Unconditional support for Israel 'is dangerous', say leading European Jews.

More than three thousand European Jews, including some prominent French intellectuals, have signed a petition calling for an end to the Israeli policy of promoting and encouraging illegal settlements.

Supporters, who compare their goals to those of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel Jewish lobbying group in the United States, plan to present their position at a news conference at the European Parliament in Brussels tomorrow.

They say they hope to build a European movement that is both "committed to the state of Israel and critical of the current choices of its government".

Israeli columnist Yossi Sarid, a former Cabinet minister identified with Israel's peace movement, praised the initiative in an comment piece published in the Haaretz daily today.

"These are people who seize every opportunity to defend Israel publicly and remain faithful to it," he wrote. "But even their patience is running out and their hearts are filled with sincere concern."

For too long the only opinion which has been allowed to have any validity has been the right wing Likud line, with all others being deemed either anti-Semitic or the opinions of "self hating" Jews.

The petition says Israel faces a threat in the "occupation and the continuing pursuit of settlements in the West Bank and in the Arab districts of East Jerusalem".

"These policies are morally and politically wrong and feed the unacceptable delegitimization process that Israel currently faces abroad," it sayings, adding that "systematic support of Israeli government policy is dangerous and does not serve the true interests of the state of Israel".

It really does feel as if Israel has pushed this as far as she can and that time is not on her side when it comes to the illegal settlements. And the signatories to this petition make the very good point that they are actually being very good friends of Israel when they warn her against actions which will ultimately harm the state.

The signatories to the petition, all of them Shimon's friends, have concluded that they no longer have a choice: Their Israel has no idea where it's living. It doesn't realize how cut off it is from the world, from America, Europe and the Arab countries that have made peace with it, just when it needs them more than ever.

They deliberated, consulted, formulated and reformulated. It's not easy for them. But in the end they decided to stand up and make their statements, to write an unprecedented document. "European Jewish Call for Reason" is its title. They call on the Israeli government to immediately freeze construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to "ensure the survival of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."

Netanyahu and his coalition are way out of step with the time they find themselves living through.

These signatories have proven themselves to be very good friends of Israel, but even they are now saying that enough is enough.

They have come to the conclusion that simply remaining silent is actually not being a very good friend to Israel, especially when it is being led by this dangerous coalition of extreme right wingers.

And their decision to speak out has angered many French Jews:

“This will largely be used by those who are true enemies of Israel,” warned Richard Prasquier, chairman of the Jewish Representative Committee of France, one of the community’s main representative body. “It’s very serious because these are prestigious personalities,” he added, saying that Levy and Finkielkraut had made a “serious mistake”. Joel Mergui, president of France’s Central Consistory, called the wording of the petition “excessive” and said he was “shocked by the term ‘a call to reason’ when Israel is a democratic state.”

The chairman of the United Jewish Social Fund, Pierre Besnainou, said he was worried about “Jews being divided in public” and Claude Barouch, deputy head of the Jewish employers’ association, said the call “weakened Israel”.

The claim that it is dangerous if Jewish voices are "divided in public" is exactly the way that Israeli right wingers have ensured that their views are the only ones which are acceptable. Indeed, that they are often the only ones which are heard.

I think these new voices calling for reason are to be welcomed. For far too long we have only heard from the Israeli right. And, at the moment, they have placed Israel on a collision course with the rest of the world. These signatories are being good friends when they say, "Enough is enough."

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Tags: Israel, Palestine, Netanyahu, Obama