The British Jewish community won’t silence our solidarity with Gaza

Jews protest in Parliament Square against the killings in Gaza

Rob Adams writes in +972, “A group of mostly young British Jews took a large step forward in shifting the British Jewish community’s debate on Israel and the occupation this past week. Around 50 British Jews, shocked by the scale of death in Gaza, after Israeli snipers shot dead 60 Palestinians in a single day, gathered in Parliament Square in central London to name the dead and recite the kaddish, the Jewish mourner’s prayer. Although this certainly wasn’t the first time we have spoken out against the violence unleashed on Gaza, this time felt notably different. Standing among us weren’t just the usual suspects from various left-wing Jewish groups such as the Jewish Socialist Group or Jewdas.. There were community leaders; youth movement counselors, rabbis, and young people engaged in their synagogues and communities.”

“This is reflective of a massive groundswell of change that has taken place within the community in recent years. Many British Jews, old and young alike, are struggling to see the values they hold reflected in an Israeli government that has long turned its back on them. Among my peers in the community, it is now relatively rare to find anyone not critical in some way of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people. This makes sense. You can only spend so long teaching Jewish children biblical teachings of pursuing justice before they start asking why some in our community seem to interpret this as “justice for some.” Whether theologically correct or not, their Judaism is built on the notion of “justice for all.”

“So why have they waited until now to speak out? Because the stick is far bigger than the carrot. As we stood in Parliament Square, we were helpless to prevent a small number of far-right activists from documenting us. Subsequently, the week since has been a disturbing reminder of the following fact; when a British Jew steps out of line, the full weight of the community will fall on them.”

Jewish pro-Israel rally in Trafalgar Square in 2009

“We had barely left the square before videos appeared online, published by the Israel Advocacy Network, accusing us of being terrorist sympathizers. Community leaders took the bait and instead of holding dialogue on the issue, the floodgates were opened for a torrent of abuse. The chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism publicly described us as a “sickness” and suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, clearly unaware of the ironic connotations of his language. Some, including prominent anti-Palestinian blogger David Collier, called for us to be “named and shamed.” Much of our community was happy to oblige.” (more…)