Letters to the editor: ‘Corbyn doesn’t have the guts to lead’
Send us your comments PO Box 815, Edgware, HA8 4SX | letters@thejngroup.com
Corbyn doesn’t have the guts to lead
In your edition of 31 August, reference was made to Chris Williamson, Labour MP, shadow fire services minister and staunch ally of Jeremy Corbyn, who vociferously defended his leader’s record on opposing racism and anti-Semitism.
Mr Williamson defended Corbyn and even suggested that the anti-Semitic smears made against his party are simply an attempt to destroy his leader by way of “a really dirty, low down trick”.
He even went so far as to dismiss claims of anti-Semitism among Labour members as a “proxy wars and bull****”.
The truth is Corbyn has not confronted this horrible issue.
He is not confrontational. He cannot even sack former London mayor Ken Livingstone for saying Hitler supported Zionism.
What Williamson fails to recognise is that Corbyn is not a leader, not a debater and certainly not a prime minister in waiting.
If he were, Williamson would not have to defend his leader in such a bold manner.
God forbid Corbyn becomes prime minister. If that were to happen the Jews of this country would have to roll their sleeves up to defend themselves.
It will be the 1930s all over again.
Mike Abramov, By email
Balfour, Chamberlain & the law
Regarding the Balfour anniversary, many people do not trust the UN as a neutral source for international law.
British prime minister Chamberlain violated the terms of the League of Nations Mandate to appease the Arabs by closing the gates to Palestine, just as Jews fleeing Nazism needed refuge more than ever.
When the future Jewish state needed Jews more than ever, Jews were barred from entry.
Media coverage of the Israeli Arab situation is not always accurate, as scholars are finding.
Joseph Feld, By email
Labour party’s badge of honour?
Why is someone who criticises Israel not anti-Semitic while Donald Trump’s travel ban is Islamophobic?
Apparently it is alright to criticise the Jewish state and not be an anti-Semite, but people condemn Trump for his actions and accuse him of racism. Why can’t people just admit it if they don’t like Israel? Or is being anti-Semitic actually becoming a secret badge of honour in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party?
Russell Ballen, By email
My poem of hope for the new year
I’d like to share the following with Jewish News readers…
Less people struggling and more of them thriving; Less sickness and disease and more well-being
Less widespread poverty and more prosperity; Less political upheaval and more political stability
Less forced migration and more settled populations; less war and violence and more peace between nations
Less despotic and more democratic governments; Less vile racist behaviour and more tolerance
Less despair and more hope we can progress towards peace in our homeland
As we’ve just started the year 5778, may we have more, not less, to celebrate
Than we did in the last year, 5777; Baruch Hashem up there in heaven.
JD Milaric, By email
Advice for rabbi who lives in glass house
From Rabbi Lester’s letter “The future looks grim” [Jewish News, 7 September], we have a despairing cry of pain at the state of the world. And a whole litany of pet hates – gays, Muslims, multi-culturalism, mass immigration, and “terrorists”. Have I missed any?
He says the future looks grim. Indeed. I do sympathise with him. It must be so painful for Rabbi Lester to see all these gays, Muslims and “terrorists” out on the streets ready to take over the world in no time at all.
We can see where he’s coming from. As he says in his letter: “As in Europe, the indigenous population will die out this century. Meanwhile, Muslim immigrants bear children at twice the rate…”. Yes, these Muslims will soon outnumber us, and with their sharia law we will all be forced to convert or leave. Obviously.
And he attacks that old faithful – multi-culturism, a word that can mean almost anything. This bete noire is apparently responsible for mass immigration from the Third World, would you believe. And “yet that culture (ie multiculturalism) is antithetical to Judeo-Christian values – regarding women as chattel…” according to Rabbi Lester. Awful.
But wait. Aren’t there members of our own Jewish community who also regard women in the same way?
I mustn’t name them, of course. But they have very large families and treat their women as baby machines and marry them off young. Hmm..
So much for those cherished Judeo-Christian values.
To quote a Lionel Bart song on the subject of pickpockets: I think he’d better think it out again.
Fraser Michaelson, Southgate
Tarring all with same brush
Yet another doom-laden letter from Rabbi Menachem Lester [Jewish News, 7 September], implying that
British Jews should pack their bags and head for Israel.
The rabbi tries to lump everyone, good and bad, into one box, when he describes innocent homosexuals as bad – apparently even as bad as terrorists in today’s Britain.
In case the good rabbi has not noticed, gay people are also a minority and there was no shortage of them in the army during both world wars.
In Nazi Germany’s army there were, of course, also closet homosexuals.
Homosexuality was just something to be hidden, but most homosexuals are harmless.
Terrorists, on the other hand, mindlessly kill and maim in the name of their religion. Far from harmless.
Sarah Gilbert, By email
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
