View from London: Independent Jewish Voices - A more British than Jewish affair

Independent Jewish Voices, IJV is a good phenomenon in one way. But there are some errors in their proposal or set up, which is why they shall not receive my signature.

First of all it is, and I am sorry nobody pointed this out, too British. As a Jew who was born in Germany, lived in Holland, Israel and now in Britain, I have a strong feeling that these British brethren, some of them very vocal, will oppress and side line people like myself, whose syntax and British voice is too weak to compete with them.

Amongst people possibly also excluded, the 1000s of Israelis who live here either because the political climate in Israel was no longer to their liking, or much more likely because job opportunities were much better here, or a combination of both. I find them (Indep. Jewish Voices) personally suffocating and I have no intend to be in their collective number, even if I like some of them, or others would say the fact that I do a PhD at a Jewish and Hebrew Department, and I am left leaning and my blog says "Independent" politically it should maybe put me there.

British Jewry in general but also the new group is talking to mostly itself, about Israel, and without much knowledge on Israel, apart from the Radio Four and Guardian news bulletin, that already made three quarters of their non Jewish fellows hostile to the idea of Israel. Israel the Apartheid state, Israel the occupier, Israel the pariah state. This combined with some sort of stance against the Board of Deputies (BOD) the institutional representative body of Jewish (religious) life in the UK.

They say (on the Guardian debates) that they wish to support the left in Israel, the right to be secular and Jewish and be against BOD. From where did they come from. When did they ever make their homework or voice that view earlier with others?

On Secular Issues / BOD
In 2002 I was in enthusiastic exchange with the International Jewish Humanist Society. Their function was to promote the esprit of Humanist Jewish congregations in the US, that followed a Jewish life cycle without insistence (but not necessarily exclusion either of ) of believes for God or prayers to God. Their argument is very much one of, identification with Judaism rather than disaffection. I soon found a madriha (= Jewish humanist leader 1/2 a rabbi) in London, Laura Miller and since 2002, despite a now discontinued web site, the only ever new people apart from her I saw interested in this, were Jewish Socialists, who have their own particular outlook. Until today, Laura Miller tells me, it is her dream to get things going here in London, and she never quite understood why it was that something quite wide spread in the US was simply not able to work in Britain, although there are communities in France and Belgium. So there is a group and format that already represents secular Judaism and it does so, so successfully in the US that Humanist Jews are at least tolerated by the other streams , ordain Rabbis, and can marry and bury people. I guess this would perhaps be news to many of the members.

I think personally that what is common here is the "ducking policy." Many Jews are in deed what one would describe self-hating or ar least embarrassed by being Jewish or having a connection with Israel. Rather than be proudly what ever they are, here in Britain in the climate of politeness and hiding your opinion behind the curtain, people are rather mute than stand up. This is not to admit that vocal left wing activism would still be labeled 'self-hating' by the right, but I guess even they would admit a preference for people taking stances, even if they dislike or disagree with them. In that sense IJV is perhaps an outburst of suppressed feelings.

On Jewish Academia.
I have spent years in Jewish university education at universities both in Leeds and London. Most of the lectures in Jewish, even Israeli studies are dimly attended, except if one of the media icons like the polarly opposed Chomsky and Dershowitz fall down from the U.S. skies upon British shores. I had massive fights with scholarship funding because researching Jewish / Israeli issues is simply not that popular. Rarely, if ever does one see one of the souls that signed up to IJV attending any of the lectures, some of them very progressive. Even an event at Amnesty International's head quarters on Neve Shalom / Wahat al Salam, only this January, 'right-on' the left wing taste buts, counted barely 25 people. They only turn up, in more prestigious settings, be it at the Jewish book week or the Jewish Film Festival to schmooze around in a flair of egocentricity.

On the Left Wing
The meetings of the Jewish Socialist movement are slightly better attended, but still they are a quite small group, and their strong secular and socialist drive, will always put some people off, although they shout very loudly within the Jewish community, including their own magazine. For a while around 1900 and again in the 1980s and 1990s one could have thought there are only two types of Jews in Britain, socialists and religious ones. Even I wondered if I ought to join the socialists as I was not very much in the other (religious) band, none or not many of their members by the way as well are non British born as far as I know.

On Israeli civil and Human Rights
What is even more surprising in the light of the IJV claims is that neither did they find or want to help the promotion, building and representation of the only body in the UK, that in deed represented civil rights, environmental issues, social issues, and amicable relations with Arabs and Bedouins in and outside of Israel. That group is Meretz. Since the 1990s they have been struggling to keep going. Sad really that those who claim they wish to support forces within Israel that are representing them, failed to spot Meretz on the political landscape. Perhaps it is the fact that Meretz is a Zionist party, for it believes in Israel rather than Britain, that bothers UK left Jews?

On Pacifism
Peace Now (UK), the body that is the outgrowth of massive anti war mobilization in Israel, was "so overwhelmed" with active members that their activities during the Hezbollah - Israel war were an "exiting" void. This was due to the fact that the chairman was recently bereaved and nobody there to pick up the pieces. No independent voices then, even amidst the rocket launchers and Israeli counter attacks to assist the Israel Left from within. The Jewish pacifist thus in the UK are seemingly very passive.

On Shoa survivors and legacy
Anne Karpf known for her books on second generation shoa children said that Israel would not speak for the descendants of survivors. That is of course because she sees herself as that voice? Whilst we may dislike the use of the shoa in order to justify the occupation and the ethos of a strong Israel, at least Israel does have a voice on the shoa (now, as opposed to the past when it brushed over it) and there is in my humble opinion a lack of appreciation exactly by a woman who dealt with survivors and the children that contextualizes much of what happens wrongly in Israeli society. It is not exactly like there is much support in Britain, especially for those who are descendants of shoa survivors. Shalvata the UK counselling and psychotherapy body for shoa survivors and their children had to stop working with the the second generation recently because of lack of funding. Neither do British Jews talk a lot about the trauma of the other half of Israeli citizens the displaced Jewish former residents of the entire Arab / Persian speaking world.

Representation in Words
Jewish magazines like the Jewish Renaissance, Jewish Quarterly and the Jewish Socialist have had difficulties likewise in the past. Although they appear to suffer from the same bug as the IJV namely being too British to be Jewish (you rarely see a non Brit published again, maybe a fellow Anglo from the States at best). Oh did I not mention the JC, or JN which upset me every week due to the monontomy of their approach (IJV have a point there!)?

On BOD
And then lastly there is the attack on BOD. Well the BOD is perhaps the most hated body in contemporary UK Judaism anyway. This is not down to the fact that they spoke out for Israel, strangely Rabbi Sacks, teh chief Rabbi affilated with them, has been at the forefront of intellectual critique of Israeli policies, but more so because it is a body of compromise. Here some of the most traditional Jews sit along with those of the Reformed and Liberal movement and mostly neither really likes the other. Only recently did I challenge Danny Rich, head of Jewish Liberal Congregations, on some strong opinions he had on Jewish Orthodox people, and was I in an Agudat (Ortho. reps) I guess it would be the reverse way around. BOD representing the lot (minus the Ultra Orthodox Jews and the secular Jews like Jewish Humanists (above)) is accused (and always has been) of not being enough of anything because of the compromises it has to make. At the same time they are the forefront of support Jewish welfare organizations, monitoring anti Jewish sentiments, and doing good work in Jewish-Muslim relations.

On Antisemitism and Israel
There are also well reported links between anti Jewish hate and and rejection of Israel. The lines are as usual transitive and I agree the accusation is sometimes overused, but not always.
Many so called 'only against the occupation' opponents have failed to show any interest at all in Israel, apart from occasional nominal words, and Israel is the most Jewish reality on the globe today there is. To boycott it per se (which is not what IJV says), and to state Jews only have a right as a Diasporic people, is to my mind a close relative of anti-Jewish / antisemitic thought, even though there are some Jews who also take that line of approach. In the light of Ahmadinejad & Co, and the Boycott Israel (= Boycott the majority of Jews) campaign the connections in my opinion are clear, and one can like myself still stand against the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian Arabs by the state of Israel in actively supporting Israeli, yes Zionist groups, that oppose it.


Conclusions:

I believe the IJV has the taste of the self-promotion of a bunch of Jewish British intellectuals too proud and self important to assist with the building and strengthening of existing organizations (that is by the way not true for all the signatories). Or for some perhaps they have given up on these. Attendance in groups like Meretz UK, Jewish Socialist Movement, Peace Now, Now Israel Fund, Jewish Humanists, Jewish university departments, and centres is very dim and almost a near pensioners circle. Much better to come in the way only such intellectuals can. Loud, arrogant, ignorant and self-important, disregarding the ground work and sweat of many years of people who just stuck in there.

I hope that IJV is a wake up call. In that sense it is a positive feature. But I also hope it is short lived and that the brains behind it, will join the existing grass roots organizations as well as institutes that very much need them. Moreover Israel needs the polarity of a strong left, in Israel. The only people ever to migrate to Israel, it seems, are right wing hot heads and escapists who attempt to live a 'Jewish Disney World' life, in isolation somewhere between Ramallah and Hebron, as opposed to between Tel Aviv and Haifa. Taking the back seat and talking much from Britain, many of my Israeli friends tell me, is the easy thing. Both right wing and left wing Israelis rightly point out that credentials only come from engagement from within. This seems to be something the right has very well understood, but not the left leaning, who were more busy to abrogate all responsibility.

There are many bodies and institutes that need people / representatives in the UK. Enough for each taste:

• CRI Association for Civil Rights in Israel - click English Version
• Jewish Socialists UK
• Jewish Humanist Congregation UK (via Laura Miller)
• Peace Now UK
• Meretz UK 37a Broadhurst Gardens, London, NW6 3BN.
  Email: meretzuk@yahoo.co.uk 020-7328 5451
• British Friends of the Israeli Labour Party
• Institute for Jewish Policy Reserach
  
• Olive Tree Foundation
• Jews for Justice
  
• Anonymous for Animal Rights (of ISRAEL)
• Beit Ha Gefen: Arab Israeli / Jewish Israeli Community Centre in Haifa
• Givat Aviva works to teach solidarity and tolerance of the Other targeted at Arab and Jewish Israeli and Palestinian school children
• B'tselem. Israel's independent Human Rights Body for the Occupied Territories
• Coalition of Women for Peace - United Israeli & Palestinian Lobby
• Shalvata UK
  
• The Faculty for Israeli - Palestinian Peace
• CHAI Concern for Helping Animals in Israel
• Engage. A Leftish pro Israel organization set up in the days of the AUT Israel boycott
• Gush Shalom. Peace Bloc Israel
• IsraAID Israeli Forum for Humanitarian Aid
• Jewish and Hebrew Department UCL- London,
  
• Jewish-Arab Centre (University of Haifa)
• NEVE SHALOM - Village of Peace
• New Israel Fund, works for diversity and equality within Israel
• New Profil. Organization for thge civil-ization of Israel
• SHAEBI Sherur Baalei Chaim, Israel,known in English as ALI Animal Liberation Israel
• Shemesh. Organization for Arab Israeli friendship and co-existence in the Galil, North Israel
• Task force Against (female) Human Trafficking - Israel (ha meta le ma-awak ba-sahar ba-nashim
• Yad Va Shem
• Women for Human Rights

and any of the others.

The one thing we really don't need is more paper tigers (I mean tigers who write in papers), British over-type and silencing of the many voices in Judaism, and frankly more news from old "famous" voices, who now declare themselves independent (how many of these will feature prominently during the Jewish Book week running at the moment). If the IJV really mean business than only building the structures, many already existing
counts. Assisting new people, especially younger and older generations and non intellectuals to participate in these groups.

However if the IJV campaign was useful for the BOD and the Israeli external affairs ears' to pay some attention to attitudes not exactly £down the religion / Likud / Kadima line," than be it so.

NB: as IJV was launched Melanie Philips came out to attack it. Melanie has now surpassed the order of righteous defense, if ever she was in that league. A full report with video extracts can be read on the Blog Nether-world here.


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Independent Jewish Voices
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