Board Of Deputies, Labour, And Bullying

A suitably convened panel is, we are told, this afternoon considering the suspension of former leader Jeremy Corbyn by the Labour Party, after he had made a further statement on the EHRC report into allegations of anti-Semitism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has found out about this, and as a result has put out its own statement.

This asserts “The Jewish community does not accept this pathetic non-apology from Jeremy Corbyn. Keir Starmer rightly called the release of the EHRC report a ‘day of shame’. Jeremy Corbyn’s response, by contrast, was shameless … Jeremy Corbyn questioned the findings of the report which showed that, under his watch, the Party had acted unlawfully in its treatment of Jews”. Did he dispute that? Not sure he did.

It is quite clear from those words which way the BoD would like the hearing to go. And that smacks of bullying, not least because there is no monolithic Jewish community in the UK, and to suggest there is would be anti-Semitic (see IHRA definition of anti-Semitism).

So it was no surprise to see Andrew Feinstein responding “Who do [Board of Deputies] think they [are]? They represent a minority of UK Jews but arrogantly claim to speak for all of us. This reactionary entity wants to rid the UK of antiracists & [anyone] committed to justice & equality. [The Labour Party should] stop pandering to them”.

Rivkah Brown was not afraid to speak her mind on this issue, either: “Suggesting that Jews are of one mind is antisemitic. Fuck you, you do not speak for me”. And Barnaby Raine reminded the BoD “‘the Jewish community’ is not a monolith, just as we weren't a monolith when we rejected your advice to stay quietly at home in 1936 and instead confronted Mosley's fascists in the streets and smashed them”. Point.

Also, there may have been some deflection at work, as Justin Schlosberg reminded us “Whatever happens today, whether you stay or go, whether you're left or right, lets not forget the on-going and widespread institutional cover up over the [Leaked Labour Report]. It's a case study of political corruption on an eye-watering scale”. Point Two.

That deflection may also extend to the assertion by young activist Gemma Bolton, that Israel was an Apartheid state - the Jewish Chronicle, as conservative as the BoD, had inferred the claim was anti-Semitic. Shaun Lawson was not having any of that. “If someone referred to South Africa as an 'apartheid state' in the 1970s and 1980s, would they have been 'racist' against white people? Were all those who campaigned against apartheid and for Mandela 'racists' against white people? Just wondering”. Point Three.

So what is the BoD up to? Sienna Rogers of Labour List concluded that “We know that the Board of Deputies will regard it as a ‘failure of leadership’ if the NEC panel today decides to reinstate Corbyn”. That’s the same BoD that has backed the EHRC report, which among other findings, said the party leadership should not interfere in the disciplinary process.

Except when they should interfere, because the BoD says so. Hello Board of Deputies.

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