Members of the Australian Jewish community have taken out a full-page ad in Nine newspapers urging Australia to reject Trump's plan for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

The ad in today's Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, organised by an independent grassroots collective, features the names of 500 Jewish signatories including musician Ben Lee; actor Miriam Margolyes; lawyers Andrea Durbach AM, Robert Richter KC, Josh Bornstein and George Newhouse; Healthcare specialist Dr Alex Wodak AM; disability commissioner Dr Rhonda Galbally AC;  well-known businessman Ron Finkel AM; and award-winning authors Anna Fienberg, Eleanor Limprecht, Dennis Altman AM and Clare Wright OAM.

The Jewish Council stands with the petition organisers and hundreds of Jewish Australians who reject the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. We join calls for Australia to firmly reject US President Donald Trump’s cruel and unlawful plan for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza and support Palestinians’ rights to return and rebuild Gaza.

Sarah Schwartz, Executive Officer, Jewish Council of Australia, said:

'Palestinians have rights to self-determination, equality, freedom and justice. This includes the right to rebuild and remain in their homeland after 16 months of Israel’s destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza. Our government must take material steps to support these rights, and reject calls for ethnic cleansing and genocide.

'The repression of Jewish dissenters is at an all time high, with high profile defenders of Israel, such as Mark Leibler and Steve Bannon, calling Jews who criticise Israel’s human rights abuses “repulsive and revolting” and “the number one enemy.” Publicly signing on to something like this is not easy. The fact that so many were willing to sign their name, standing on the shoulders of our Jewish ancestors who stood up against injustice, shows that Jewish voices in support of Palestinians can no longer be ignored.'

For more quotes from some of the petition's organisers, click here.