U.K. Zionists 'bemused' by British Jews' support for Goldstone report

British Zionist activists reacted on Tuesday with "bemusement" to a letter cosigned by hundreds of pro-Palestinian Jewish compatriots urging Gordon Brown to adopt the Goldstone Report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes during its operation last winter in the Gaza Strip.

The letter, which appeared as an advertisement in The Times Tuesday, was cosigned by more than 565 Jews - many of them belonging to organizations extremely critical of Israel - who called the controversial United Nations report by Judge Richard Goldstone a "welcome" and "key document in the upholding of international law."

The cosignatories also wrote to the British prime minister that if he really wanted to "build bridges" with the Jewish community in light of the report - as was reported by the London-based Jewish Chronicle a few weeks ago - then it was "vital" for him to "recognize that British Jews do not speak with one voice on this matter."

The United Kingdom's Zionist Federation said in a statement that it was "bemused" to read this letter from Independent Jewish voices and Jews for Justice for Palestinians, two of the groups that co-organized the letter and ad.

"It would be astonishing if the prime minister believed that 270,000 Jews spoke with 'one voice' about anything," the federation's statement said. "He will appreciate that most of the signatories have little connection with Jewish organizations and only self-identify for the sole purpose of public vilification of Israel."

One prominent activist told Haaretz: "The people who signed the letter are on the fringe of the Jewish community."

Jacqueline Rose from Independent Jewish Voices denied this, saying this was "clearly not true" because the cosignatories included a number of rabbis - including Howard Cooper and David J. Goldberg - and "prominent Jewish figures involved in the fight against anti-Semitism," such as Antony Lerman, former director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a London-based think tank.

Dan Judelson, a member of the executive of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, told Haaretz that the Zionist Federation "would like people to think Jews speak with one voice, but this false perception is changing thanks to the efforts" of organizations such as his own.

He added that his organization and its partners were able to raise 10,000 pounds over a period of a week from more than 500 people, who sponsored The Times ad. Judelson also said his organization viewed the Goldstone report as "generally fair toward Israel," and that the U.K. should recognize Hamas as a partner for talks.