We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary (100 prominent British Jews)

In May, Jewish organizations will be celebrating the

60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.
This is understandable in the context of centuries of
persecution culminating in the Holocaust. Nevertheless,
we are Jews who will not be celebrating. Surely it is now
time to acknowledge the narrative of the other, the price
paid by another people for European anti-semitism and
Hitler's genocidal policies. As Edward Said emphasised,
what the Holocaust is to the Jews, the Naqba is to the
Palestinians.

In April 1948, the same month as the infamous massacre at
Deir Yassin and the mortar attack on Palestinian civilians in
Haifa's market square, Plan Dalet was put into operation.
This authorised the destruction of Palestinian villages and
the expulsion of the indigenous population outside the
borders of the state. We will not be celebrating.

In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their
homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with
no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death
March. We will not be celebrating.

In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400
villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the
ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians (Israeli citizens)
were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands
more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza.
Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution
194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation.
Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating.

We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on
terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another
people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday
of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that
violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous
collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza
and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human
rights and national aspirations.

We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals
in a peaceful Middle East.

Seymour Alexander
Ruth Appleton
Steve Arloff
Rica Bird
Jo Bird
Cllr Jonathan Bloch
Ilse Boas
Prof. Haim Bresheeth
Tanya Bronstein
Sheila Colman
Ruth Clark
Sylvia Cohen
Judith Cravitz
Mike Cushman
Angela Dale
Ivor Dembina
Dr. Linda Edmondson
Nancy Elan
Liz Elkind
Pia Feig
Colin Fine
Deborah Fink
Sylvia Finzi
Brian Fisher MBE
Frank Fisher
Bella Freud
Catherine Fried
Uri Fruchtmann
Stephen Fry
David Garfinkel
Carolyn Gelenter
Claire Glasman
Tony Greenstein
Heinz Grunewald
Michael Halpern
Abe Hayeem
Rosamine Hayeem
Anna Hellman
Amy Hordes
Joan Horrocks
Deborah Hyams
Selma James
Riva Joffe
Yael Oren Kahn
Michael Kalmanovitz
Paul Kaufman
Prof. Adah Kay
Yehudit Keshet
Prof. Eleonore Kofman
Rene Krayer
Stevie Krayer
Berry Kreel
Leah Levane
Les Levidow
Peter Levin
Louis Levy
Ros Levy
Prof. Yosefa Loshitzky
Catherine Lyons
Deborah Maccoby
Daniel Machover
Prof. Emeritus Moshe Machover
Miriam Margolyes OBE
Mike Marqusee
Laura Miller
Simon Natas
Hilda Meers
Martine Miel
Laura Miller
Arthur Neslen
Diana Neslen
Orna Neumann
Harold Pinter
Roland Rance
Frances Rivkin
Sheila Robin
Dr. Brian Robinson
Neil Rogall
Prof. Steven Rose
Mike Rosen
Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead
Leon Rosselson
Michael Sackin
Sabby Sagall
Ian Saville
Alexei Sayle
Anna Schuman
Sidney Schuman
Monika Schwartz
Amanda Sebestyen
Sam Semoff
Linda Shampan
Sybil Shine
Prof. Frances Stewart
Inbar Tamari
Ruth Tenne
Martin Toch
Tirza Waisel
Stanley Walinets
Martin White
Ruth Williams
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Devra Wiseman
Gerry Wolff
Sherry Yanowitz