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Nandy tells JLM she’ll ‘fight with ‘last breath in my body’ to allow them to express any view on Middle East
Culture Secretary told the Labour conference fringe event she was aware government policy on Israel had divided opinion of Jewish activists
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has vowed to “fight with the last breath in my body” to allow Jewish Labour Movement members to express whatever view they wish to on Israel and Palestine.
In a speech at the annual Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) reception at the Labour conference, Nandy acknowledged that Andy Burnham’s government’s new approach to Middle East policy had received a divided response among JLM activists.
She told attendees:“Some of you will support the stance that we’ve taken as a party, and some of you won’t. And I do want to acknowledge that.”
Nandy continued: “But what I want to say to you, absolutely unequivocally, is, I will fight with the last breath in my body for your right to express whatever views you want to on the Middle East. I respect the views of people in this room, even when we disagree. In fact, especially when we disagree, I will fight for your right to be heard, because that is the sort of movement we are.”
Nandy was joined by deputy leader Lucy Powell, Justice minister Sarah Sackman, and MP Matthew Patrick. The event was again full to capacity.
At one stage Powell admitted “the levels of antisemitism are just completely not obviously completely unacceptable, but are I believe are getting out of control.”
She said there was an urgent need to educate the next generation.
Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman, addressing the crowd alongside Progressive Judaism co-leader Rabbi Charley Baginsky, said:
“It’s 90 years since the Jewish community stood firm against fascism, alongside minority communities and leftist groups.
“Today our community is once again under threat, from multiple sources of extremism. We must continue to be defiant, live out our proud Jewish lives, and work with the Labour Government to ensure a prosperous British Jewish future.”
Sackman then added:“But we must also demand of our fellow progressives and anti-racist groups that they do not go missing or fall silent. They must stand up and be counted in standing firm against antisemitism, no matter its source, just as they did at Cable Street.”
Education Secretary Lucy Powell reflected: “I think the Jewish Labour Movement has always represented what I consider to be a long and enduring relationship between the Labour Party and the Jewish community.
“I know we have put that relationship under a great deal of stress many times in different years, and I hope we are through that period.”
Powell also spoke of what had been a “difficult year for the Jewish community in Manchester” after the Heaton Park Synagogue attack. She defended leader Andy Burnham, saying: “I know that it’s been difficult to maintain your support sometimes, but I really do appreciate that you have maintained that support. I hope that will continue and grow stronger in the coming months and years.
“We won’t be going back; we’ll be going forward strongly together. I can reassure you completely that Andy Burnham, as our Prime Minister, as our leader, is resolute on these issues as well.”
At one point, Powell noted ironically that “everyone looks a bit depressed” before adding: “Look, I think we can enjoy ourselves.”
Earlier, JLM national secretary Ella Rose-Jacobs spoke of how the movement had needed to do “difficult things.”
The decision to speak out against the government’s West Bank sanctions is known to have divided members. But she added:“We will always do what we believe to be right by our Jewish community, by our friends, by our families.
“Because when we go back to our community … we look our parents in the eye. We want to do the right thing by the community in our party.”
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