Haaretz reported this morning that “over 500 leading figures from across the Jewish Diaspora, including rabbis, community leaders, professors and former diplomats, signed an open letter published yesterday, urging the heads of Israel’s opposition parties to unite to replace the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (As of this writing, that figure is now over 850.) Addressed to the heads of all the Jewish and Arab parties in Israel not aligned with the Netanyahu bloc, the signatories wrote: “Our goal is to encourage all of you to work together to build a coalition for change that will serve Israel, Diaspora Jewry and relations between us.”

The letter calls on Israeli opposition leaders—both Jewish and Arab—to “begin the process of repair by forming a coalition in keeping with the vision set out by Israel’s founders in the Declaration of Independence,” and to form a coalition committed to equal rights, renewing “the pursuit of secure peace” with the Palestinians and “honestly acknowledging that true security and peace are interdependent.” It also rejected any so-called “unity” government under Netanyahu as it has not worked in the past, and “will not be able to govern effectively and lead the changes that Israel and the Diaspora need.”