LONDON: More than 450 senior Jewish figures worldwide are calling on the UN and global leaders to impose sanctions on Israel over its actions “that will be judged to have met the legal definition of genocide.”
The appeal was made in an open letter signed by former Israeli officials, Oscar winners, intellectuals and authors, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Signatories include former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg, British author Michael Rosen, Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, US actor Wallace Shawn, Emmy winners Ilana Glazer and Hannah Einbinder, Canadian author Naomi Klein and Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser.
They are demanding accountability over Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. “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,” the letter said. “Those safeguards have been relentlessly violated by Israel.”
It calls on world leaders to abide by rulings from the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, avoid complicity in violations of international law via arms transfers, and ensure sufficient humanitarian aid for Gaza.
False claims of antisemitism against those calling for peace and justice must also be rejected, the signatories said.
“We bow our heads in immeasurable sorrow as the evidence accumulates that Israel’s actions will be judged to have met the legal definition of genocide,” the letter added.
Other signatories include American comedian Eric Andre, South African novelist Damon Galgut, Tony Award winner Toby Marlow and Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm.
“Our solidarity with Palestinians is not a betrayal of Judaism, then, but a fulfillment of it,” the letter said. “When our sages taught that to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, they did not carve exceptions for Palestinians. We shall not rest until this ceasefire carries forward into an end of occupation and apartheid.”
