Rabbi Margaret Jacobi
31 March 2018

The demonstration organised last week by the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council against anti-semitism in the Labour party was unprecedented in recent times. Jews came together from across the political spectrum, from Labour to Conservative, many of whom would normally not be supporters of either the Board or the Leadership Council. They were united by a concern that Jeremy Corbyn was tolerating anti-semitism in the Labour party, playing it down and failing to respond to it as he would any other form of racism. Indeed, it seems that it is only recently that he has even be able to talk specifically about anti-semitism, rather than talk about racism in general, with anti-semitism in parenthesis. As Hadley Freeman put it in the Guardian, explaining why she joined the protest, ‘I was furious after a weekend of news stories about how Corbyn had once again endorsed antisemitic behaviour and failed to take responsibility for it until public opinion forced him to do so. Deja vu? Groundhog Day more like.’

The reaction of supporters of Jeremy Corbyn only served to make it clear that the demonstration was both necessary and justified. They continued to deny anti-semitism and insist it was all a plot by Zionists against Jeremy Corbyn. I was initially unsure whether a demonstration would be helpful but it is clear that it has brought the issue into the open and forced Jeremy Corbyn to respond, though whether the response will be adequate remains to be seen.

Anti-semitism has been called a ‘light sleeper’. Some forty years ago, I vividly remember my father giving a sermon on Pesach about ‘Leyl Shemurim’, the night of watching before the Exodus, which our Torah reading describes. It is unclear who does the watching. Some commentators suggest it is God, who watches over the children of Israel as they prepare for their freedom. Others suggest it is Israel who must be vigilant. For us, sadly, it is clear that we must still be vigilant. Forty years ago, the rise of anti-semitism was not as evident as it is today but the far right was on the rise and, as my father pointed out in his sermon, we could never take for granted that anti-semitism would not arise again. It is indeed a light sleeper and today it has been roused. Last year, the CST recorded 1,382 anti-semitic incidents, the highest that it has ever recorded. It can be found in the Labour party, but also in right-wing and far-right groups, amongst some Muslims and the general public. In France, the situation is still worse, with the terrible murder of Mireille Knoll, an 86-year old Holocaust survivor on the same day as the demonstration here.

The coincidence of Easter and Pesach reminds us that the Seder night has always had to be a night of vigilance. One of the reasons we open the door during the Seder is to express our trust at a time of real fear, when at Easter the Jews would be accused of killing Christ and would often be murdered. For many years, the Jews would only have white wine at the Seder for fear of the blood libel, the accusation that they were drinking blood at the Seder. It is indeed horrific that the blood libel still continues to circulate.

For the most part, the nature of anti-semitism has changed. There has been much work done by the Churches after the Holocaust and by the Council of Christians and Jews, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary, to recognise and acknowledge Christian anti-semitism and its roots in the Gospels. Now anti-semitism is political and there is an urgent need for the far-left to look at its own teachings, especially the link it makes between Jews, capitalism and imperialism.

We cannot and should not need to do the work on our own. We have some remarkable allies in the fight against anti-semitism, such as Ian Austin in nearby Dudley, John Mann, who chairs the Parliamentary group on anti-semitism, and David Lammy, who since attending the rally has faced calls for deselection. None of them are doing it through self-interest, but rather because they believe it to be the right thing to do.

As we celebrate Pesach this year, our leyl shemurim, our night of watching, is a reminder that we need to be continually vigilant. Even as we celebrate our freedom, we know that freedom can never be taken for granted. Whether it is our own freedom from anti-semitism and persecution or the freedom of others, it must be perpetually guarded. Freedom is too easily lost. It may begin with small steps, a few comments which might seem excusable, but if these are not addressed they go further, become more vicious and lead to threats and eventually violence. May our celebration of Pesach renew our vigilance against any threats to freedom, to ourselves or to others, so that the time may at last come when all may be truly free from persecution and fear, so that the ancient prophesy may be fulfilled: ‘Vayashvu ish tachat gafno v’tachat t’aynato v’ayn machrid – Each person will dwell under their own vine and their own fig tree and none shall make them afraid’.