“Here we are, the Jews again.”
That was the infamous welcome Sir Gerald Kaufman offered when his fellow Jewish Labour MP Louise Ellman rose to speak in the Commons in March 2011.
I wonder though, as we wade through yet another antisemitism row in Westminster, whether it is also becoming a standard reaction in the corridors of power whenever the Jewish community raises its indignation over the latest outrageous antisemitic comments of one of our politicians.
That nauseating catchphrase and the relative lack of response to Sir Gerald's most recent disgusting statement highlight a worrying, widening problem – the apparent apathy towards dealing with antisemitism in British politics.
They may be quick to criticise others who stray into racist language, but turn the spotlight on Westminster itself and too many cases spring to mind of a casual, lazy approach when MPs and peers make their own repulsive outbursts.
In the past few years there have been ample opportunities to observe the “here we are, the Jews again” mentality towards our community’s concerns.
Take the weasel words of Nick Clegg – then Deputy Prime Minister – who was happy to stand up at a Board of Deputies’ Chanucah party two years ago and explain why intolerance must be countered. But when I asked him as he left the reception about antisemitic utterings from his own MP, David Ward, instead of responding, he ran off – literally.
Take the Tories, who waited nearly three years to investigate why their then MP Aidan Burley had hired a Nazi fancy-dress outfit for a stag-do in France. His actions were even described by one colleague as “high-jinx”, and the reaction – ie the Jewish community’s anger and disgust – as “wholly out of proportion”.
Take the Scottish Nationalists, who did not even have the courtesy to respond in September when we revealed that one of their MPs – Paul Monaghan – had, David Ward-style, used Twitter to accuse the “proud Jewish race” of “persecuting the people of Gaza”.
Monaghan at least apologised, something Ward and Burley could not bring themselves to do.
The Monaghan incident barely raised an eyebrow in Westminster or the national media. Ward’s case trundled on for two years with his party leaders unable, or unwilling, to ditch him (a digression: it was the voters who finally did for Ward, dumping him in May and leaving him unemployed. He is now, if you’re wondering, a mature student at Bradford University).
Sir Gerald’s comments were only reported by the mainstream media following Jeremy Corbyn’s belated, half-arsed intervention on Tuesday , a week after he aired them.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but if remarks such as those listed above were aimed at any other religious minority, would the reaction be different? True, far too many cases of sexism, racism, homophobia and other prejudiceare over-looked. Nonetheless, Jew-hate seems to be the one to which a blind eye is most-often turned.
When we see the Prime Minister hand over millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to protect our schools and shuls, we rightly congratulate him. When politicians from all parties sign up to back initiatives from the Holocaust Educational Trust or Board of Deputies, we rightly welcome them.
Yet when we are left wondering what action will be taken over the most egregious dalliances into antisemitic tropes – year in, year out – surely we have to question just how seriously Jew-hatred is taken.
This blog, too, will no doubt be dismissed with a simple shrug and that catchy old tune, “here we are, the Jews again”.
We come over all coquettish when David Cameron or one of his colleagues praises the Jewish contribution to Britain, but why do we not, en masse, demand action in a case such as Kaufman’s this week?
Many in our communities will say we should keep our heads down. We should not raise a fuss. We should acknowledge that we are small in number. We should do everything in our power not to invite further opprobrium.
No. When the powers that be sit back, raise their eyebrows and say “here we are, the Jews again”, we must respond with a strong voice and steely determination. We should say, frankly, “we’re not going to take this s*** anymore”.
No flinching, no backing away. Not anymore. Something has to change.
