WZO UK with Rabbi Mervis
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has today demonstrated great courage and conviction in calling out the ongoing scourge of anti-Semitism that has risen during the leadership of Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn and the danger that a Corbyn-led government would bring. Whilst this kind of political standing is unprecedented from the Office of the Chief Rabbi, especially when made just two weeks before the General Elections. Of worthy note is the quick and unequivocal support of Chief Rabbi Mirvis’s statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the overwhelming majority of the UK’s Jewish community and all other members of British society who stand united against the scourge of anti-Semitism in British society and the world at large. The World Zionist Organisation in the United Kingdom expresses its strong support of Rabbi Mirvis’s actions in the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism, in all its forms – including BDS – across the United Kingdom.
What will become of Jews in Britain if Labour forms the next government? | News | The Times
Nov 26, 2019
Elections should be a celebration of democracy. However, just weeks before we go to the polls, the overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety.
During the past few years, on my travels through the UK and further afield, one concern has been expressed to me more than any other. Of course, the threats of the far right and violent jihadism never go away, but the question I am now most frequently asked is: What will become of Jews and Judaism in Britain if the Labour Party forms the next government?
This anxiety is justified. Raising concerns about anti-Jewish racism in the context of a general election ranks among the most painful moments I have experienced since taking office. Convention dictates that the Chief Rabbi stays well away from party politics — and rightly so. However, challenging racism is not a matter of politics, it goes well beyond that. Wherever there is evidence of it, including in any of our political parties, it must be swiftly rooted out. Hateful prejudice is always wrong, whoever the perpetrator, whoever the victim.
The Jewish community has endured the deep discomfort of being at the centre of national political attention for nearly four years. We have been treated by many as an irritant, as opposed to a minority community with genuine concerns. Some politicians have shown courage but too many have sat silent. We have learned the hard way that speaking out means that we will be demonised by faceless social media trolls and accused of being partisan or acting in bad faith by those who still think of this as an orchestrated political smear. Yet, I ask myself: should the victims of racism be silenced by the fear of yet further vilification?
Therefore, with the heaviest of hearts, I call upon the citizens of our great country to study what has been unfolding before our very eyes.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/ephraim-mirvis-what-will-becom…
