No more excuses: Leaders must not remain silent

Israel and the Jewish people need bold, honest, and moral leadership. We cannot expect it from Israel’s government, propped up by extremists, ignoring millions of Israelis who want this war to end and alienating allies with reckless abandon. Instead, we get ministers calling for reoccupation of Gaza, starving or expelling its population, and annexing the West Bank – destroying trust in the government’s motivations as surely as the Gazan landscape.

The war nears its third year, with no clearer goals than in its first. Israel’s soldiers continue to pay the price: 60,000 reservists, exhausted from nearly two years of multifront fighting, have been called up again, this time for the offensive on Gaza City. More families will be bereaved. More headlines will report civilian deaths.

Hostage families, returned hostages, and military experts – including the IDF’s Chief of Staff – warn that fighting is more likely to kill hostages than rescue them. Protests continue unabated; over 2.5 million Israelis recently joined a shutdown to demand a deal. Little wonder anger simmers toward a government opposed by more than 70% of Israelis and many Jews worldwide.

Yet leaders who claim to share this view often speak so timidly it barely registers. Now is the time for bold, honest leadership – against a government whose actions cost Israeli and Palestinian lives, alienate allies, and divide the Jewish people.

Honesty is also needed about the devastation in Gaza. While ministers boast about it, too many deny the extent of the starvation and the government’s role in it. When this war ends, courage will be needed to confront what has been done.

As Yeats wrote, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Today, the only bold visions advanced are for endless repression or even ethnic cleansing – an affront to the values and sustainability of a Jewish and democratic state.

Israel suffered its most brutal attack on October 7 and has since demonstrated decisive strength against Iran and Hezbollah. Hamas is crippled. Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, now call for its surrender. Israel can enforce a ceasefire if violated. A unique opportunity exists to reshape the region.

But at the same time, Israel faces its most serious attack on democracy from within. That assault must be challenged with conviction – above all by opposition leaders who seek to replace this government. They must articulate a fundamental commitment to Israel’s liberal democratic foundations, fairness for all its citizens, and a credible vision of security and peace.

In the Diaspora, antisemitism has surged, led by those who despise Jewish self-determination. University campuses have become citadels of hate; concerts and rallies echo with abuse. Murders in Washington and Boulder remind us what “globalizing the intifada” looks like.

Antisemites must be confronted robustly. But they are no excuse for silence when Israel’s government betrays Jewish values. Speaking up strengthens us, not them.

Too many leaders shirk this duty. Some say, “It’s too political.” But when extremists commit West Bank violence encouraged by ministers, when hostages are abandoned, when Gaza starves, and ministers incite against Palestinians, Arab citizens and Jewish opponents, these are not “political issues. They are violations of ethical first principles, and leaders must name them as such.

Others say, “It’s too divisive.” But this accepts rules imposed by the radical right, which demands unity while sowing division. True unity cannot come from silence. If leaders fail to articulate their values, they cede the field to those who shout loudest.

Still others plead, “We don’t have a mandate,” confusing leadership with delegation. Leaders lead. If they will not, they should step aside for those who will.

There are signs of change. Over 6,000 Jews in the Diaspora – including former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and Taglit-Birthright co-founder Charles Bronfman – signed a recent letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu condemning his government’s policies. It was organized by The London Initiative, which I co-founded with Mike Prashker, to build unprecedented partnerships between like-minded Israelis and world Jewry.

Days later, WJC President Ronald Lauder declared that Smotrich and Ben Gvir “do not represent the vast majority of Jews worldwide.” More than 80 Orthodox rabbis have now spoken out.

These are beginnings. But opposition leaders in Israel and Jewish leaders worldwide must start doing their job with conviction, integrity, and urgency. Excuses for inaction will not suffice. The time for leadership is now.