American economist and geopolitical analyst Jeffrey Sachs has issued a scathing open letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, accusing Israel’s leadership of committing “mass murder and starvation” in Gaza and warning that the country’s greatest danger comes from its own extremist policies.
The letter, dated August 9 and shared with TRT World via email, follows Sa’ar’s combative address to a special UN Security Council session on August 5, which he had convened to focus on Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Sa’ar used the platform to denounce Palestinian resistance group Hamas for the October 7 attacks and for “starving and torturing” captives, while blaming international media and the UN for what he called “modern blood libels” against Israel.
However, Sachs—who attended the meeting—said Sa’ar’s speech “failed to recognise why almost the entire world… is aghast at your government’s behaviour,” charging that Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 18,500 Palestinian children and left Gaza on the verge of famine.
“You lamented the starvation of 20 hostages but failed to mention Israel’s starvation of 2 million Palestinians,” Sachs wrote.
UN Security Council split
Sachs’ intervention comes amid deep divisions at the UN. At Sunday’s emergency meeting, four of the five permanent members—Russia, China, the UK, and France—condemned Israel’s Security Cabinet decision to fully occupy Gaza City and forcibly displace Palestinians from north to south.
Only the US defended Israel’s actions, with its acting deputy representative repeating Washington’s line that Israel has the “right to defend itself” and blaming Hamas for rejecting a ceasefire.
France warned the occupation plan “will in no way contribute to the security of Israel,” while China’s UN envoy Fu Cong declared Gaza “an integral part of the Palestinian territory” and urged Israel to “stop this dangerous move at once.”
I am a Jew, and a citizen of the United States. Israel is not my state and never will be.
Rejecting Zionism
In his letter, Sachs—himself Jewish—took issue with Sa’ar’s declaration at the UN that Israel is “the sovereign state of the Jewish people.”
Calling this “false,” Sachs said: “Israel is the sovereign state of its citizens. I am a Jew, and a citizen of the United States. Israel is not my state and never will be.”
He argued that Judaism is a religion and culture, not a nationality, citing historical rabbinic teachings that proscribed a mass return to Jerusalem, and warning that Zionism had “weakened or put an end to countless vibrant communities” of Jews who had lived in peace around the world.
Sachs also noted that the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which paved the way for a Jewish homeland, explicitly promised not to prejudice the rights of non-Jewish communities in Palestine—something he says Zionism has failed to uphold.
Accusations of permanent occupation
The Columbia University professor accused the Netanyahu government—backed by far-right allies Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir—of pursuing “permanent occupation of all of Palestine,” demonising the Palestinian people, and blocking the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
He contrasted Sa’ar’s words with those of Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour at the same UN session, who called for ending “illegal occupation” and implementing a two-state solution in line with international law.
“Already, 147 countries recognise the State of Palestine, and many more will soon do so,” Sachs reminded, pointing out that only six UN member states recently opposed a resolution supporting Palestinian self-determination.
Warning to Israel’s leaders
Sachs said Israel’s global isolation is now cushioned only by US political backing—largely influenced, he noted, by Christian Evangelicals who see the Jewish return to Israel as part of an end-times prophecy.
With US public opinion shifting sharply against Israel’s war in Gaza, he warned that “brute power will be evanescent if Israel’s grave injustice toward the Palestinian people continues.”
“The two-state solution is the path—and the only path—to Israel’s survival,” Sachs concluded. “The great threat to Israel’s survival is not the Arab nations, the Palestinians, or Iran, but the policies of Israel’s extremist government.”
