LONDON — The last few years have brought mounting anxiety for British Jewry. It has been an absolutely shocking time. Boris Johnson’s victory over the extreme left-wing Labour party has been almost like the escape from Haman.
The situation has nothing to do directly with BREXIT, which has obsessed our country for over three years.. Brexit itself has no direct Jewish dimension to it. Yet ironically it is Brexit that has saved British Jewry.
The problem stems from the attitude of the Labour Party, the main opposition party to the Conservative government. Several years ago, Labour was taken over by the far left leader Jeremy Corbyn. His acolytes completely dominate the Party, They have absolutely terrified the Jewish community ever since. This mostly stems from their utter obsession with “ Palestine.” This has led them to regard Jews as beyond the pale, with them unable to recognize the difference between Israel and British Jewry.
Most of the Jewish Labour Members of Parliament were subjected to such a torrent of abuse and anti-Semitism, that they were forced to stand down, or in one case at least to change party allegiance.
British Jews have particularly close ties with Israel, through family links, or having apartments in Israel and holidaying there. The Labour party wanted to immediately recognize Palestine, and a severe boycott of Israel was clearly coming.
We seemed to be on our own in this onslaught. The newspapers gave the issue prominence, but one must take on board the fact that the general population seemed unconcerned. They didn’t seem to understand, illustrating the apparent failure of 75 years of Holocaust education to make any significant inroad into the general consciousness.
Last week was one of increasing concern. The opinion polls showed a very close race. Many of us had our bags packed, metaphorically if not actually. We considered to which country we would flee. By Thursday, the day of the election, we were extremely anxious. How could this threat be there in 21st century Britain?.
However the British people did come up trumps, and decisively rejected Corbyn and fellow travelers. Londoners mostly voted for Corbyn, which is depressing in a so called multi-cultural cosmopolitan city. However the good people of non-metropolitan England voted massively against Corbyn. The main reason was because they had voted for Brexit, and the Labour party had campaigned essentially to ignore their voice on the Brexit issue. The electorate was insisting that their Brexit vote be honored, and turned to Boris Johnson who did promise to honor Brexit.
However the anti-Semites in the Labour Party still exist, and unless they can be purged, it will be a problem that is likely to return in the future. But meanwhile, we rejoice, and are overwhelmed with relief. Most of us were genuinely frightened.
However the main lesson, to my mind, is that we Jews cannot rely on the general population to understand our fears. We recognize anti-Semitism when we see it, other people do not, and maybe can’t be expected to have that experience. When the chips are down, we are on our own.
Note- this article represents my personal opinion and experiences. I cannot speak for others.
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Lloyd Levy is a freelance writer based in London. He may be contacted via lloyd.levy@sdjewishworld.com