British Jews at odds after rabbi criticises Israel's 'colonialism' policies

Leading members of Britain's Jewish community are locked in an angry dispute over Israel's role in the international crisis.

A prominent liberal, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, has provoked consternation by describing Israel as the "last colonial power in the world", a "fact" which had left many Jews questioning their unconditional support of the country.

An passionate argument has followed, with the pages of the Jewish Chronicle carrying demands that he has no right to criticise Israel in the current climate.

Another liberal, Rabbi Dr Sidney Brichto, wrote in the paper that those who disagree with Israeli policy should "keep their feelings to themselves".

"When leading Jews start criticising the behaviour of the Israeli government it gives the green light for those who are not friends of Israel," he said.

Former Labour shadow minister Gerald Kaufman, a lifelong supporter of Israel, entered the debate with a statement that he would never visit the country again because its current policies "make me despair". The writer A N Wilson followed up by openly questioning the right of Israel to exist because "it never was a state".

His comments drew a passionate response from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of Britain, who said Israel existed because "for a thousand years Jews had been persecuted in Christian Europe, from the first crusade to Hitler's Final Solution". But yesterday, speaking to The Independent on Sunday, Rabbi Goldberg, senior rabbi at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood, London, repeated his criticisms of Israel and defended his right to speak out.

He said: "We are perhaps the most critical people on Earth of each other and of ourselves, yet when it comes to Israel it is a golden calf and all our critical faculties go. It is probably due to a great deal of insecurity from the Holocaust. But I no longer think we can invoke the Holocaust as our justification. I think the moral goodwill we had has all been used up. Nothing we say here is as open or as honest or as critical as what they say in Israel itself. In Israel you get killed for your views, but people still speak out. That gives me hope.

"I do find it extraordinary that people should question the right of Israel to exist. I feel it is going to rain flesh and blood for a while, but then a Palestinian state will emerge. It will then be in Palestinian self-interest to live in peace with Israel and to deal with their own extremists. I have no doubt that will happen.''

His views were backed by members of his congregation. Speaking at Kiddush, an after-synagogue gathering, Bob Kirk from south London said: "This is a question of ethics. If you think something is wrong you have to be able to speak out about it.'' Another long-serving member of the synagogue, who asked not to be named, said: "If Israel or any other country including the UK has a policy with which I disagree with I must feel at liberty to say so.'' And Rabbi John Rayner, Rabbi Goldberg's predecessor at the synagogue, said: "It is a misplaced sense of solidarity that leads people to stifle debate but stifling debate is a totalitarian tactic.''

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, an umbrella group uniting Britain's Jewish community, said they did not share Rabbi Goldberg's views but he had every right to speak out.

The spokesman said: "We are not in the habit of slapping down individuals who express an opinion. He is within his rights to speak his mind."