Corbyn attends a Jewdas seder – and the sky falls in
So Jeremy Corby attended a seder organised by Jewdas, which describes itself as “radical voices for the alternative diaspora”. And the sky falls in and the Twittersphere goes into meltdown…
Enough is enough.
Why I’m glad Corbyn came to the Jewdas Seder
Last night I attended a Seder to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover), held in Islington by a group called Jewdas. Before the fourth cup of wine had even been drunk, a story appeared on the right-wing Guido Fawkes blog, painting those who attended as extremists and the Twittersphere went into meltdown. Why? Because Jeremy Corbyn came to celebrate with us.
Jeremy could not have been a more gracious guest. Anyone who knows anything about the Passover Seder knows that it is not a quick event. It lasted over four hours, with Jeremy an active participant from start to finish, leading the prayer for Elijah’s cup, singing along with us as best he could, and even bringing along beetroot from his own allotment for our (vegan) Seder plate. He made an effort to speak to anyone who wanted to speak to him, about anything, and stayed long after the event to make sure that no one who wanted a picture left without one despite being obviously tired.
Now, with everything happening in the Labour Party, including Jeremy’s own inability in the past to identify and challenge antisemitism, and the party’s institutional failing to get a grip on it, you would think this would be something to be commended. While Jewdas are a left-wing group of predominately young Jewish people, those wishing to demonise Jeremy Corbyn have painted a deeply offensive and misrepresentative picture of the group as somehow antithetical to the “mainstream Jewish community”.
Yet many of last night’s attendees are absolutely part of the “mainstream community”. A number of us, myself included, are paying synagogue members and active in communal life, but we also recognise the failings of many of our communal institutions and communities – particularly when it comes to gender and queer identities, as well as the issue of Israel and the extent to which we do or don’t identify with it as part of our Judaism. It is untrue to say that there is any one narrative, political or otherwise, within Jewdas. It is a collective space where we can have uncomfortable conversations – what unites us all is the fact that we are Jewish.
From conversations with many young Jewish people in the Labour Party and the wider left, the primary grievance in recent years has been that too often we feel like we need to be apologetic for being Jewish in left-wing spaces, and apologetic for being left-wing in Jewish spaces. At last night’s Seder, we could unapologetically be both. It was a space where no one felt like they needed to be on guard, and we could just enjoy our festival celebrations for what they were, and where no one was priced out of participating. Anyone who was at last night’s event can tell you that it was everything you want in a good Seder: well-natured, humorous, boisterous at times, and accessible to those covering a whole spectrum of degrees of observance and Hebrew/Yiddish language skills.
It is not for non-Jewish people, in criticising Corbyn’s attendance, to determine what is and isn’t a legitimate expression of the Jewish faith. Many of the criticisms I’ve seen are themselves anti-Semitic. For those in the community who want to paint Jeremy’s attendance as an act of provocation, rather than an attempt to listen, engage, and share our festival with us, it’s actually just alienating many young Jewish people further and validating Jewdas’ very existence.
The Jewish community is not one monolithic bloc; part of its beauty is in its plurality and diversity. It’s absolutely right that, particularly when some community gatekeepers are refusing to meet with Corbyn, he nonetheless shows willingness to engage with the community at all levels, to listen and to learn, and be a gracious guest. If you want to see this for yourself, do as Jewdas did and simply invite him.
Charlotte Nichols is Women’s Officer of Young Labour.
Great piece. Captures what I know of JC and the spirit of it all – although I wasn’t there!. Hope you had a good and reflective time regardless of the assault.
A great piece, yet even the author underplays the diversity of Jews! My family’s Seder only lasted an hour or so, since we are all atheists and agonistics plus we missed out the plagues (bar enumerating them) since we decided it was mean to the Egyptians, and one must forgive and forget!
I am glad the author finds the criticisms anti-Semitic. So do I. I feel personally affronted. Those Labour Right-Wingers who criticised Jeremy really ought to be REQUIRED to go on a diversity course to learn about the very wide variety of Jews.
The Labour Right have exposed themselves as only being interested in protecting the “right type of Jew”. In this regard talk of the “mainstream” community is meaningless since it is anyone’s guess whether the supporters of the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council constitute the majority, or whether the bulk of British Jews is in fact far more diverse.
A very realistic and a very good article. I have no reason to doubt the validity of the occasion as presented by the author, and I praise the comments made by others as above. How refreshing it is to hear talk of diversity and ideas of requirement to know by experiencing and learning. There is far too much hearsay and it can only be a good to hear first hand evidence. Great! AND Thanks.
A really great piece of writing, Charlotte. Thanks JVL for sharing this.
It would be a great piece of work to delineate the chronology, organisational composition and individual participants behind the egregious vilification of Jeremy Corbyn – a topographic snapshot of vile reaction.
Undoubtedly there are anti-semitic (and most certainly, racist and anti-feminist) elements in all political parties, but the disproportionate and vitriolic nature of the attack on Corbyn et al seems at complete variance to the empirical evidence. What I find most disturbing, and I heard this tacitly implied at the outset of this orchestrated ‘moral panic’, is the inference that Corbyn’s ineffectual leadership/complicity facilitates a safe haven for anti-semitic elements, which further besmirches the sacred memory of those destroyed by the holocaust. How dare this amalgam of highly influential and reactionary ‘authorities’collateralize their arguments with such vile calumnies? Vile indeed, and yes, extremely dangerous.
I’m only beginning to comprehend the scale of the task ahead….. getting Jeremy Corbyn into No.10 and commencing the healing process that the UK is in desperate need of. Thanks for the article.
Well said Charlotte. You have written a calm and objectively crafted piece, well balanced and without the hysterics that those on the right seem to drum up anytime Corbyn makes a statement or appears at an event. Corbyn has made it clear that he will vigorously tackle anti-semitism in the Labour Party so we should give him the chance to do so. If he fails, then we can pass judgement. What I find depressing is that the right have hijacked the anti-semitism narrative and are guilty of conflating Corbyn’s empathy for the plight of the Palestinians with anti-semitism. They are two separate things.