Some Northeast Jews speak out in support of Jamie Driscoll
JVL Introduction
We repost this letter from a group of Jewish residents in the Northeast in support of Jamie Driscoll.
In it they make clear their recognition of Driscoll’s commitment to the region and its people, and their dismay at any attempt to smear his integrity by making oblique references to alleged Jewish concerns or allegations against him.
RK
Why we issued our Open Letter about Jamie Driscoll
On June 7th, a group of Jewish residents in the northeast, living in the new mayoral region for which the Labour Party is currently selecting its candidate, issued an Open Letter expressing its concern at the Party’s decision to exclude Jamie Driscoll, the sitting Mayor of North of Tyne from its selection process. Here Benny Ross, one of the signatories, introduces the letter and explains why it was issued.
Northeast England has a very small Jewish population. Its biggest component, the ḥaredi (strictly orthodox) enclave in Gateshead, has limited interaction with the outside world. The rest of us mostly live in or near Newcastle, which has two synagogues, and range from moderately observant to secular Jews.
On the whole, the organised Jewish community and its official leadership tend towards conservatism, unwavering support for Israel, and a strong aversion to stepping out of line. In these conditions, finding even ten Jews who would dare to publicly question the Jewish establishment’s narrative is a difficult task. So we can only admire the Labour machine’s achievement in provoking twelve of us to sign an open letter.
We hold widely differing views on politics, Zionism, religion and other matters, but we appreciate the Mayor’s commitment to the region and its people; we know that he treats residents, negotiating partners and opponents with respect; and we resent being used as a stick to beat him with.
An open letter to Labour and to news media in northeast England
7 June 2023
We the undersigned live in the areas that are to be merged into a new mayoral region. We are all also Jewish. We all take pride in our religious and cultural heritage, but we don’t expect that heritage to be dragged into factional disputes within a national political party.
We note with concern that Labour’s decision to exclude Mayor Jamie Driscoll from standing for mayor of the proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority has been linked in some reports with attempts to insinuate that he encourages or tolerates antisemitism.
We call upon the Labour party, the Jewish Labour Movement, Jewish Voice for Labour, the Representative Council of North East Jewry and the Board of Deputies of British Jews to state unequivocally and truthfully:
- that the decision to exclude Jamie Driscoll from the shortlist was not prompted by the local Jewish community or its representatives
- that it was purely a manoeuvre to keep a popular and successful mayor out of a more prominent position where his perceived position on the left of Labour could potentially be embarrassing to the current Labour leadership
- that Jamie Driscoll is not and has never been an antisemite, but is in fact a principled campaigner against all forms of racism, including antisemitism
- that any attempt to smear Mayor Driscoll’s integrity by making oblique references to alleged Jewish concerns or allegations against him would be inappropriate, potentially libellous, and could well have the unintended effect of generating hostility against Jewish people or organisations.
We call upon other Jewish residents to join us in signing this open letter, which will be sent to local news media and to the organisations named above.
Signed: (alphabetical order)
Jenny Benn
Gay Bernstone
Alice Bondi
Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts
Jenny Friend
Sol Gamsu
Lin James
Sherene Meir
Rita Elizabeth Mendelson
Benny Ross
Jenny Secretan
Adam Stock
cc: Mayor Jamie Driscoll
The Labour Party, Kings Manor Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6PA
Jewish Labour Movement
Jewish Voice for Labour
Board of Deputies of British Jews
Representative Council of North East Jewry
BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Look North
Metro Radio
ITV News Tyne Tees
The Journal
The Chronicle
Northern Echo
Northumberland Gazette
Hexham Courant
Benny Ross has lived in Newcastle upon Tyne since 1998. After many years volunteering as a cheder (Jewish Sunday school) teacher, he became a teacher in real life. Being Jewish is important to him, but he doesn’t think Jews are more important than other people.
Image: Jamie Driscoll. Source/Author: North of Tyne Combined Authority, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
It would be interesting to hear what the longstanding Newcastle politician, committed Zionist, but critic of West Bank annexation, Jeremy Beecham (Baron Beecham of Benwell) has to say on the matter – if anything.
I’ve not heard anyone talk about Jamie Driscoll standing as an indy. Is that likely?
Harvey, thank you for your comment, but I’m sorry to say that Jeremy Beecham’s state of health makes it unlikely that he will be able to take an active role in politics in future.
As for Jamie standing as an independent, I’d prefer not to speculate, but I don’t think it’s very likely.
@Stan Was :
He should do, if he can get the backing from the unaffiliated Unions.
Recently, Independent Candidates have done very well in Local Elections.
Three in Liverpool, one in East Yorkshire. There may be others that I’ve missed.
Benny, Thanks for your response. I am sorry to hear that Jeremy Beecham is in ill health. I haven’t lived in Newcastle for twenty three years now. I was however very familiar with a substantial tradition of Newcastle Jewish establishment local political commitment to social justice and socio-economic improvement in some of the poorest and most deprived council wards in the city. Most notably, Bennie Abrahams, Marion Abrahams, Theresa Russell, Dr. Henry Russell. Jeremy Beecham fitted easily into that tradition.
All of these long-serving councillors were also of course ingrained with the idea and the ideals of the state of Israel. To abstract all this and locate it in the wider context, it is fascinating to contemplate whether such dedicated political campaigners for fundamental human rights would have any more sympathy for Palestinian rights now than they had twenty, forty, sixty years ago or how they might have responded to the anti-democratic silencing of Ken Loach, Jamie Driscoll et. al.
He will definitely stand and more than likely other parties will step aside to give him a clear run
Will be good to see JC standing in London and endorsing Jamie Driscoll. Along with Ken Loach and every other Democrat
I’d just like to thank all of you for your bravery, kindness and integrity for sticking your heads above the parapet, it’s no small thing.