Sir Keir Starmer to appear at Limmud Festival
Leader of the opposition will address issues including antisemitism, Brexit and rebuilding ties between Labour and the Jewish community
Sir Keir Starmer is to attend this year’s virtual Limmud Festival.
The Labour leader will discuss topics including the antisemitism row in his party, Brexit and rebulding ties with the community.
This comes after the publication of a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which found evidence that Labour had broken equalities law.
During the recent Jewish Labour Movement One Day Conference, Starmer criticised his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, who was suspended for saying antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated” in wake of the report’s publication. His suspension was lifted, but Starmer declined to restore the parliamentary whip.
Speaking at the JLM event, Starmer said: “I can’t tell you how disappointed I was with Jeremy Corbyn’s response, because what he said, coming from the former leader of the Labour Party, was just about as bad as you can get”
At Limmud Festival, which takes place from 25 to 29 December, he will be in conversation with Carolyn Bogush, Chair of the Limmud Trustee Board.
Festival Chair Rob Simmons said: “This announcement is evidence that Limmud Festival 2020 will engage the Jewish community in the key issues facing us today, bringing the highest-level speakers to you at home.
“We are excited to welcome Sir Keir and hundreds of other speakers including politicians, historians, scientists, journalists, writers, artists and many more to our landmark five day event.”
Joining the Labour leader and more than 1,000 other participants who have signed up already, are speakers including Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, Chief Rabbi Mirvis, historian Deborah Lipstadt and former MP Louise Ellman.
Tickets for the festival can be purchased online.
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.
