Five rabbis resign from Unite union over stance of boss Len McCluskey
Rabbis David Mitchell, Deborah Kahn-Harris, Margaret Jacobi, Monique Mayer and Richard Jacobi cancel memberships
Five rabbis have resigned their membership of Unite after the union’s boss Len McCluskey issued what they called “a threat” to the Jewish community.
West London Synagogue’s Rabbi David Mitchell and Leo Baeck College’s Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris were among those to issue an angry open letter to Unite’s chief of staff saying McCluskey no longer represented them.
The five rabbis said McCluskey had shown a “slow recognition” of the problem of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party and “has usually done so in the context of a counter-attack against critics of Jeremy Corbyn”.
Writing in HuffPost last week, the union boss accused the Jewish community of “not taking ‘yes’ for an answer,” and derided the “truculent hostility” of Jewish representatives in response to Labour’s efforts to sort the problem.
But the signatories, including Birmingham’s Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi, Bristol’s Rabbi Monique Mayer and Rabbi Richard Jacobi of East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue, said his comments showed the union had “lost control of its leadership”.
They said McCluskey’s comments were “not only unhelpful, but are disingenuous, for in so doing he attempts to rewrite the story of the last six months and plays down the genuine concerns of the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community”.
The Unite boss had used his article to call for Jewish community leaders to engage with Labour “before the political estrangement between them and the Labour Party becomes entrenched,” but the rabbis said this “feels a little too much like a threat”.
Responding to McCluskey’s comments that he answers to those he represents, the rabbis said: “We realise that he no longer means us. Therefore, with regret, we must join with our rabbinic colleagues who have already terminated their membership.”
Speaking to Jewish News, Rabbi David Mitchell said it was a sad moment for him, having been a member of Unite for more than nine years, but he said McCluskey’s comments were only the latest in a series of concerning remarks.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “I believe in the trade union movement, we have a long history of activism in it, but Len McCluskey can’t represent me when he takes the line he does. I’m deeply concerned about his attack, and unfortunately I just don’t feel like Unite is a home for me anymore.”
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.
