Letters to the Editor, 28 July 2023

The allegation by a disgruntled former Deputy, repeated by the paper, that the Board is “basically boycotting” the Israeli Government, again has no basis in fact. I have personally met high profile Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog, on at least three occasions in recent months. Other key Board of Deputies representatives have similarly met a number of senior Israeli government ministers for substantive meetings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the UK on a lightning visit in March of this year and did not meet any Jewish communal organisations while here. To link this to our previous condemnation of Betzalel Smotrich is without foundation.

The Board was accused of not being democratic, seemingly because a motion that was submitted had not been scheduled for debate at the upcoming plenary meeting. However, I had passed the motion to our executive committee — itself democratically elected by Deputies — and after it scrutinised the motion carefully it was decided that the motion was completely unworkable in its current form.

The primary source your article is based on claims to have taken great issue at the fact that he — and other Deputies — were not consulted regarding our statement on the Illegal Migrants Bill. At the time, he wrote me a glowing e-mail, in which he expressed his “unwavering support for the decision to issue a statement”, saying “we can’t possibly bury our heads in the sand”. At no point did he mention any unhappiness at not being consulted prior to this statement. People are entitled to change their minds, of course, but the protestations on this point ring rather hollow.

Your editorial claims that the Board is “overreaching its authority” by having issued a statement on the Illegal Migrants Bill, asking rhetorically whether the Board will campaign on education or health spending, for example, “because Jews use schools or the NHS”.

The JC appears to have forgotten that the Board does indeed have a wide range of publicly available policy positions in its Jewish Manifesto, on areas including, among other things, education and health — precisely because these are things which do impact on our community. The Board consulted widely both with Deputies and Jewish community stakeholders in the creation of this document, and such consultation is re-engaged every time the Manifesto is updated, prior to key elections. I would suggest taking a look at the article I wrote on the subject of the Jewish Manifesto in November 2019 — for the Jewish Chronicle.

This story merited a brief mention on page 20 — hence our brief and appropriate response to your original request for comment.  To have elevated such groundless claims against the Board of Deputies to take pride of place on your front page is a decision which borders on the farcical. We would respectfully request a much higher level of due diligence and transparency in future.

Marie van der Zyl
President, Board of Deputies of British Jews

What about debate?

What a surprise! Baroness Deech’s meeting with Holocaust survivors has been cancelled “over fears she would use their views in her campaign against the Westminster Holocaust Memorial” (Jewish Care cancels Ruth Deech meeting over her Shoah memorial campaigning, thejc.com, July 21).

Instead of welcoming a debate amongst survivors as you would expect, Jewish Care seems to be petrified that a significant number of them — as in our community generally — may have the chutzpah to oppose the “politically correct” position on this issue, and is denying them the opportunity to say so publicly.

Holocaust survivors expressing views against the memorial would have strengthened the arguments of the opponents of the project, thus embarrassing its leading advocates, who are extremely high profile members of the political and Jewish elite.

Come on, Jewish Care. Stop patronising Holocaust survivors and allow this discussion to go ahead.

Geoff Roland
Sale, Manchester

Just Stop comparisons

We are disgusted and dismayed by the statement by eco protest group Just Stop Oil comparing oil executives to the Nazi architects of the Holocaust including Adolf Eichmann, responsible for the murder of Jews in concentration camps, and likening the so called climate emergency to a “giant gas chamber” (Just Stop Oil spokeswoman claims all humans are in a ‘giant gas chamber’, thejc,com, July 21).

This is unacceptable, improper and inappropriate language, and a demeaning devaluation of the Holocaust.

This equates to the unacceptable comments of BBC presenter Gary Lineker comparing the government’s immigration policy to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. (Coincidentally, Lineker has recently shown support for the activities of Just Stop Oil, thus encouraging them to disrupt more sporting events.)

Eco zealot Dale Vince , one of the principal  funders of Just Stop Oil, is an anti-Zionist and avowed opponent of Israel.

The owner of football club Forest Green Rovers, he has flown the Palestinian flag at the club’s stadium and compared the situation in the Ukraine to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

Action Against Discrimination condemns these inflammatory comments of Just Stop Oil , as well as the similar language and comments of Lineker and Vince.

We call on Jewish community leaders to do likewise.

Jonathan Metliss
Chairman, Action Against Discrimination

Bennett’s debt

Tony Bennett owed much to Mitch Miller, the Jewish head of artists and repertoire at Columbia Records. It was Miller who first signed Bennett to Columbia, the label which Bennett stayed with for most of his career. Miller convinced Bennett to cover Hank Williams’ country hit Cold Cold Heart, against Bennett’s better judgment. The result was a number one hit.

Bennett and Miller clashed over material recorded by Bennett but without Miller’s guiding hand in those early days, we may not have still been talking about Tony Bennett all these years later.

This is without mentioning the many Jewish composers and songwriters whom Bennett promoted over his long career: his other two number one hits, Because of You and Rags to Riches, recorded with Miller at the helm, also had Jewish roots.

Theo Morgan
London, W9

Alive and kicking

Several outlets have declared that after the passing of Jules Konopinski, Sam Needleman is the last surviving member of the Jewish Ex Service anti-Fascist 43 Group (Anti-fascist street fighte Konopinski dies aged 93, July 21).

Happily this is untrue. Paul Beder is alive and well in north London. Paul was born in 1927 in Mother Levy’s Hospital in Stepney but lived in North Kensington. After RAF service aged 19, from 1946-48, he immediately joined the 43 Group and was involved in several violent confrontations with Mosley’s Fascists all over London.

Martin Sugarman
AJEX Archivist

A fishy tale

Giles Coren’s reminiscences about eating gefilte fish brought back memories of my family at Pesach preparing gefilte fish balls, neatly placing their carrot hats on top, and at the Seder meal  nearly spluttering the lot out by adding too much chraine (‘Fancy my fishballs [set in blue aspic], JC2, July 21).

The most amusing thing however was Giles’ revelation that a gefilte fish ball is a fish flavoured kneidel. I’d never looked at it like that but it is!

Caroline Dascal
London E8