01/09/2026
The possibility of UK Government action against Israeli settlements raises difficult and important questions for British Jews. It demands a response grounded in the seriousness of this moment, while recognising the breadth of opinion within our community. There is no single British Jewish view.
Our Jewish values call us to hold together truths too often separated: the safety and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians; our attachment to Israel and our opposition to the expansion of settlements; Israel’s right to security and the Palestinian right to freedom, self-determination and a State of their own.
Antisemitism is real, urgent and always at risk of escalating into violence. Protecting Jews is a moral imperative but it must not require closing down legitimate scrutiny of Israeli policy, nor should opposition to settlement expansion be treated as an attack upon Jews.
Our position is consistent. We defend Israel’s security, condemn Hamas and reject BDS, including attempts to introduce it by the back door. We also oppose occupation, Palestinian dispossession and settler violence. These commitments belong together.
Judaism teaches that every person is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God; that law matters; and that peace must be pursued, even when it demands difficult decisions. A Jewish commitment to Israel cannot require indifference to Palestinian suffering, just as support for Palestinian rights should not require hostility towards Israel or its people.
Support for two States cannot remain permanently theoretical. It requires a commitment to ending settler violence, halting settlement expansion and meaningful land swaps, as well an end to Hamas rule, credible Palestinian leadership and guarantees of Israel’s security.
It also requires us to confront honestly the reality of places to which we feel the deepest Jewish attachment. Love of a place should deepen our responsibility towards everyone who lives there, not obscure the violence and inequality they experience.
E1 is not an isolated planning decision. It is part of an explicit project, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, to establish permanent Israeli control and make a viable Palestinian state impossible. Settlement construction, administrative annexation and escalating violence are interconnected and incompatible with the justice, human dignity and peace we seek to uphold.
We do not yet know what measures the Government will propose. They must be judged carefully. Are they lawful, targeted and effective? Do they distinguish Israel from settlement activity and avoid unintended harm? Will they uphold international law and help preserve a credible path towards peace?
Those opposing meaningful action must offer an alternative. After decades in which condemnation has achieved so little, how should E1 be stopped, Palestinians protected and those enabling violence held accountable? If we support two States, what should the international community do while that possibility is systematically dismantled?
Our Zionism is rooted in Jewish safety and national self-determination, and also in the Jewish pursuit of justice and peace. It does not fear accountability. It demands the courage to pursue an Israel that is secure, democratic and at peace alongside a Palestinian state, with freedom and dignity for both peoples.
Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky
Co-Leads, The Movement for Progressive Judaism
Read here too:
https://progressivejudaism.org.uk/statement-on-the-possibility-of-uk-action-on-settlement-expansion/
