Sunday 22 December 2019

How (not) to tackle antisemitism in the Age of Boris

My latest at Patheos


Extract:
God on your side

The rabbinic leader of the UK’s Sephardi community, Rabbi Joseph Dweck, had his own take on the outcome of the election, telling the Jerusalem Post: “I believe that it was a divinely inspired result”.
Was the rabbi being ‘tongue in cheek’ when he said this? I sincerely hope so. Otherwise it begs too many painful questions about God’s lacklustre performance in Jewish affairs. Personally, I find it difficult to believe that the Almighty was at work in Blyth Valley but not at Buchenwald.

Read the full post at Patheos 

Saturday 7 December 2019

Archbishop Justin, you need some new Jewish friends


MY LATEST AT PATHEOS


Following the Archbishop of Canterbury's support for the Chief Rabbi's condemnation of Labour; and the publication of the Church of England's new landmark report on antisemitism in the Church, I suggest to Archbishop Justin that he needs to find some new Jewish friends that will better help him to navigate Israel/Palestine as well as understand the uses and abuses of #antisemitism.

This is the final part of my trilogy of General Election commentary.

Extract:

"It made me wonder though, does the Church of England have a bigger problem with antisemitism than the Labour Party? After all, I’ve seen and heard over the years how hymns, liturgy, scripture, and teaching can still create a ‘hostile environment’ for even the most sympathetic Jew who happens to be present. However, I’ve never felt the need to call for a boycott of the Church of England, or for the Archbishop of Canterbury to be condemned for a failure of leadership or held personally accountable for enabling a tradition of antisemitism. Instead, I welcome the efforts that have been made over the decades to address the problem and build reconciliation. I wonder why the same generosity of spirit has not been applied by the Chief Rabbi to the Labour Party considering the action it has taken in just a few months? Am I so wrong to think that a bigger political agenda could be at play?"

Read full letter at Patheos