We stay. We stand. We fight.
This was the message of Cable Street, the message that the Jewish community has always internalised in times of trouble. This is what the Jewish Labour Movement said to our members, all 2000-plus of them, when the Labour Party failed to expel Ken Livingstone. In the 24 hours following that result, 200 new members joined JLM, all determined to stand with us in our time of need.
It is no secret that it’s been a rough few years for Jewish members of the Labour Party. We should know, we’ve been at the eye of the storm. From cases of clear cut antisemitism taking a over year to reach closure, to councillors giving Heil Hitler salutes in full council, the issues don’t need re-hashing. One central theme remains. We believe that the Labour Party is the Party of equality, the Party built out of the anti-racist, anti-fascist movements our ancestors fought in, and the Party that can build a fairer future for our children. It's the Party that cares and the Party that best reflects our Jewish values. When the going gets tough, you don’t walk away, how do you expect anything to change if you do?
The Jewish Labour Movement has been affiliated to the Labour Party since 1920, we are the oldest affiliate and we are proud to be so. Since our affiliation nearly 100 years ago, we have campaigned for the Labour Party through the good times and the bad times. At the end of the day, one central tenet is true; we believe that a Labour government is preferable to a Conservative one. We look at what the last Labour government achieved, the national minimum wage, abolishment of Section 28, record investment in the NHS and so much more. These principles form the basis of JLM’s General Election Manifesto submission to the Party, a document rooted in Jewish values that can transform our country for the better, as Labour governments have always done.
There has been the question of JLM leaders and activists standing for the Labour Party in this General Election. There are five JLM activists standing in seats in London, Leeds and Scotland, as well as the Jewish Labour MPs fighting to retain their seats, and countless more of our affiliate members fighting seats across the country. If one has a problem with the current Labour Party, then what better than Jewish candidates, fighting to represent their Party? What better than more Jewish voices elected as Labour MPs with the drive and determination to rid our Party of antisemitism?
Jeremy Brier’s attack on JLM is not just an attack on those candidates. It is an attack on all we have achieved, and everything we have won. Look at those like Mike Katz and Jeremy Newmark who have won highly contested selection battles to stand as Labour candidates across the country. Look at how our friends at Labour Students and UJS helped deliver a crushing defeat for Malia Bouattia. Look at the well over 120 Labour MPs who joined our call for Livingstone’s immediate expulsion from the Labour Party. Look at the over 1400 signatures on our open letter in the Guardian. At constituency level we have been winning the battle at every level, and have trained over 1000 Labour Party members in six months in the most hostile of rooms. We have been fighting day in and day out for our community, and we are winning.
A point also stands here. Whilst for many of us, our faith defines our politics, our politics also defines the way we see the world. When we enter the ballot box, we look past the privileges we may or may not have, and we look at the world we want to see. We want a world where the world’s oldest hatred is no more, but we also want a working welfare state, education systems fit for purpose and a Brexit that doesn’t leave us in the dark ages. By voting for strong Labour MPs, who are not just friends of the Jewish community, but are part of it, we do just that. Mike Freer’s friends say these are special circumstances - but we remember the last general election when Mike suggested he, as a non-Jew, could be a more effective advocate for the community. That may be the Tory position - but as Democratic Jewish Socialists we believe in empowering our community to fight its own battles. As democrats we believe that voters have the right to choose and it is not for candidates to dictate who is entitled to oppose them.
Jeremy Brier claimed to put politics aside in his article. We won’t make such a false claim. We are political and proud to be so. We’ll stand up for our politics, fight antisemitism and improve the future of this country all in the same breadth. After all, if we walk away from the Labour Party, what stake do we have in its future?
Rabbi Danny Rich is a JLM member, as well as Labour’s candidate for West Finchley in May 2018
