BySandy Rashty, Sandy Rashty
PC Rashty? It's no job for a nice Jewish girl
August 6, 2015 14:12
1 min read
BySandy Rashty, Sandy Rashty
I have a confession to make.
I once dreamed of joining the Metropolitan Police. It sounded like a wonderful career opportunity, a chance to make a difference and help people more vulnerable than myself.
I thought of rescuing children who had been born into abusive homes, or women who were victims of domestic violence. I felt I had the strength of character and right demeanour to make a good officer. The danger the profession posed and the attacks officers face on a day to day basis, came, rightly or wrongly, as an afterthought.
To say I was discouraged from pursuing this as a viable career opportunity would be an understatement. I was laughed at.
One friend fell to the floor and rolled over laughing. PC Rashty had a funny ring to it, she thought. Most of my family dismissed this as the musings of a 14-year-old. One aunt, who took me seriously, recoiled with horror and asked whether I wanted to be killed?
And so, I gave up on the idea aged 16.
My “bobby on the beat” dreams might have indeed been the musings of a teenager, and I might have been fairly accused of not really considering what the job entailed. But what dreaming kid does?
What’s clear is I was never encouraged or supported by those around me to pursue the police as a viable profession. If I had said I wanted to be a calculator-bashing accountant, poised lawyer or doctor, I suspect those dismissals would not have come so easily.
And I wasn’t alone.
“It’s not a job for a nice Jewish girl,” they were told.
I was told that we didn’t know anyone who was a policeman or woman – and there was a reason for that.
At best, the logic was warped.
But now the Chief Rabbi has given the profession his backing and called on more Jewish men and women to join the force - pointing out that there are currently only 200 members of the Jewish Police Association.
The (far more sensible) logic goes: if the Jewish community is in need of more protection as a result of record levels of antisemitism in the UK, then surely we should contribute to that protection by way of supporting the police – rather than shunning it.
Whether such endorsement will boost the number of Jewish men and women in the police remains to be seen.
I suspect that what can only be described as snobbery towards the job, will be a far greater challenge for our community to overcome than the impact of the latest round of budget cuts.