Five elected members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the UK’s largest Jewish representative body, have been suspended for two years after publicly criticising Israel’s military assault on Gaza, an act they described as incompatible with Jewish values and morally indefensible.

The suspensions follow an open letter signed by 36 deputies and published in the Financial Times on 16 April. “Israel’s soul is being ripped out” said the signatories expressing their opposition to the genocidal war in Gaza. The letter, which came amid mounting civilian deaths and growing global calls for accountability, urged Jewish leaders to break their silence in the face of war crimes and mass suffering.