The Guardian has an interesting report about how quite a few well-known British Jews are speaking out against their community spokespeople for being unrepresentative of the community's diverse views on Israeli policy:

"We come together in the belief that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by those institutions which claim authority to represent the Jewish community as a whole," the letter says. Jewish leaders in Britain, it argues "put support for the policies of an occupying power above the human rights of an occupied people" in conflict with Jewish principles of justice and compassion.

The statement does not name the institutions it is criticising. But one signatory, Brian Klug, an Oxford philosopher, writing an accompanying article on Comment is Free, singles out the Board of Deputies of British Jews for calling itself "the voice of British Jewry" while devoting "much of the time and resources of its international division to the defence of Israel".

As I read it I couldn't help thinking of how often I've heard progressives moan about how mainstream Islamic organizations have neglected their views on a host of issues, from woman-led prayer to Shariah laws of all sorts. Reforming mainstream organizations to be more inclusive and diverse is obviously a huge challenge; I wish these folks lots of luck.