1/ I thought it best to sleep on Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' interview as I wasn't quite sure what I thought. Here's my take. 
2/ In any emotive political issue there is a Venn diagram. In the middle is the reasonable response, and then around it, outside of the centre, are the responses which for whatever reason are overheated - e.g. emotive overreaction, political overreaction, bad faith overreaction
3/ The problem is that if you have a stake in the debate, it isn't always easy to know exactly where the sweet spot is. And every overreaction carries danger as it can lead to a kind of chain reaction of other overreactions. Sacks' comments have led to that as I'll explain.
4/ The issue I have with his interview is "most offensive since Enoch Powell". I described Corbyn's speech as "casual racism" which I think it was. But unlike Powell's it was to a small audience, before he was leader, without any expectation it would go further.
5/ I think that comparison is unhelpful and falls within the "it's like he has declared war" (Board of Deputies) and "existential threat" (3 Jewish newspapers) category of overreactions. But here's why it took me a bit to get there.
6/ This summer there has been a dual focus on events from Corbyn's past, when he was a backbencher, and his present, as leader of the Labour Party. Whether his supporters think it's fair or not (I think it is, given he may be PM), he will be judged on both.
7/ When Corbyn became leader, he must have known he would have a problem with the Jewish community. He knows what he has thought/said/done. It was up to him, as leader and potential future PM, to begin repairing that immediately. He didn't. See @freedland theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
8/ He is the *leader* of the Labour Party. If he had been open to learning, listening and *leading* on this issue, I think we would be in a very different place now. But instead, he has been rigid/slow and has failed to prevent institutional antisemitism.
9/ It's important to know what Corbyn thinks, and he has been evasive ("present but not involved") on previous actions, but what is most important by far is how he responds to the reality now, where Labour has become a dysfunctional disaster for anti-racism.
10/ For example, a significant Labour cheerleader, @AaronBastani, has responded to Sacks by saying, effectively, that rabbis should be vetted for political appropriateness before their opinions can be even considered. That is a quite extraordinary thing to say and very revealing
11/ It goes back to something I tweeted a few days ago, that I think the issue with Corbyn isn't that he sees all Jews as Zionists, but that he still can't see beyond the fact that they may be. Bastani's tweet and Owen Jones' response are from a similar perspective.
12/ With us or against us. Your politics define you and are overwhelmingly the most important thing about you. And because Zionism is an evil creed (so it goes), Jews are contaminated and unreachable. I don't think that kind of tribalism is unique to Corbyn (see e.g. BrexIt)
13/ I think it is reasonable to consider Sacks' political views. But it makes no sense at all to consider them in isolation, i.e. here is a guy who likes Douglas Murray's book (which I don't), therefore he is poisoned. This kind of political simplification makes us all stupider.
14/ I am no longer an Orthodox Jew and there are key things I don't agree with Sacks on. But he was Chief Rabbi of England for over 2 decades. He is an internationally renowned rabbi, moral thinker and writer. His opinion matters and he can't be put into a tiny box I'm afraid
15/ Corbyn has an opportunity, though it will be so hard. It is to take his party so it is no longer institutionally antisemitic. That means reigning his base, accepting responsibility for his own actions, and not being so simplistic about the world and the people in it.
16/ I think the Powell comparison was unfair. But history may judge differently, and that is Corbyn's challenge. Meanwhile, if you're backing Bastani's Rabbi Test, perhaps step back and consider whether you may have stepped into the wrong section of the Venn diagram
17/ I think that there is a narrow window of opportunity coming next week when the NEC votes on Labour’s disciplinary policy. It should implement the IHRA definition and have the confidence not to dilute it with caveats. I hope that Corbyn starts to lead from the front from then
