Progressively speaking: Why the Race Disparity Audit is a damning indictment on our society
Rabbi Miriam Berger gives a progressive Jewish view on a topical issue
I was walking up the road after dropping my son at school last week, when a mother told me her 6-year-old daughter had come home from school declaring she wanted to be Jewish.
The mum had initially been taken aback, as this particular Afro-Caribbean family are deeply committed Christians, but it hadn’t taken long to establish her child’s deep commitment to a new faith resulted from days off school taken by my son and his Jewish classmates to celebrate the chaggim during the month of Tishri.
I was able to commiserate with her immediately, as that very morning I had been having a similar conversation with my own son, who was deeply frustrated there are certain hairstyles, sported by his footballing heroes, that I simply couldn’t achieve with his very straight, mousey blonde hair.
The pictures he showed me were of people of Afro-Caribbean decent, whose hair is simply different from ours.
I am thrilled for my son and his friends to understand what makes us different, but the recent Race Disparity Audit in the UK has left me feeling cold, because the reality is its more than religious practice and hairstyles that separate us.
It is a damning indictment on society and deeply embarrassing.
Theresa May said, as she launched the findings of the audit: “We know that Britain today in the 21st Century is a diverse multi-ethnic democracy. Diversity is a source of strength and pride for us.
“But when one person works just as hard as another person – and has got the same ambitions and aspirations – but experiences a worse outcome solely on the grounds of their ethnicity, then this is a problem that I believe we have to confront”
What this audit shows is that there isn’t anywhere to hide. And that’s not just for Government, it is for society as a whole.
The issues are now out in the open and we all have a responsibility to work together to tackle them.
These two 6-year-olds are simply Londoners born and bred. I hope they, like all kids born in this country, will grow up in a new world, where the stark realisation of this disparity changes society and ensures the differences between them which cannot be rationally explained, simply won’t exist anymore.
Rabbi Miriam Berger is rabbi at Finchley Reform Synagogue
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.
