MP Ivan Lewis' support for Israel has cemented his support with Jewish voters
April 15, 2010 15:27ByJonathan Kalmus, Jonathan Kalmus
At least one of Bury South's three main Israel-friendly candidates may have been thought of as a "tentacle" in recent weeks.
But the more critical voting factor for its historically Jewish MPs in a general election is the trend to swing the pendulum of power towards whoever stands for the nationally winning party.
Labour MP Ivan Lewis has held the seat since 1997. His most recent Middle East responsibilities for the Foreign Office and public support of Israel have cemented his reputation with Jewish voters.
Before him it was Conservative MP David Sumberg, who held the seat throughout the Tory government from 1983. But Mr Lewis is not intimidated by opponent Michelle Wiseman riding a Conservative victory wave, or anti-Israel campaigners.
He said: "The Israel debate goes wrong where people are asked to choose between being a friend of Israel and supporting the Palestinians. I've always resisted this as fundamentally flawed. I think voters here will be most concerned with who can provide the future wellbeing and quality of life for their families."
Mr Lewis is the home-grown boy who went to Whitehall. Once chief executive of welfare charity, the Manchester Jewish Federation, he has held ministerial posts at the departments of Health, International Development, and the Treasury.
Conservative rival and chief executive of Manchester Jewish Community Care, Michelle Wiseman, is also a friend of Israel. She could pull support from affluent Jewish voters in her home turf of Whitefield where she's been a councillor for seven years. While the Jewish vote in Bury South is relatively small, at around nine per cent, Mrs Wiseman thinks it's important.
"Jewish education is a big issue. The recent JFS ruling has caused a lot of unrest with heads of Jewish schools here. A lot of people like Michael Gove being behind us on change of law and faith schools."
Mrs Wiseman has to swing a Labour majority of 8,912 (22.7 per cent), a task not likely for Liberal Democrat candidate, accountant Vic D'Albert, who gained 17 per cent of the vote in the last election. A member of his party's Friends of Israel, he has nearly 20 years of experience as a Prestwich councillor (his wife is also on the council), and is hoping to gain voters disillusioned with the two main parties.
His wider perspective as an outsider to the Jewish community is that people "want to know they can live without facing daily antisocial behaviour, and like what we say about fairness in taxes and education".
On Wednesday night, Tory leader David Cameron spoke in the predominantly Jewish area of Whitefield in a rally to back Mrs Wiseman. Accountant Peter Black, from Whitefield, said Mr Cameron's speech "aligned well with Jewish values. He echoed a point made by the Chief Rabbi. What people need is to realise their obligations and not their rights."