ISRAEL must protect the rights of its Palestinian citizens for the sake of its democracy, Jewish communities in Harrow and Brent were told last night.

Members of four synagogues took part in a panel discussion featuring Professor Naomi Chazan, president of the New Israel Fund, who said she welcomed interest in the country internationally.

The debate, at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, in Northwood, focused on the Palestinian citizens who make up 20 per cent of Israel's population, within its borders, not in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.

Professor Chazan, a stalwart of left-wing politics in Israel, said: “Bigotry and intolerance are unacceptable and when one sees it one has to combat it.

“Democracies must constantly work to ensure full citizenship and justice for all their citizens.”

She praised the audience, telling the Harrow Times: “What was so interesting, and I loved it, is that mainstream Jewry is beginning to tackle the real issues.”

Professor Chazan is known for her time as deputy speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, but was more recently targeted by a far right organisation, which accused her group of supporting critics of the Israeli army, known as the Israel Defence Force(IDF).

She was depicted with a horn on her head in an advert and, following the attack, the Jerusalem Post axed her column.

She told the meeting last night she thought the list of people being silenced in Israeli politics was getting longer.

She said: “I think that it's very Jewish and absolutely essential for Jews to make sure that there's full equality between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

“It really is very easy today to start questioning the Palestinian citizens of Israel, questioning where their identities lie.

“If you are silent when these temporary issues are raised then they will start infiltrating to other areas, and they have.

“In recent months human right groups in Israel have been questioned and people say 'but they are human rights groups'.

“In the past, academics in Israel have been questioned as well, and some people are saying 'but it's academics'.

“What I am reminded of is a saying that was very powerful in the 30s: 'When they came for the anarchists I was silent because I am not an anarchist.

“'Then they came for the communists but I didn't say anything because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews but I was silent because I wasn't Jewish.

“'Then they came for me and there was nobody to speak up for me.'”

Mohammad Darawshe, co-executive director of human rights group The Abraham Fund Initiatives, told those gathered that Palestinian citizens of Israel are discriminated against.

He said: “Half of the Jewish people are minorities around the world. If they want to be treated properly around the world then they should show the world how a minority should be treated.”

Nadia Ismael, employers relations coordinator of The Abraham Fund Initiatives, told the audience about “new modern slaves” in Palestinian villages in Israel working for just a few hundred dollars a month.

The panel agreed on most of the issues, but Shmuel Ben Tovim, minister of economic affairs at the Israeli embassy, urged caution over comparisons between the minority Arab population in Israel and minorities in Britain.

He said: “You cannot ignore the conflict in the background of what is happening in Israel. Both issues have to be addressed.”

He also warned against pushing Israeli democracy on the one hand, but complaining about the views of the Israeli people on the other.

Congregations from Middlesex New Synagogue, the Kol Chai Jewish Community, in Hatch End, and Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue joined Northwood and Pinner for the event.