Britain’s most senior progressive rabbis have warned that Israel’s current political trajectory risks becoming “incompatible with Jewish values”, insisting that criticising the Israeli government is a Jewish obligation, not an act of disloyalty.
Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leads of Progressive Judaism – representing around a third of UK synagogues – said Israel’s direction could pose an “existential threat” to Judaism itself. They spoke ahead of launching their movement’s first book, Progressive Judaism, Zionism and the State of Israel, a collection of 40 essays from Jewish clergy and community leaders.
“We’ve often talked about the direction of Israel being an existential threat not to Jews per se, but to Judaism,” Baginsky said. “What happens when the direction of the government within Israel takes Israel down a line that makes it incompatible with our Jewish values? That’s a huge worry.”
Levy argued that exploring these questions is part of a “millennial conversation” about Jewish values. “What the government of Israel does reflects on us as Jews and reflects on our Judaism. Therefore, it is our Jewish obligation to be in dialogue with that in some way,” he said.
The book includes diverse perspectives, including from non-Zionists, and forms part of a wider review of the movement’s relationship with Israel. Baginsky stressed that her Zionism includes “recognition of Palestinian self-determination”, while Levy described their approach as a “different kind of Zionism” rooted in religious life, not the “proprietorial Zionism” of far-right Israeli leaders.
Both rabbis acknowledged tensions within the British Jewish community. Last year, they were booed off stage at a rally for Israeli hostages after calling for an end to the war and a Palestinian state. Baginsky said the moment was “painful” but has not deterred her from advocating for justice and peace.
