Rabbi of largest synagogue in Brent accuses Council leaders of creating ‘hostile environment’ for community
EXCLUSIVE: Brondesbury Park's Rabbi Baruch Levin directly criticises Brent Council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt in speech at terror attack memorial event
The rabbi of the largest synagogue in Brent has accused the Council’s leadership of fostering an “environment of hostility and incitement” toward local Jews—warning that such conditions enable atrocities like the recent Manchester attack.
Speaking at Brent Civic Centre last Monday, Brondesbury Park Synagogue’s Rabbi Baruch Levin delivered a searing speech to an audience that included Labour council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt, MP Barry Gardiner, and Schools Minister Georgia Gould.
He began by expressing horror at the Yom Kippur attack, which, he noted, struck at a place “supposedly sacred and protected as a house of worship.”
Levin declared, “Hate of this kind, whether against the Jewish community or any other, simply has no place in a civilised society.”
He then went on to argue that incitement operates on two levels: “through explicit calls to hate or violence,” and more subtly, “which intentionally or not gives legitimacy to those who promote antisemitism and hostility towards the Jewish community.”
Focusing on this “second form,” Levin cited the Brent-Nablus Twinning Proposal, backed by the Council leadership, which he said “has left Jewish residents of Brent feeling isolated, alienated and unsafe in the very borough they call home.”
Much of the borough’s sizable Jewish community has been joined by communal leaders in expressing dismay at the plan to twin the borough with the West Bank city at a time of rising antisemitism and tension due to the Gaza conflict.
Levin continued: “That this point has not been heard or understood by the council leadership was underscored profoundly by an email I received yesterday from the Brent Nablus Twinning Association, addressed to the leaders and members of the Jewish community of Brent, expressing its deepest sympathies following the tragic events in Manchester and stating that it exists to promote friendship and understanding across communities.”
The rabbi remarked, “How deeply ironic and contradictory!
“The very same association pressing ahead with twinning plans—ignoring the Jewish community’s pleas and at the cost of permanent damage to Brent’s social cohesion—claims to promote friendship and understanding.
“And while offering sympathies after a terror attack, it actively supports a twinning proposal with Nablus, home to multiple terror organisations whose actions are opposed to the ideals of coexistence, democracy, and humanity that Brent supposedly represents.”
Addressing Cllr Butt and the Council leadership directly, Rabbi Levin asked: “Why is Brent so intent on advancing a gratuitous and nakedly political initiative, even at the expense of communal harmony and at the cost of marginalising its Jewish community?
“Why engage in international adventurism when so much positive grassroots work is needed locally to promote genuine respect and understanding among communities, especially given the challenging backdrop in the Middle East?”
Looking towards Cllr Butt he added: “Leader of the Council, these are questions I address to you today.
“My conclusion, I am sad to say and with a heavy heart, is that you and the leadership of Brent Council are complicit in creating an environment in which hostility and incitement against the Jewish community has been allowed to flourish, resulting in the atrocity we witnessed in Manchester last Thursday.”
He said he could not “in good conscience as a Jewish resident of this borough, pose for a picture with the leadership of Brent and pretend all is well,” adding, “That would put a lie to my sense of alienation, disenfranchisement, and deep disappointment with those elected to represent all residents, who have ignored the pain and distress of the Jewish community.”
Rabbi Levin closed with a call for hope: “I look forward to better times when we can stand together in true solidarity.”
His remarks drew repeated applause from the audience at the event, organised by Brent Council and the Brent Multi-Faith Forum in response to the terror attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue.
Also speaking at the event was Councillor Neil Nerva who also warned that events in the Middle East was not impact on community cohesion in the borough.
Afterwards, a senior Jewish Labour figure praised Levin’s speech as “much needed” and called for the Labour Party to take “firm” action against Brent Council’s leadership.
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