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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Harriet Sherwood

Hamas cruelty, Gaza’s ordeal and a tide of fear sweeping Britain’s Jews

Jonathan Wittenberg, wearing a yarmulke, collared shirt and jumper reading
‘Violence leads to more violence’: Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg at his home in north London on Friday. Photograph: Sophia Evans/the Guardian

When Jonathan Wittenberg, a British rabbi, posted a “statement on Rafah” on the website of the community he leads last week, he had no idea of the response it would generate.

“It never occurred to me that it would go beyond those it was intended to reach,” he told the Observer. Much of the response from within Masorti Judaism, a traditional branch of the Jewish faith, had been supportive, but there had also been “tough feedback” from Jews outside the UK in particular. Wittenberg said he “well understood” it.

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