More than 600 Jewish Australians have signed a statement calling on Jewish community and religious leaders to speak out against the atrocities of the Netanyahu Government in Gaza.

The statement, Australian Jews Cannot Remain Silent About the War in Gaza, has gathered the signatures through Oz Jews Say NO, an initiative of Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready.

The sheer number of signatories to this statement represents an emphatic rejection of the commonly held view within Jewish communities that Australian Jewry should support Israeli Government policies.

Statement signatories include pianist Simon Tedeschi, Professor Dennis Altman, Robert Richter KC, Dr Alex Wodak AM, journalist and academic Dr Jenna Price, Professor Deborah Friedman PSM, Michael Barnett OAM, social entrepreneur Karen Mahlab, Professor Michele Grossman AM, Professor Kim Cunio and photojournalist Moshe Rosenzveig OAM.

The statement

As Australian Jews, across a broad spectrum of political views, we share a deep concern for Israel’s future. We call for an end to the Israel-Gaza war, and to bring all the hostages home.

In April 2025, 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews had an open letter published in the Financial Times of London. We share their concerns, and their bravery has inspired us to write this statement.

Many of us have family and friends in Israel, and we care deeply for their safety and well-being.

Further, our Jewish and human values demand we care also for the suffering of the Palestinian people. For decades, Palestinians have endured dispossession, occupation, and violence — including a decades-long blockade in Gaza that has created conditions of profound deprivation.

Since the brutal and shocking Hamas-led massacre in Israel, and the taking of 250 hostages on 7 October 2023, there have been more than 18 months of horrific bombardment by Israel, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed in Gaza – adults and children, journalists, medics and aid workers. The Netanyahu Government has withheld food and aid to a civilian population as a weapon of war. International and Australian humanitarian agencies say Gaza is now facing a starvation crisis.

Tens of thousands of Israelis are demonstrating weekly against the Netanyahu Government. The loudest voices belong to the families of the hostages, who understand that ending the hostilities is the only thing that will bring their loved ones home.

We know that many in our community have been reluctant to publicly criticise Israel, hoping the war will end soon. But what is happening in Gaza is so catastrophic to Palestinians and Israeli hostages, that any constraint against open criticism is no longer tenable.

We call on all our community leaders to find inner courage, their “ometz lev”, to recognise, engage respectfully, and properly represent the many people in our community who don’t support what the Netanyahu-led Government is doing.

More can be found at: Australian Jews Cannot Remain Silent About the War in Gaza

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.