The new sectarianism

JVL Introduction

As Joseph Finlay says on his newish blog Torat Albion, in this election no Jews was good news.

Unlike 2019 which was dominated by the very Jewish issue of antisemitism, this time it was Muslims who hit the headlines.

An unprecedented five independents defeated Labour candidates and became MPs, all bar Corbyn Muslim, all campaigning on a platform firmly centred on Gaza and Palestine.

And many others making Gaza a central focus of their campaigning got large votes

For Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons this offers a “glimpse into a horrifying future”.

But remember the 2019 election: for leaders like Steven Pollard, Jonathan Arkush, Jonathan Goldstein and the leaders of the CST and the Campaign Against Antisemitism, it was war, and they happily  mobilised Jews on communitarian grounds.

So Finlay objects strongly to the bad faith involved today:

“If our community engages in communitarian politics, then we really can’t complain when others do as well. To suggest that our sectarian politics is benign while theirs is threatening smacks of double standards and Islamophobia…”

RK (h/t NW)

This article was originally published by Torat Albion, Thoughts on about Jewishness, Anti/Philosemitism and Israel/Palestine from a UK perspective on Sun 14 Jul 2024. Read the original here.