Thread by @NudderingNudnik

Thread on standing tall:

A thoughtful & well crafted thread from @hurryupharry last week sparked some thinking about how British Jews respond to the crisis which has engulfed us since 2015.

Harry’s thread was a guide to how and why British Jews experience their relationship with Israel & what it means to the vast majority of us.
Designed to dispel myths, provoke empathy & increase understanding, Harry’s thread is I believe emblematic of an important element of..

recent collective political failure as British Jews.

Firstly, let me be clear that I’m not attacking Harry. I’ve written a good number of threads like that too, so I’m also reflecting on my own failure. And I’m writing this to provoke a debate, to inform our collective response

In a sound bite, what’s our failure?
Naivety?
Decency?
Humanity?
Meekness?
Fearfulness?
Weakness?
Hope?

Possibly a combination of all of these.

When faced with a rising tide of abuse, mistrust, hatred, mockery & disdain I believe we have to stop any attempts to engage with our tormentors. As @JournoStephen wrote, now is the moment to no platform the Labour Party. But we need to go beyond that.

We cannot be seen to be trying to appeal to our tormentor’s better nature. “If only we can educate our enemies they will love us” has no part in a Jewish political response to the racism directed at us.

And no more Shylock speeches (heaven knows I’ve made plenty of those)......

if they see how much it hurts us they will stop”.

Instead, look to those movements that have had success in resisting racism or other oppression. “Say it loud, let me explain to you all that black people are not primitive savages out to rape your women, really” wasn’t going....

to win anything.

So the mantra was of black pride, black strength & black dignity faced with appalling American institutional racism.

Gay Pride was never about saying “we’re not degenerate child abusing sons & daughters of Satan who will destroy your family way of life given half the chance, honestly”.

We need our equivalent: Jewish pride. No apologizing, no explaining.

We have nothing to apologise for and nothing to explain that anyone who is against us will ever choose to understand.

None of this means Jewish interfaith & community engagement work isn’t vital & to be celebrated & invested in as part of our communal participation in....

...a multi-cultural society.
But we absolutely need to separate that from a POLITICAL strategy. Our political approach can have no place any more for Shylock speeches, educational initiatives and pleas for understanding.

Enough. No more.
Only vocal pride, resolute & steadfast self respect and zero - absolutely zero - tolerance of racism.

Thoughts?

Ends.