World-renowned Jews call for sanctions on Israel

World-renowned Jews have called for sanctions on Israel, calling its "unconscionable" actions in Gaza, Palestine, a genocide. They have made this appeal to the United Nations and world leaders in an open letter.

The letter was signed by 460 people, including former Israeli officials, Oscar winners, writers, and intellectuals. They demanded accountability for Israel's actions in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

The letter was published on Wednesday, as European Union (EU) leaders are meeting in Brussels the next day. EU leaders are reportedly planning to postpone proposals to impose sanctions on Israel for human rights violations.

The signatories wrote in the open letter, “We do not forget that in response to the Holocaust, many laws, charters and conventions were enacted to protect and safeguard the lives of all people. Israel continues to violate those safeguards.”

The signatories include former Israeli parliament (Knesset) speaker Abraham Burg, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, British author Michael Rosen, Canadian author Naomi Klein, Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, American actor Wallace Shawn, Emmy winners Ilana Glazer and Hannah Einbinder, and Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser.

The signatories called on world leaders to abide by the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), to refrain from violating international law by halting arms supplies to Israel, to impose specific sanctions, and to ensure adequate humanitarian assistance to Gaza. At the same time, these Jewish figures also urged those who speak out for peace and justice to reject false accusations of anti-Semitism.

The letter also said, “As evidence begins to accumulate that Israel’s actions meet the legal definition of genocide, we bow our heads in immense sorrow.”

The Jewish figures made this call at a time when public opinion about Israel has changed dramatically among a large segment of American Jews and voters in the past few years. A Washington Post poll found that 61 percent of American Jews believe that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, and 39 percent believe that the country is committing genocide.

Among the broader American public, 45 percent told the Brookings Institution that they believe Israel is committing genocide. On the other hand, a Quinnipiac poll conducted in August found that half of American voters share the same view, 77 percent of whom are Democrats.

Other signatories to the letter include American comedian Eric Andre, Oscar-winning journalist and documentarian Yuval Abraham, and Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm.

The signatories also wrote, “Our solidarity with the Palestinians is not a betrayal of Judaism, but rather its fulfillment. When our scholars taught that to destroy one life is to destroy the entire world, they made no exception for the Palestinians. We will not stop until this ceasefire ends the occupation and racism.”

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. More than 167,000 have been injured. The United Nations estimates that 90 percent of Gaza’s population is internally displaced.

After a fact-finding mission to the region in September, two Democratic U.S. senators—Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley—concluded that Israel was carrying out a “well-coordinated plan to destroy and ethnically eliminate” Palestinians in Gaza, with the United States also involved.

The report detailed the near-total destruction of civilian infrastructure, the use of food as a weapon, and the systematic blocking of humanitarian aid.