Statement on Israel's war with Iran

The unfolding military action between Israel, the United States and Iran marks a grave and consequential moment for the Middle East.

The Israeli public and Iranian exile communities overwhelmingly agree that confronting the danger emanating from the Iranian regime is not a matter of choice but of responsibility. A leadership that repeatedly threatens the destruction of another sovereign state, invests heavily in nuclear capability and long-range missile technology, and turns its violence inward against its own citizens when they protest oppression, forfeits any claim to moral innocence. Such a regime cannot reasonably expect to be regarded as a trustworthy partner in shaping regional security. The danger it poses has been consistent, deliberate and existential.

For many Israelis, and for countless Iranians in exile who have long suffered under this regime, the weakening of its leadership represents not escalation for its own sake, but the possibility of a different future. We have seen scenes even here in Finchley of Iranians expressing relief and hope at the news of the Ayatollah’s death — a stark reminder that opposition to this regime is not confined to Israel or the West, but lives in the hearts of the Iranian people themselves.

At the same time, we hold in our thoughts the civilians now bearing the cost of war. Israeli families spending nights and days in bomb shelters; children woken by sirens; communities across the Middle East targeted by Iranian missile fire; and innocent people throughout the region including in Iran who fear what tomorrow may bring. No one who values life can be indifferent to this suffering.

Military action can remove a threat. It cannot, on its own, secure peace.

If this moment is to have meaning beyond deterrence, it must now be translated into a serious diplomatic effort — one that prevents nuclear rearmament, curtails regional destabilisation, and opens space for a future in which the Iranian people themselves can live without repression and chose their own leadership.

Israel did not choose this conflict lightly. Our hope now must be that decisive action creates the conditions for durable security and renewed diplomacy.

We pray for the safety of the Israel Defense Forces and allied personnel. We pray for the protection of civilians in Israel and across the region including in Iran.

And we pray — urgently and sincerely — for a Middle East in which threats of annihilation give way to recognition, accountability and peace.

עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל.

May the One who makes peace in the high heavens bring peace upon us and upon all who dwell on earth.