Labour, antisemitism and the chief rabbi

The Guardian Letters: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/nov/27/labour-antisemitism-and-the-chief-rabbi

The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, refers to “the Jewish community” as if British Jews were a single bloc and he speaks as our representative. British Jews are diverse: socially, religiously, politically. There are close to 300,000 Jews living in the UK, of whom no more than 25% belong to Rabbi Mirvis’s denomination; and I doubt whether he speaks for them all. Many Jews do not belong to any synagogue. In short, there is no single Jewish community, and he is not our spokesperson.

There is, however, a set of ethical values that Jews in general share. If, instead of attacking Jeremy Corbyn, he had issued a statement critical of both main parties, of antisemitism and Islamophobia, from left and right; had he proclaimed the dire need for policies resolving the shocking state of poverty and deprivation in our society; then I would have recognised him as speaking for me. As it is, I do not.
Dr Brian Klug
London

• We are both active Jewish members of Labour – one in the constituency with the largest Labour party membership in the country and the other in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency. Neither of us have seen or heard any antisemitism in our local parties. What we have seen are progressive policies designed to raise the living standards and rights of so many people without any discrimination or racism, and that is why we have been campaigning for Labour in this general election and will continue to do so.

While Labour has a progressive manifesto designed to protect and enhance the rights of us all, the Conservative party’s implicitly states that human rights in the UK will be restricted beyond their current state.
Nigel Leskin and Sonia Routledge
London

• In the welter of depressing coverage about antisemitism and Labour, I was heartened by a couple of paragraphs in your article (‘It reflects the despair’: Chief rabbi’s criticism of Corbyn strikes a chord, 27 November). At long last a reporter has started to balance the coverage of antisemitism accusations with quotes from Jewish Voice for Labour, which has consistently repudiated the claims made against Corbyn and the party. On Tuesday JVL published a detailed report on what it describes as the myths of Corbyn’s and his party’s antisemitism. It should be read by anyone who wishes to provide a balanced and informed account of this ongoing issue.
Phillip Cooper
Surbiton, London

• It is devastating to witness a party, offering the most comprehensive programme of social justice in generations, being undermined by the antisemitic views of a tiny minority of its members. We must recognise that thousands of British Jews are genuinely afraid of a Corbyn government, but let us be in no doubt that millions of disadvantaged people of all faiths and none have every reason to be petrified at the prospect of a Johnson one.
Ian Richardson
Beverley, East Yorkshire

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