London Chabad Holds Panel on Antisemitism

Chabad Lubavitch NE London and Essex held a Panel and Q & A Event on Monday, July 25^th, on the rising tide of antisemitism plaguing the Jewish community.

The audience was welcomed by Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin MBE, and Chairman Cllr. Alan Weinberg MBE introduced the panelists: Arieh Miller, Zionist Federation; Wes Streeting MP, Ilford North; Russell Langer, Jewish Leadership Council, Public Affairs Spokesman; and Rony Yedidia-Clein, Minister Counsellor for Public Diplomacy, Israeli Embassy.

Also in attendance were Cllr. Paul Canal, Conservative Leader Redbridge Council; Cllr. Robert Cole, Clayhall Ward; Cllr. Ashley Kissin Barkingside; Cllr. Barbara White Redbridge; Keith Prince AM as well as other community representatives.

Over 160 people attended the event, the subject of which is of great importance to the community.

Apologies were received from Lee Scott (ex MP Ilford North) and Cllr. Jas Athwal, Leader of Redbridge Council. Cllr. Alan Weinberg MBE read out messages of support from both of them.

The speakers all outlined their background and the experience they had with incidents of antisemitism; and what actions they had taken to combat this. All of them agreed that you did not respond with hatred, and that if this occurred it neutralized your message.

The audience were very active in their questions and statements which included :-

Does anti Zionism mean antisemitism. We can be critical but not where the underlying reason for criticism is opposition to Israel and its and the Jews right to exist
Is the BBC even handed in its reporting. It was agreed that media coverage of Israel is not even handed and the headline descriptions often beggar belief. It was believed that this had worsened recently
How working with other communities is of benefit. Communication and understanding of other communities and mutual respect helped to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism. Redbridge Council worked closely to ensure this continued
Education of everyone is of great importance. Working with other schools and educating together is relatively new and is seen to be having results. Responsibility for pupils education and action is the remit of the teachers and should be taken seriously.
Where are we now? Do we have to live permanently with security such as CST everywhere? It was accepted that this had become necessary but it was very sad.
Is the Labour Party antisemitic. The recent activities in the Labour Party have seen a rise in antisemitic propaganda. There was little belief that unless a change of leadership was achieved; and also that those such as Ken Livingstone who had been suspended should not be allowed to return, this attitude would diminish. It was noted that antisemitism was supported by extremists on both the left and right of the political spectrum.
Social media – this was leading in the area of racist comments how could this be countered? It was very difficult to do this as once there was one comment it then went through to that persons contacts as well as to the general public. This was even more so when you had shown an interest in a specific subject and notifications were sent out. Social Media companies were being constantly monitored to try to ensure they did not support racist propaganda
Would Brexit have an impact. There could be implications in areas such as Shechita, but the overall situation was not clear currently
BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) why this was seen to be anti Israel and antisemitic. UN motions were also almost totally anti Israel a democratic country and not against regimes whose Human Rights records were questionable at least – work was continuing to combat this and there had been some notable successes. We must remain aware and not become complacent.
The attitude and make-up of the NUS currently was seen to be antisemitic. The fact that the UJS could not make a nomination for Jewish representation demonstrates this.

Rabbi Sufrin thanked the panelists for their contributions and their support.

The evening concluded with the general feeling that we need to be very aware of Antisemitism in all of its forms.