Chief Rabbi Mirvis: National leadership turning 'blind eye' to 'civilisational threat'

The Chief Rabbi has expressed significant fear for Britain’s future, saying “our civilisation is under attack” and “our national leadership is choosing to turn a blind eye to that direct threat”.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the country was “moving away from a Christian-based, British identity” to something “more general”, leading him to “lament the weakness of the church”.

Interviewed for a new Jewish News series, What Next, which examines the state of Jewish life in Britain today, the Chief Rabbi praised the community’s “strength, fortitude and resilience”, but added: “There are some Jewish people who are letting us down.”

Asked to identify his main concern for the future, he said: “My greatest fear is for Britain itself – the future of our culture, our identity, our values. Our civilisation is under attack and my fear is exacerbated because I believe that our national leadership is choosing to turn a blind eye to that direct threat.”

“We can see the influence of other cultures coming. That is happening as well in terms of our value system, our beliefs, what it means to be British. I think that we’re seeing a definite move away from a Christian-based British identity towards a more general-based identity.

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“The weakness of the church I lament, because previously you had a society which was rooted in what we used to call a Judeo-Christian value system, but it has started to move away from that.”

To maintain hope for British Jews’ future in the country, the Chief Rabbi said it was vital for the community to remain “united”.

“If you would ask me what is something which upsets me more than anything? It’s the occasions on which there are some Jewish people who are letting us down. We need to be together in this. Ultimately we have to preserve Jewish unity at a time when there is such an enormous threat from without. We have to be united within. That for me is the call of the hour.”

He acknowledged that a proportion of British Jews were now questioning their long-term future in the country, but highlighted that the rise in aliyah rates was not “dramatic” and “there is no need for anybody to want to flee from Britain right now”.

The aftermath of 7 October was still being felt three years after the atrocity, he said, “and our enemies are milking whatever they can out of it at a PR level in order to poison the minds of people right around the world about Israel and about Jews”.

The Chief Rabbi outlined his belief that “ignorance” about Jews and Judaism was affecting the community’s position in Britain. He said it was difficult for non-Jews to understand how the impact of 7 October “ran so deep”.

“It’s mishpacha (family). We feel it. Something so awful and terrible had happened to Jewish people – echoes of the Holocaust. What our non-Jewish neighbours or colleagues didn’t appreciate was that for us it was like a bereavement for a member of family. They’re ignorant of it – ‘it’s a different country, so who cares?’ kind of thing. And that absence of appreciation meant that we weren’t met with sufficient empathy.”

A number of factors were contributing to a tone in society which encouraged hate speech, he said.

“There are images, there are sound bites, which educate, either positively or negatively. When a politician stands at the despatch box in Parliament and you can sense the hatred of Israel in that person’s voice – and here I’m not referring to a particular government – we’ve seen it, and that tone, that is irresponsible leadership.

“We know how hateful thoughts can so easily become translated into hate speech which in turn is only one step away from hate crime. And all these hateful thoughts fed to people irresponsibly through social media… through the support that’s been given to the lies about what has transpired in Israel on 7 October and since – all of that contributes to a tone in our society which then encourages hate speech.

“We have seen how the slogans and the pronouncements on our streets have then inspired hate crime and terrorist activity. So it all merges into one.”

The prevailing mood of the community was one of a group of people who have been “shaken”, the Chief Rabbi said.

A feeling of “despondency” and “vulnerability” among British Jews was understandable, but he added: “Our strength, our sense of fortitude, our resilience has just become expressed in a very natural way. When you think of it historically, that’s how Jewish people have always responded to testing and trying times.

“The reality is that we are definitely not alone. I encounter this on a daily basis. Whether it is from our Monarch to many people within the political landscape. We are aware of the people who disappoint us, but there are many others who are wonderful supporters of us.

“The silent majority is very much with us and supportive of Israel. I wish though that the silent majority would become more vocal and that is desperately something that we want people around the country to appreciate.

“I have had so many exceptionally encouraging experiences through messages and gestures from non-Jewish people who are going out of their way to express their support. We’ve got broad shoulders and we’re proud of what we are about. I know that the clear majority of people in Britain are very much with us.”

Watch the latest episode of What Next here: