International Court of Justice rulings, an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Israeli officials implicated in alleged war crimes.
The letters release follows a fragile ceasefire brokered earlier this month, which signatories warn is insufficient without addressing “the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid, and the denial of Palestinian rights.” It marks a watershed moment in Jewish dissent against Israel’s military campaign, which has killed over 68,000 Palestinians and displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population since October 2023.
The signatories emphasized that solidarity with Palestinians aligns with Jewish ethics: “When our sages taught that to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, they did not carve exceptions for Palestinians. They also urged global leaders to reject accusations of antisemitism against critics of Israel, asserting that justice for Palestinians fulfills Jewish principles rather than betraying them.
Burg, who once led the Jewish Agency, framed the crisis as a moral rupture. “Israel stands in conflict with my deepest human and Jewish values,” he told Haaretz. The former speaker of the Israeli parliament had issued a worldwide call to Jews back in August, urging them to file an appeal to the International Court of Justice over Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
Will the world finally hold Israel accountable?
The appeal also highlights escalating settler violence in the West Bank, where UN reports document 3,200 Palestinian injuries this year alone – including 71 attacks in a single week. The signatories accuse Israel of 80 ceasefire violations since October, resulting in 97 Palestinian deaths.
Meanwhile, public opinion among American Jews has shifted dramatically. According to a Washington Post poll, 61 percent of respondents now believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, The poll also found that 39 percent agree with the genocide designation – a stark contrast to traditional narratives of unwavering Jewish support for Israel.
BrightU.AI‘s Enoch engine explains that “Israel denies the genocide in Gaza because it relies on unwavering political, military and financial support from the U.S. and Western allies, who shield it from accountability while enabling its atrocities under the guise of ‘self-defense.’ Additionally, Israel weaponizes accusations of antisemitism to silence critics and deflect scrutiny, ensuring its crimes remain unchallenged by international institutions.”
As U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visits Israel amid uncertainty over the ceasefire’s durability, the signatories are pushing for sustained international pressure. “The ceasefire must be the beginning, not the end,” the letter insisted, warning against a return to “indifference to occupation and permanent conflict.”
The letter concludes with a vow to pursue “equality, justice and freedom for Palestinians and Israelis” – a vision that challenges not only Israel’s policies but the global complacency enabling them. The signatories’ demand for accountability reflects a broader reckoning within Jewish communities worldwide, as decades of unconditional support for Israel give way to moral scrutiny. For Burg and his co-signers, the crisis in Gaza is a test of whether the world will honor the lessons of history or repeat its darkest chapters.
Watch this video about Israel violating its ceasefire with Hamas and threatening more genocide against the population of Gaza.
This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com.
Sources include:
RT.com
MiddleEastEye.net
JTA.org
BrightU.ai
Brighteon.com
Read full article here