Leap of faith: Jewish life can continue to thrive in the UK
A partnership of the state and its Jews is needed
A declaration of interests: I have traced a branch of my family in the United Kingdom to the early 18th century, although the majority of my antecedents fled antisemitism and poverty from Poland between 1840 and 1908. Also, I am Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, which is not only home to some 56,000 Jews – the largest Jewish community in the UK – but has recently been the scene of terrorist-inspired attacks on Hatzolah and Finchley Reform Synagogue.
The story of Jews in the UK is primarily one of welcome and achievement although it does not have an unblemished history, as the expulsion of the Jews of England in 1290, the world’s first blood libel centred on the case of William of Norwich in 1144 and the cases of Baron Lionel de Rothschild and Sir David Salomon (both elected but unable to serve in Parliament in the 1840s) attest.
Jewish communities have a remarkable capacity to survive but it requires a partnership of the state and its Jews for Jewish life to thrive.
The response of the Metropolitan Police, Barnet Council and other statutory bodies to the recent outrages, should provide reassurance that an attack on the Jewish community is an affront to all decent individuals and their representatives.
Furthermore, the grant of more than £28 million of taxpayers’ money to the Community Security Trust (CST), coupled with the decision by King Charles become patron of CST, affirms that joint public and Jewish vigilance will secure, to the best of our ability, the safety of Jews in the UK.
Despite an inauspicious start (see earlier), Jews in the United Kingdom are protected by modern equality law and have been so since the Jewish Relief Act 1858, which enabled Jews to take a modified oath as a Member of Parliament.
Today there are hardly any public offices which a Jew may not occupy, perhaps symbolically demonstrated by the participation of Jewish Baroness Gillian Meron in the coronation of the King. In a recent policy paper, the Prime Minster declared: “Antisemitism {is} morally unacceptable {and} a threat to the fabric of the nation.”
Everything else rests with the commitment and efforts of the Jewish community itself. From birth to death, in arts and sport, on the environment and caravanning, in political parties and pressure groups, Jews are playing significant roles either as a separate Jewish partner or associated with the whole.
Jewish life has never been easy, and my suspicion is that it was never intended to be. I understand the fears and challenges of those Jews contemplating a move to the United States, Dubai or even Israel but recent evidence shows these societies are not without their own dilemmas.
Meanwhile Jews and Jewish communities here continue to thrive and enjoy the benefits of Jewish thinking, traditions and practice in a United Kingdom which may have its challenges, but which offers a backdrop for continuing Jewish success.
Rabbi Danny Rich is Senior Rabbi of Southgate Progressive Synagogue
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